Why Kansas is the True Birthplace of North Carolina Basketball

Kansas and North Carolina are two of the most storied programs in the history of college basketball.

From Wilt Chamberlain to Michael Jordan, both teams have had their share of memorable players, coaches, moments, and wins – and both have roots in Lawrence, Kansas.

In fact, the North Carolina basketball program wouldn’t be what it is today if it wasn’t for the lessons learned by a pair of former Tar Heel coaches once donned in crimson and blue.

Dean Smith

Despite winning a national championship in 1957 (a historic triple-overtime thriller against Chamberlain and KU) under former head coach Frank McGuire, it wasn’t until a Kansas native named Dean Smith took over as head coach that the North Carolina program really became a national powerhouse.

Born in Emporia, Kansas, Smith attended the University of Kansas and played for legendary Kansas basketball coach Phog Allen from 1949 to 1953. He was a part of the 1952 national championship team, which was the first official NCAA title for KU in school history.

After graduation, Allen hired Smith as an assistant coach for the 1953-54 season and was able to learn from the man now known as the “Father of Basketball Coaching.” Allen of course learned how to play and coach basketball from the game’s inventor, James Naismith, who brought the game to Kansas and became the school’s first men’s head basketball coach in 1898.

Today seems like a good day to remind North Carolina basketball fans that their roots go back to Lawrence, Kansas. #RockChalk pic.twitter.com/B2W6MWZg4L
— Dillon Davis (@dillondavis3) November 8, 2024

Smith carried those lessons learned from Allen to North Carolina where he served as an assistant for three seasons before taking over as head coach in 1961 following McGuire’s resignation.

He ended up leading the Tar Heels to 17 ACC regular season titles, 11 Final Fours, and two NCAA Championships (1982 and 1993) in 36 seasons at the helm. His 879 wins were the most in college basketball history at the time of his retirement in 1997, and his winning percentage of .776 (879 wins and 254 losses) remains one of the best of all time among men’s college basketball coaches who coached at least 10 seasons.

Roy Williams

It was a Dean Smith assistant, Roy Williams, who would end up tying the schools together once more when KU hired Williams to replace the departing Larry Brown in 1988 following the Jayhawks’ unbelievable national championship run by “Danny and the Miracles.”

Williams had incredible success at Kansas, leading the Jayhawks to nine conference championships, four Final Fours, and two national championship appearances.

He was beloved as head coach at Kansas and won more than 400 games in 15 seasons before returning to North Carolina to take over as head coach in 2003.

In the new E60 documentary that released today on former #KUball star Scot Pollard, former KU head coach Roy Williams said:

"We won 3 national championships at North Carolina, but the '97 Kansas team was the best team I ever coached." https://t.co/3Jmz60RQ46 pic.twitter.com/64AZgOl5OY
— Dillon Davis (@dillondavis3) June 16, 2025

After returning to Chapel Hill, he elevated the North Carolina program even further, reaching five Final Fours and winning three national championships in a 12-year span.

Make no mistake, Williams would not have been the coach he was at North Carolina had it not been for the lessons he learned under Smith and during his time at Kansas – and he often said so. And Smith would not have been the coach he was at North Carolina had it not been for the lessons he learned under Allen and during his time at Kansas.

These two programs will forever be intertwined with their true beginnings both traced back to Lawrence, Kansas.