By R.L. Bynum
Karl Hess shared a couple of interesting Dean Smith stories during a radio interview, offering a rare look at how the Hall of Fame coach interacted with officials and his heat-of-the-moment choices.
The former ACC referee suggested that he may have helped prevent then-UNC assistant coach Phil Ford and Clemson coach Rick Barnes from going after each other.
Hess, one of the most polarizing referees of his era, worked six Final Fours, including the 2007 national title game between Florida and Ohio State, before the ACC fired him in 2015.
He is also remembered for ejecting former Wolfpack stars Chris Corchiani and Tom Gugliotta from their courtside seats during State’s 113–69 win against Florida State on Feb. 18, 2012. He discussed the incident that led the ACC to reprimand him at 57:50 of the video below.
During a lengthy Thursday interview on Lynchburg, Va., radio station WLNI with host Rich Roth on “No Holds Barred,” he said he doesn’t miss officiating and thought his name was “MF,” given what fans called him.
His first Smith story began with respect and a jab.
The stories about Dean Smith start at 49:09.
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“Dean Smith — he really knows the game, probably a great coach of all time, but he could be a little sarcastic,” Hess said.
He remembers one of the first games he worked in Chapel Hill when the Tar Heels were blowing out Virginia, and the closing seconds presented a judgment call that still sticks with him.
“They have annihilated Virginia. I mean, they’re up by like 15 points and the last play of the game, all Carolina has to do is throw the ball in, and the clock’s going to run. So, they throw the ball in, and the kid from Virginia runs over and grabs the guy from North Carolina,” Hess said.
Hess acknowledged what the rulebook required, then described why he decided not to blow the whistle.
“That’s an intentional foul, but I let the clock run out because I didn’t want to Carolina to get two more points, prolong the game, and then Virginia is going to be like, ‘Why are you calling that?’ ”
Smith, as Hess tells it, did not let the moment pass.
“So, we’re walking off to court, and Dean comes after me, and he’s nice, but he says, ‘Karl, you can’t make up your own rules,’ ” Hess said, mimicking the nasal tone of Smith’s voice.
Hess said Smith told him that he’d copy the play and send it to him. The next day, Hess said he got an overnight letter from the UNC basketball program. He said the note struck a balance.
“He’s very complimentary of how the game was officiated, but then tells me, ‘Take a look at this play and let me know next Saturday what you think, because I know you got to the Maryland game,” Hess said.
The extra contact was not exactly standard protocol. Referees aren’t permitted to contact coaches directly. Hess didn’t tell Fred Barakat, the ACC supervisor of officials at the time, about the situation.
“I didn’t tell Fred because he would have been fired up, and that would have meant there would have been a call to Dean, and somehow, ultimately, it would end up that I’m an idiot,” Hess said. “I just kept it all to myself.”
When Smith saw Hess at that Maryland game, he checked in.
“And so Dean said, ‘Did you read the book? Look at the tape,’ ” Hess said. “I’m like, ‘Yeah, Coach, I looked at the tape.’ And I said, ‘I’ll tell you what, I appreciate you taking the time to try to help me be a better official. If you have anything you want to provide in the future, feel free to send me that so I can improve.’ ”
The calls at the start of that Maryland game didn’t exactly go the Tar Heels’ way.
“And then I called the first five fouls against North Carolina,” Hess said. “So, I get over there, and he’s like, ‘I get the point, Karl. You’re good.’ ”
It’s not in which season this occurred.
The shouting match between Smith and Barnes is at 1:07:00.
Hess’s second vignette dates to the 1995 ACC tournament in Greensboro at the end of UNC’s 78–62 victory over Clemson. There was a hard-to-miss sequence involving Clemson’s player Iker Iturbe, its coach Rick Barnes and Smith that simmered into a boil.
“We all knew that Iterbe was a European-style player, so you had to watch him all the time,” said Hess, who didn’t work that game but the tournament game that followed. “So, the guy’s running along the baseline, and he trips, [Iturbe] just sticks his foot back, and the guy trips.”
Smith famously reacted quickly and had a few words with Iturbe after a hard foul against Stackhouse (at 1:25 in the above video).
“Well, Dean gets ticked,” Hess said. “He walks out on the court and proceeds to enlighten Iturbe about how to play defense.”
Barnes was not having it.
“Well, Barnes gets ticked off that he’s talking to his player,” Hess said. “So, here comes Barnes down there to straighten the story out.”
Officials and staff separated the benches and tried to cool off both sides after Hess said, “They get into a shouting match.”
After the game ended, there was a final exchange.
“As they’re coming off the court, Dean is walking [in] front,” Hess said. “He’s making comments to Barnes, like, ‘I can’t believe you’re acting this way.’ ”
According to Hess, tempers flared again behind the scenes, and cooler heads prevailed by inches.
“Phil Ford and Barnes were about to go at it,” Hess said. “And I think I had Barnes and [referee] Dick Paparo had Phil Ford, and they didn’t get to hit each other. They walked away.”
Barnes and Smith eventually met with ACC commissioner Gene Corrigan.
Hess also talks about the March 4, 2007, UNC-Duke game in which Gerald Henderson gave Tyler Hansbrough a bloody and broken nose, with that discussion starting at 39:10, and also at 45:45.
You can watch the entire interview here, with the segment talking about Smith starting at 49:09.
Photo via YouTube screenshot
