Doherty Resigns After Situation Turns Sour

North Carolina coach Matt Doherty resigned Tuesday amid continuing player dissent, focusing attention squarely on Kansas Coach Roy Williams as a possible successor precisely as Williams prepares the Jayhawks for the Final Four in New Orleans.

Williams turned down the North Carolina job three years ago before Doherty was hired, agonizing for what he calls “probably the worst seven days of my life” about whether to return to his alma mater or remain at Kansas.

The scrutiny this time is going to be even more intense, with Williams about to enter a media swirl and North Carolina increasingly anxious to recover its standing as one of basketball’s traditional powers after missing the NCAA tournament two years in a row.

Last week at the NCAA West Regional in Anaheim, Williams amiably discussed his concern for Doherty -- his former assistant at Kansas -- as well as his own history with North Carolina. But he made it clear Tuesday he doesn’t plan to indulge such questions this week.

“This is a very satisfying time for me and my players and the University of Kansas and our basketball program,” Williams said during a conference call for the Final Four. “I’m going to enjoy ... this week and I’m not letting anybody bother me with any junk if it doesn’t have anything to do with Kansas basketball, my players, great places to eat or rivers to spit in [for good luck]. I’m not messing with anything else.”

Doherty, 41, was only two years removed from being chosen the 2001 Associated Press coach of the year after his first season. But he stepped down after a 19-16 season in the wake of an 8-20 record last season -- the worst in the storied program’s history.

Speculation about his job security soared last week when Athletic Director Dick Baddour met first with the team and later held individual meetings with players and some parents, allowing them to air grievances against Doherty’s sometimes harsh coaching methods and criticism of his players.

Doherty, who played with Michael Jordan and James Worthy on Dean Smith’s 1982 NCAA championship team and had been the coach for one season at Notre Dame when he was hired, apparently realized the situation was untenable and his prospects had dimmed even if he could survive the crisis.

“Clearly this has been a most difficult day for my staff, our families and for me,” he wrote in a statement read by a school official at the Tuesday evening news conference.

“My responsibility has been immense, given the outstanding history of the University of North Carolina both academically and athletically. I’ve always recognized and taken very seriously the responsibility entrusted to us as a coaching staff. That responsibility extends to our players and fans, and ultimately to the tradition I have personally been a part of since 1980.... I continue to wish the best for this program and this university.”

The Tar Heels went 26-7 in his first season but won only eight games the next year after sophomore Joseph Forte turned pro, partly because of a difficult relationship with Doherty.

Three less-accomplished players, Adam Boone, Brian Morrison and Neil Fingleton, transferred after last season.

But the real crisis arose because of speculation there might be more transfers this season, particularly if any of the star freshmen, Raymond Felton, Rashad McCants or Sean May -- who was injured much of the season -- decided to leave.

Baddour was sharply criticized for meeting with the players, though both he and Doherty said the coach encouraged it.

Even Williams, speaking last week in Anaheim, questioned the tactic.

“We don’t have a democracy at Kansas, especially on the court, and it wasn’t a democracy at North Carolina when I was an assistant coach there,” Williams said.

“Players have opinions: This is America.... I want my players to respect me, but they don’t have to like me.”

Baddour and Chancellor James Moeser defended the approach but declined to detail the player complaints after promising they would be held in confidence.

“Some observers have characterized this as a player revolt,” Moeser said. “Others implied that we only started looking into this when the season ended last week. Nothing could be further from the truth. Dick Baddour and I have been monitoring this program for some time.

“When I began to hear a number of concerns, I felt the need to separate fact from fiction. The only way to do that was to talk to the students in the program.”

Doherty, who had three years left on a contract that paid $855,000 a season, will receive a settlement of $337,500.

Baddour said the search for a successor will begin immediately, and made a point of noting it will extend beyond what he called the “Carolina family.”

Whether that indicates Williams will not be the focal point or simply that Baddour will look beyond the old circle of former players and coaches such as Larry Brown and George Karl was unclear.

“This is not a day I expected to occur as I watched our season unfold,” Baddour said. “I respect coach Doherty’s decision to step down as head coach and thank him for putting the interests of the university, its basketball program and its student-athletes ahead of his own.”