UNC Basketball press conference tonight...opinions?

[saint]

There have been rumors swirling down here regarding Matt Doherty and whether or not he will be fired. In addition, Sean May and possibly others transferring. The players and their families met with the AD last weekend w/out coach, can't be good.

Anyway, my question is: Would they really call a Press Conference to say "Ok, amid all the controversy, we are NOT firing our coach (and add maybe that so and so is transferring).

Or do you think if they are calling this he must be getting fired??

I have a feeling he is gonna get canned. Word is he is pretty abusive to the players behind closed doors. Opinions appreciated, it's going to be interesting.






Carolina to Hold Press Conference Regarding Men's Basketball Program Tonight at 8 p.m.

Press Conference to be held at the Smith Center.

April 1, 2003

The University of North Carolina will hold a press conference to discuss its men's basketball program tonight (Tuesday, April 1, 2003) at 8 p.m.

The press conference will be conducted at the Dean E. Smith Center.

The press conference is open to the media and athletic department personnel only.

 

[saint]

He's gone.


Matt Doherty Out As UNC's Coach
Process Of Buying Out Doherty's Contract Underway In Chapel Hill
Matt Doherty is on his way out as the University of North Carolina's basketball coach


WRAL has confirmed that the buyout process has begun to remove Doherty, who has three years remaining on his contract.

Doherty arrived at the Smith Center with his attorneys around 1 p.m. Tuesday. He was meeting with his attorneys behind closed doors Tuesday afternoon, though UNC athletics director Dick Baddour reportedly was not in the meeting.


UNC has called a press conference for 8 p.m., EST.

Discussion already has begun as to who Doherty's successor should be. The names topping the list are Kansas head coach Roy Williams, Stanford head coach Mike Montgomery, Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo and Utah head coach Rick Majerus.

Oklahoma coach Kelvin Sampson, from Pembroke, N.C., also has been mentioned as a candidate.

Doherty got the job three years ago, after one season as Notre Dame's head coach, when Williams -- a former UNC assistant -- turned down the chance to be Bill Guthridge's successor. Majerus reportedly had been contacted for the job by former Carolina head coach Dean Smith after Williams turned it down.

WRAL reports that around 50 members of the local sports media were gathered outside the Smith Center waiting for an announcement from the school, which was expected to be made later Tuesday.

Doherty's departure comes after 2-1/2 weeks of intense speculation about his future, prompted by players and their parents voicing their displeasure with Doherty. Baddour met with the players, both individually and as a group, before meeting with Doherty on Monday.

Doherty and Baddour met on Monday at the Smith Center until after 8 p.m. Baddour left the building without commenting to reporters.

North Carolina finished the season 19-16, losing to Georgetown in the quarterfinals of the National Invitation Tournament. The Tar Heels failed to make the NCAA Tournament for the second straight season.

Doherty is 53-43 in three seasons in Chapel Hill, and he has three years left on his contract.

Doherty was the Associated Press national coach of the year in his first season after leading the Tar Heels to a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament. But the Tar Heels finished 8-20 overall last season - the worst record in the program's history - and 4-12 in the ACC.

The Tar Heels won the Preseason NIT this past season and jumped to a No. 12 national ranking before center Sean May suffered a broken foot that forced him to miss the entire ACC schedule

 

[gjn23]

Sounds awfully familiar to us Arizona fans.

Last fall John Mackovic was out after players met with the President..etc.... I'm sure you all recall the story, but basically he was GONE.

Well guess what? At the press conference, he shed some tears, apologized and was kept on board.

 

[loophole]

i gotta wonder how a coach can go from coach of the year to pink slip material in two years. sad to think that tarheel basketball has now fallen to letting a bunch of freshmen ballers and their dads run the program. looks like the inmates are running the asylum.

 

[dr. freeze]

Bill Guthridge

He is the guy who brought down the program....it all started with this guy

 

[BobbyBlueChip]

Geez, and I thought "His family NEEDED him" and now they give him the boot. Must be a smile on the Irish kids faces fresh off of a Sweet 16 appearance to see the coach that went into their homes to recruit him and then split after they signed.

And one more thing . . . Nice hair

 

[saint]

Coach Gut did not bring this team down, it just happened to go down when he took over. Any time you change coaches, 99% of the teams will suffer for a few years. He was bascially an interim coach while they secured the next coach to come in. Recruiting classes change hands, personel changes etc etc. Even for a program like UNC, there are residual effects from the change that are inevitable.

Doherty burned bridges the second he walked in the door here. He basically ran the coaching staff out and brought in all of his own. Now I know that is pretty common, but he cleaned house. The likes of Phil Ford, who has known to have had problems w/ Doherty. If you ever get a chance and are a big Tar Heel fan, pick up a copy of Dean's book and read the added last chapter to the new additions. You'll learn how he was very against Doherty's signing and what he did when he first got here. A good friend has connections behind closed doors and from what he told me Doherty brought this on himself.

The number 1 idiot who is really responsible for this mess is AD Dick Baddour. I wish this could be a packaged deal and his ass would be fired as well. He was partly the reason Larry Brown wasn't hired.

This all would have been avoided if they had made Roy sign a contract BEFORE he left here and not when he got back to Kansas.

 

[michaeljbird]

Who do you guy's think they have "hired"

 

[loophole]

saint, i agree with you that baddour is a problem at unc, both in hoops and football. also, i really think that phil ford did a lot to undermine daughtery with the players. i know they spent a lot of time whining and complaining to him. the appearance is he threw gas on the fire with the players and their parents. i think he still is bitter that, because of his drinking history, he was shuffled off to the rams club instead of becoming the next head coach himself, which is what dean was always grooming him for anyway.

 

[saint]

loop-

yeah you know it. Without a doubt I think Phil Ford was Dean's choice. It's a shame that his personal problems have led to his troubles. I'm a little afraid that these kids will feel like they control things, hopefully whoever they bring in knows how to deal w/ that issue.

I should go make a speech about why to fire Baddour. This would be it:

The man hired Carl Torbush as head coach. Case closed