This past weekend, the final gesture in the amazing life of University of North Carolina basketball Coach Dean Smith was revealed. Smith–who always thought first about others–gave one last gift to the on-court family he had nurtured, coached, pushed, developed, and lead to two National Championships at UNC. The executors of his estate sent to each of the 180 lettermen who played for Smith a check for $200 and a letter, expressing that Smith wanted them to each go out and have a great dinner as his guest. There are coaches who have won more games than Dean Smith, but it will be quite some time–if ever–that we see a man and a coach with such a great sense of style, class, competitiveness, kindness, empathy, and appreciation in the arena of college sports. The full story, and a copy of the letter from Smith to his players, can be found here. There’s a lesson in graciousness from Smith’s gift to his players; let’s hope that it gets passed on and on and on and on.