Less than 24 hours after their season ended, North Carolina players met collectively with athletics director Dick Baddour to discuss the future of the program and coach Matt Doherty, the Raleigh News and Observer reported in Friday editions.

The players would not comment to the newspaper on the substance of the Thursday meeting. However, individual meetings between the players and Baddour are scheduled for Friday.

Sophomore guard Jackie Manuel was accompanied by his parents, who also declined comment to the newspaper. Baddour said earlier Thursday that he was continuing his evaluation of the basketball program.

Doherty said he initiated the idea of the players meeting with the AD after last season.

"I wanted it to happen. I asked Dick (Baddour) to do that," Doherty told the newspaper Thursday night.

The Tar Heels finished 19-16 and missed the NCAA Tournament for the second straight season under Doherty. Their season ended Wednesday night with a loss to Georgetown in the NIT. Earlier in the season, UNC players expressed dissatisfaction with Doherty's intense coaching style.

Baddour told the newspaper he didn't know when the evaluation would be complete.

"There isn't any timetable, and I wouldn't discuss the evaluation process for any of my sports programs," Baddour told the newspaper. School chancellor James Moeser, who was involved in Doherty's hiring three years ago, said the decision to keep or dismiss Doherty rests largely with Baddour.

"My role in this evaluation process is that it's a totally delegated responsibility to the athletic director," Moeser told Raleigh News and Observer. "He evaluates all of his programs.

"If there were a decision to be made, obviously, he'd bring it to me. But it's his job to do the evaluation."

Doherty said that he is comfortable with the players' meeting with Baddour. "I thought it was important that we handle this internally rather than in the media," Doherty told the newspaper. "We gave them an opportunity to do that, but I initiated it."

"I've told a lot of people about my support for Matt," Baddour told the paper. "I think Matt really kept this team focused through the NIT. They played hard. I think our fans enjoyed watching them compete until the end."