Makeover Your Environment - Breathing Space Blog

When I moved to North Carolina years ago, one of the first things I wanted to do was visit the Dean Smith Center. Named after their former coach, it is where the University of North Carolina Tar Heel Basketball Team plays its home games.

The 21,572 seats each have a marvelous view of the court. There are no posts, banners, or other obstructions. The sound system is wonderful -- no reverberation or static, just clear, crisp tones of the speaker. The lighting is perfect, as is the scoreboard, the ventilation system, and virtually all other aspects of the facility.

As impressive as this structure is, there's something even more notable, and it hangs from the rafters. I'm talking about the retired jerseys of former UNC basketball greats and the championship banners acknowledging successful seasons. You'd think that having such banners installed would be old hat to a coach like Roy Williams. Yet, whether it's an Atlantic Coast Conference regular season championship, tournament championship, NCAA tournament participation, second-round, final sixteen, final eight, semi-finals, finals, or NCAA championship, which happened most recently in 2005 and 2009, everything this team has accomplished hangs from the rafters for the fans to see.

Dean Smith, Roy Williams, and the University of North Carolina athletic department profoundly understand the importance of environment. Those banners, hung chronologically and neatly from the rafters, are continuing psychological boosts to the coach, the team, and all of those who are associated with Carolina basketball. They tell new recruits, "We have tradition here. We are winners, and we will win again."