(Reuters) - Dean Smith, a legendary head basketball coach at the University of North Carolina whose proteges included NBA great Michael Jordan, has died at age 83, the university said on Sunday.
He died on Saturday evening at his home in Chapel Hill, N.C., according to a statement from his family.
As the head coach of the Tar Heels from 1961 to 1997, Smith retired as the "winningest coach in college basketball," the university said in a news release on its website.
His teams won two national championships, including the 1982 title with a squad led by Jordan, who went on to a Hall of Fame career with the NBA's Chicago Bulls.
Smith was named one of the seven greatest coaches of the 20th century by ESPN's SportsCentury program, the university noted.
(Reporting by Letitia Stein in Tampa; Editing by Frank McGurty and Frances Kerry)
