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| | Tuesday, July 11 Who's next at Carolina? | |||||
| By Andy Katz ESPN.com Thanks to Dean Smith's influence and longevity, North Carolina has one of the largest coaching family trees in college basketball. Now that Roy Williams has turned down the Tar Heels to stay at Kansas, who's next on the list? Here's a breakdown of the major candidates among the Smith coaching family, as well as some prominent names from outside the Carolina circle: Larry Brown, Philadelphia 76ers Positives: Brown is interested in the position and won't drag out the process. If he wants the job, he can get it immediately. He'll give the Tar Heels immediate credibility and would compete with Duke for every player in the nation. Brown is an excellent tactician and would be the perfect teacher for UNC's loaded roster. Negatives: Brown will turn 60 before the start of the season and probably won't coach for more than five to seven years. He could be a bridge to a Matt Doherty, Jeff Lebo or Buzz Peterson, giving them time to mature as coaches at mid-major or major programs. Brown might not have the drive to be a 12-month recruiter. Update: Brown released a statement Monday announcing that he will remain in Philadelphia. Matt Doherty, Notre Dame Positives: Hiring Doherty would give the Tar Heels an immediate boost of energy. His youthful enthusiasm was a kick for the Irish. Doherty can relate easier to the players and would keep the Dean Smith legacy going for a decade or more. Negatives: Doherty still hasn't proven himself as a coach. He had one year at Notre Dame and got the Irish to the NIT final, where they lost to Wake Forest. He has had recruiting success in the Midwest in his first two years at Notre Dame, but he wasn't the chief recruiter for the elite players at Kansas when he was an assistant under Williams. Doherty would have to be the closer on recruiting isues at Carolina, which wouldn't be an easy task considering his chief rival would be Duke's Mike Krzyzewski Phil Ford, North Carolina assistant Positives: No one knows the Carolina system as well as Ford. He would do everything Smith wanted and would maintain the same quiet confidence Carolina exudes today. The consistency in the program would continue, albeit with a bit more pop with Ford at the helm. Negatives: Ford's off-court troubles with a DUI hurt him publicly and would make it tough to hire him. But if there is any school that could get over the issue quickly, it's North Carolina. Smith could push this hire through the athletic department. George Karl, Milwaukee Bucks Positives: Karl would give the Tar Heels enthusiasm and one of the better teachers of the game. He would put life into the program and give it a rough edge that the straight-laced Tar Heels haven't seen under Smith or Guthridge. Negatives: He has been a pro coach his entire career and has never recruited. Karl isn't used to dealing with the problems related to the off-the-court maintenance of college players. He might not be ready to give up the lifestyle or the money of the NBA. Update: Karl released a statement Monday withdrawing his name from consideration. Buzz Peterson, Tulsa Positives: Peterson would bring more energy and a fresh face to the Carolina program. He can relate well to the players. He's learning on the job and getting better as a bench coach with each season. If the list gets down this far, Tennessee Tech's Jeff Lebo and Middle Tennessee State's Randy Wiel, both former Carolina players, would become options as well as Peterson. Negatives: He just got to Tulsa after leaving Appalachian State. Leaving for North Carolina would label him as a carpet bagger. He might not be ready to step into a pressure-cooker like Carolina. Rick Pitino, Boston Celtics Positives: If Carolina decides to go outside its family tree, Pitino becomes a viable option. He would send fear into Duke and the rest of the ACC the moment he stepped foot on the Chapel Hill campus. He would bring life, energy and championships back to North Carolina. Negatives: Pitino might not be willing to part with the enormous salary he's receiving with the Celtics. Pitino also might pass on the job because of the timing. He would be admitting that he's a failure as a pro coach if he leaves the Celtics. Kelvin Sampson, Oklahoma Positives: Sampson has become one of the hottest coaching names in the business. He would bring toughness and tenacity to the program. Sampson would also be a coach who could stay at Carolina for the rest of his career. Negatives: Sampson turned down Illinois because he wanted to be loyal to his players at Oklahoma. How could he do this to them again by taking a Carolina job? He probably can't. Timing cancels him out. Tubby Smith, Kentucky Positives: Smith is an intense competitor and would shock the college basketball foundation if he went from one mountain to another. He could get away with leaving Kentucky for Carolina, but not for any other college basketball job. Smith's coaching skills earned him a national title in '98, and he could win plenty more at Carolina. Negatives: He can keep winning titles at Kentucky, too. While UK fans have been harsh with Smith, he would likely face the same wrath at Carolina after a short honeymoon period. If he left Kentucky, he would be leaving his son Saul right before his senior season. He left older son G.G.Smith at Georgia, but G.G. wasn't in as high-pressured a situation as Saul. Andy Katz is a senior writer at ESPN.com. | ALSO SEE Irish coach Doherty UNC's top choice; Brown, Karl out UNC looking at younger branches on coaching tree Williams says no to UNC, stays at Kansas Karl takes himself out of running for UNC job Doherty calls meeting with UNC 'productive' Weekly Word: Keep what you have Katz: Surprise leaves Carolina scrambling ESPN.com users weigh in on Williams | |||||