Tar Heels Select Doherty

Matt Doherty, a starter on North Carolina’s 1982 NCAA national championship team, was hired Tuesday as Tar Heel coach, the first former player from the storied program to return as coach in 75 years.

Doherty, who had his first head coaching job at Notre Dame last season, said he was excited and surprised by the opportunity to coach at his alma mater.

“This is a big day in my life, one that I did not see coming,” he said during a news conference. “I was just cruising along in South Bend, and then the phone rang, and here I am. Maybe a lot of you saw this coming, but I never did.”

Athletic Director Dick Baddour sat with Doherty while recently retired coach Bill Guthridge and Dean Smith stood to the side.

“Our tradition of excellence will continue,” Baddour said during the introduction.

Doherty, 38, became the leading candidate after last week’s decision by Kansas Coach Roy Williams not to take the job at his alma mater. Milwaukee Buck Coach George Karl and Philadelphia 76er Coach Larry Brown, who both played at North Carolina under Smith, took their names out of the running Monday. Earlier, South Carolina Coach Eddie Fogler declined to be interviewed.

Doherty, an assistant to Williams for seven seasons, led the Fighting Irish to a 22-15 record and a second-place finish in the National Invitation Tournament in his only season at the school.

Doherty met with Irish players for about 20 minutes Tuesday afternoon in South Bend, Ind.

“Coach was very emotional. We just kind of took it all in and really didn’t have any comments,” guard Matt Carroll said. “He just told us it was such a hard decision to make. He said it was just an opportunity he just couldn’t pass up.”

Notre Dame’s Troy Murphy, a first-team All-American and Big East Conference player of the year as a sophomore last season, was saddened by the news.

“People close to Coach Doherty understand what went on with the decision and the things that pulled him to North Carolina. We understand why he made the decision,” Murphy said.

Notre Dame Athletic Director Kevin White said the school “will work to find a new coach quickly.”

Doherty was a star at Holy Trinity High in Hicksville, N.Y., and a member of the 1982 NCAA championship squad that featured Michael Jordan, James Worthy and Sam Perkins. Williams also was an assistant on that squad.

James Moeser, incoming North Carolina chancellor, declined to discuss contract terms for Doherty, who had four years remaining on a five-year deal at Notre Dame.

Doherty and former Tar Heel players Jeff Lebo and Randy Wiel were mentioned as candidates still in the running Tuesday to replace Guthridge, Smith’s longtime assistant who led the Tar Heels to two Final Fours in three years before announcing his retirement June 30.

Lebo is the coach at Tennessee Tech and Wiel is the coach at Middle Tennessee State.