Over the past weekend, the basketball world suffered a great loss when legendary basketball coach Dean Smith passed away at the age of 83. For four decades, he led the University of North Carolina into becoming one of the most successful college basketball programs in the world.

"Coach Dean Smith passed away peacefully the evening of February 7 at his home in Chapel Hill, and surrounded by his wife and five children. We are grateful for all the thoughts and prayers, and appreciate the continued respect for our privacy, as arrangements are made available to the public. Thank you," the Smith family said in a statement issued by the university.

Dijana Kunovac of InsideCarolina reported that the University of North Carolina will be celebrating the life of the Hall-of-Famer during a public memorial service scheduled on Sunday, February 22 at the Dean E. Smith Center.

After taking over the Tar Heel program in 1961, Smith had one of the best coaching careers in college sports. He led UNC to 11 Final Four appearances, 17 ACC regular season titles, along with two national championships.

He retired from coaching after the 1996-1997 season as the NCAA Division I all-time leader in wins with 879.

"Other than my parents, no one had a bigger influence on my life than Coach Smith. He was more than a coach"”he was my mentor, my teacher, my second father," former Tar Heel Michael Jordan said in a released statement.

"Coach was always there for me whenever I needed him and I loved him for it. In teaching the game of basketball, he taught me about life. My heart goes out to Linnea and their kids. We've lost a great man who had an incredible impact on his players, his staff and the entire UNC family."

Last Monday, The Daily Tar Heel printed a special issue honoring Smith. Thousands of people in campus lined up for a copy, which even resulted in some people scalping the free newspaper, as reported by Bleacher Report.