"I am absolutely shocked and deeply saddened. Today the world has lost not
just an outstanding basketball coach, but a great person and great friend. I
was fortunate to be friends with him even before I came back to Carolina.
"Over these last four seasons there have been several occasions on which he
was the first coach to call and offer his heartfelt congratulations. I'll
always remember him calling after the 2006 season to say what a great job we
had done after losing all the players from the championship team. That call
meant so much to have come from another coach. This April, I heard from a
hundred or so coaches after the Hall of Fame announcement, and Skip was the
first to call.
"But Skip was someone who will be measured in terms of his
actions, not just words. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family. The
world has lost a great person and great family man."