Bill Guthridge, longtime North Carolina basketball coach who spent 30 years as an assistant to Dean Smith before leading the Tar Heels to the Final Four in two of his three seasons as head coach, died Tuesday night. He was 77.
Guthridge, who had been in declining health in recent years, was surrounded by his family at the time of his death. Guthridge's passing comes a little more than three months after Smith died in early February after suffering for years from a neurological disorder that robbed him of his memories.
Guthridge suffered a similarly cruel fate during the final year of his life. During an interview in February his wife, Leesie, said Guthridge had been suffering from vascular dementia — a condition that is a result of reduced blood supply to the brain.
"Bill's not real verbal anymore," Leesie, who had been married to her husband for 42 years, said then. "I have a hard time, and he has a hard time. He sometimes knows exactly what he wants to say, but he can't come up with the words."
Guthridge arrived for the 1967-68 season, and during his years as an assistant to Smith, the Tar Heels went to the Final Four 10 times and won the national championship in 1982 and 1993.
During his 33 years at UNC, Guthridge was a part of 867 victories. He was on the bench for 73 NCAA tournament victories — including two at Kansas State — and that's more than any coach in history.
... Marcquise Reed, who averaged 15.1 points in his freshman season and helped Robert Morris to the NCAA tournament last season, transferred to Clemson.
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