Doherty out at UNC?

[JeeberD]

Found this link (http://northcarolina.theinsiders.com/) at another message board. I don't know whether it's an April Fool's joke or not...

[Marmel]

I am pretty sure it is NOT a joke. I have seen this going around many of the rival's boards, and the general consensus it that this is fact.

[JeeberD]

Hmmm, found this article on ESPN.com from Friday saying the AD supported Doherty...

-------------------------------------------------------------

AD Baddour reiterates support for Doherty

Associated Press


CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- North Carolina has not made a decision on the future of basketball coach Matt Doherty, athletic director Dick Baddour said Friday.


Baddour held a group meeting with Tar Heels players on Thursday and met with them individually all day Friday, talking about the program and Doherty.


"I reiterate my support for Matt Doherty," Baddour said late Friday night.


After the meeting Thursday, the players and Baddour declined comment.


Freshman center Sean May told The News & Observer of Raleigh that the players asked for the meeting "just to talk." Doherty, however, said he started postseason player meetings with Baddour last year.


"I initiated that," Doherty told the newspaper. "I wanted it to happen. I asked Dick to do that."


Doherty did not return several messages seeking comment Friday.


Baddour had said that he was continuing his evaluation of the basketball program and Doherty, whose third season as Tar Heels coach came to an end with Wednesday's loss to Georgetown in the National Invitation Tournament.


The Heels finished 19-16 and missed the NCAA tournament for the second straight season.
--------------------------------------------------------------

If this is true, I find it pretty surprising. Gotta give the guy some time to rebuild the program...

[Radii]

oh jesus, there goes my afternoon. If they fire him it better be for a lot more than just his results on the court. I thought UNC wasn't going to fuck up like UCLA did after wooden retired.

[Radii]

dola, lots of the articles around the original one JeeberD talk about the way Dohorty treats his players. I know Brian Morrison and Adam Boone transferred last year and that was said to be a big reason why. Man, this worries me. This is a team that, if they could get McCants/May/Felton to stay 3 years, could be a serious contender again real soon.

[dacman]

Dan Patrick just went on a rant about not liking Doherty being out at UNC. Not sure if it was hypothetical or not, but it didn't sound like it.

[Swaggs]

Wonderful. I am moving to Chapel Hill in June.

And, of course, UNC, after 30 years of being a basketball powerhouse, sucks.

[MylesKnight]

Well here's one source that says it's a done deal, UNC is Coach-less.. (http://northcarolina.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=177976)

It isn't necessarily the strongest source in the universe, but it is one nonetheless.

Very interesting.. There has to be more to it than just on the court performance if this is in fact the case..

[henry296]

ESPN.com reports that a decision will be made today on Doherty's future.

Todd

[dacman]

Dookie V says "his sources say MD is out."

[WSUCougar]

What would really be interesting is if Kansas wins the tournament, and then Roy Williams head home to Chapel Hill.

[Swaggs]

Lots of good candidates for UNC.

Hopefully it will be Williams or Karl.

[the_meanstrosity]

Big mistake by North Carolina and a definite black eye on the program. Hopefully Matt D will find a job elsewhere and show the idiots how big of a mistake they made.

Stupid decision by UNC.

[albionmoonlight]

I agree that I do not want UNC to become like UCLA--"We have the best team in college basketball, we just don't win the championship every year because every coach we have had for the last two decades stinks."

Stability is a luxury that few programs can afford. It would be too bad if one of the few programs that could afford it chooses to go with the "quick fix" model.

[scooper]

Stay the hell away from Mike Brey!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[SegRat]

UNC can have that pile of crap George Karl. He is just a joke of a coach. I think this time the Bucks will let him go, I pray!!!

[MylesKnight]

Isn't Mike Brey a former Dukie??

That would be interesting.

[scooper]

Yes he is, but I hope he's at ND a long time.

[Radii]

I think UNC should get a Duke alum, Quin Snyder or Tommy Amaker. That would be hilarious :)

Ok, seriously, I would love nothing more than to see Roy Williams coach my Tar Heels. Larry Brown behind him. If those two won't/don't come, I'd rather stay away from Karl myself. UNC obviously has a specific idea of what sort of attitude they want in their teacher/basketball coach, and I don't think Karl fits it. Williams and Brown do.

If Carolina can't get Williams or Brown, then I think its time to look outside the UNC circle. I like the idea of Kelvin Sampson. Get him out of the football crazed midwest and lets see what he can really do :)

I still don't think it is/was a good idea to let Doherty go unless there are serious, serious flaws in his character/teaching style that we're not aware of here.

[MylesKnight]

I don't know Scooper, I think it may be about time for the Irish to return to their John McLeod days, if you know what I mean. ;)

[Wolfpack]

Let me just say as a Wolfpack fan, I hope Doherty stays. ;)

(Hey, we've got Sendek. Nothing like a coach who does just enough to hang on by his fingernails.)

[Radii]

I like Sendek, though clearly NC State hasn't returned to the glory years of Valvano with him like people thought...

And barring the personal issues that appear to be going on behind the scenes, Doherty appears to have the potential to be a damn good coach. He's certainly lived up to my expectations this year and UNC's future appears very very bright.

[Ksyrup]

ESPN says its been done, with a press conference tonight.

[Radii]

dola, espn.com "breaking news" says it hasn't been confirmed by the university but sources have told Vitale that Doherty is gone. Press Conference scheduled for 8pm tonight. :( :( :(

[Wolfpack]

Judging by that ESPN article, Roy's not too happy about this. Do you think he'd turn UNC down cold this time around because of their treatment of D'oh? I'd say if it stays in the family, it's probably George Karl or maybe Phil Ford. Larry Brown's got a bit much baggage (see Harrick, Jim as a guide), not to mention the supposedly shoddy treatment he got from Baddour last time.

[Easy Mac]

Hmmm, what did I say earlier in the year? (http://dynamic2.gamespy.com/~fof/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=5130&highlight=matt+doherty)

People said I was crazy and too short sighted. Even then there were reports that the players and their parents were very unhappy with Matt Doherty, and they generally didn't like him. The radio shows were reporting then that Doherty had made Dean Smith unhappy. Its not really a shock... supposedly it was getting ready to happen at ND as well before he left... of course, most of my Irish friends up there were pissed he left, so they may have made it up.

[tucker342]

No way man, UNC should go for coach K, now that would be interesting.....

Should have given him one more year.

[Swaggs]

Sounds like a lot of negative input from current and past Tarheels had a big impact on the firing.

Based on the past hiring of Coach Gut, I would say Phil Ford is the safe pick and odds on favorite.

Williams, however, has apparently had a fallout with his A.D., so maybe time things will be different. He still has family in the area, as well.

Brown is a good short-term solution, but his age and nomadic past make him a little less desirable.

[Radii]

Originally posted by Easy Mac
Hmmm, what did I say earlier in the year? (http://dynamic2.gamespy.com/~fof/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=5130&highlight=matt+doherty)

People said I was crazy and too short sighted. Even then there were reports that the players and their parents were very unhappy with Matt Doherty, and they generally didn't like him. The radio shows were reporting then that Doherty had made Dean Smith unhappy. Its not really a shock... supposedly it was getting ready to happen at ND as well before he left... of course, most of my Irish friends up there were pissed he left, so they may have made it up.

I still say you are crazy and short sighted :) And UNC was extremely short sighted either in their hiring of Doherty or their turnaround on him.

Probably in their hiring of him because of how disastrous an affair that turned into.

[the_meanstrosity]

Kansas coach Roy Williams has about as much chance of being the North Carolina coach as I do. And that's slim to none. Expect Larry Brown to be the heavy favorite or even possibly Utah's Rick Majerus.

I still think it's a huge mistake to drop Matt D. UNC now has a huge black eye in my opinion.

[daedalus]

Originally posted by Easy Mac
Hmmm, what did I say earlier in the year? (http://dynamic2.gamespy.com/~fof/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=5130&highlight=matt+doherty)

According to that link: since Duke has young players and they win, then UNC should win as well. Oh, and Doherty should be fired if UNC doesn't reach 18 wins.

People said I was crazy and too short sighted. Even then there were reports that the players and their parents were very unhappy with Matt Doherty, and they generally didn't like him. The radio shows were reporting then that Doherty had made Dean Smith unhappy. Its not really a shock... supposedly it was getting ready to happen at ND as well before he left... of course, most of my Irish friends up there were pissed he left, so they may have made it up.

I haven't heard anything about the parents or Coach Smith being unhappy with Doherty before. [Not that I'm saying you are you wrong, but that I haven't seen it mentioned anywhere. I'd love to see these if you have links.] Interestingly, I followed the links to The Insider website and from the way Melvin Scott and David Noel sound, it didn't seem like they were overly saddened by the dismissal. As far as Boone and Morrison goes, however, I was under the impression that they left because they were not going to be getting playing time with the freshmen coming in [not that they should be in the ACC anyhow]. Unless there were definitely situations where players were mistreated, I still think it's a ridiculous move to fire Doherty considering the progress the team made from last year to this.

[the_meanstrosity]

Rumors are running rampant that Larry Brown will come in as a stop-gap between future hirings of Phil Ford or Buzz Peterson. We know Ford was the UNC favorite son until his problems off the court surfaced. I wouldn't be surprised if this is true. I suspected Larry Brown earlier, but it may be a reality now.

[GoldenEagle]

I think MJ is UNC's fav. son.

[the_meanstrosity]

MJ may be the fan's favorite son, but he's not the administration's. Plus MJ won't be coaching UNC any time soon, lol.

[Malificent]

This is not a surprise. Local papers have been reporting parents commenting on their sons unhappiness. Also talk of him throwing chairs in practice - and people weren't happy about him bumping Chris Collins earlier in the year. He didn't need to win like Dean Smith, but I think he needed to act with the same dignity.

As a Duke fan, it makes me unhappy, as now there is a good chance they'll get someone really good and make UNC competitive again. :)

[Radii]

Originally posted by Malificent
and people weren't happy about him bumping Chris Collins earlier in the year.

I wasn't happy with this either. He should have slugged the shit out of Chris Collins :D

[Marmel]

Hell yeah Radii! Should he have just let the classless Duke coach bark at one of his players? And I loved the handshake refusal by the other Duke coach in the next meeting. duke thinks they are the cream of the crop, but they are just classless.

[Malificent]

Chris Collins is an ass. As a Duke fan, I wish he was an UNC coach...;)

However, Johnny Dawkins, who refused to shake hands, is all class, and we've all been wondering what was going on behind the scenes there.

[Malificent]

Dola. Sort of like how the Yanks are classless, right Marm?

[Radii]

I respect Dawkins and Coach K both. Collins and Wojo I hated as players and that carries over to the coaching side of things :)