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| | Friday, July 14 Doherty keeps his staff, defends Williams | |||||
| By Andy Katz ESPN.com Matt Doherty made it clear that he will be in control of the North Carolina program when he demanded that his Notre Dame assistants follow him to his alma mater. In an abrupt break from Carolina policy, Doherty is bringing with him his entire staff from Notre Dame -- assistants Doug Wojcik, Fred Quartlebaum, Bob MacKinnon and director of basketball operations David Cason. The consensus among college basketball observers was that Doherty would have to keep North Carolina assistants Phil Ford, Pat Sullivan and Dave Hanners. But Doherty said during his news conference that he wouldn't leave behind a staff that helped him get Notre Dame to the NIT final and, in turn, land the North Carolina job after one season with the Irish. The changing of the Carolina staff means Doherty will have added new branches to the Carolina family tree. Wojcik, Quartlebaum, MacKinnon and Cason will now be linked, through Doherty, to Dean Smith and Bill Guthridge. Ultimately, if any of them pursue a head coaching job, they could have the heavy backing of Smith and the rest of the Carolina family. The change for Wojcik and Quartlebaum, the two recruiting assistants, won't be dramatic as both were seen at the adidas/ABCD Camp on Sunday and Monday at Teaneck, N.J. They had a chance to evaluate the same elite players that Sullivan was watching. The only difference was they were wearing the green and white of Notre Dame while Sullivan wore Carolina blue. Sullivan, who was coming into his own as an assistant and was making his first trip on the road, should find a home either with a Carolina family member at another school or at another institution altogether. Sullivan should land on his feet with the backing of everyone at North Carolina. Ford may stay in the department in some capacity. Hanners will likely be taken care of by the Carolina family, too. While Doherty made a break from Smith by dictating his staff, he also proved he is in control by publicly backing Roy Williams' decision to stay at Kansas. Doherty was emotional when talking about Williams' influence on his coaching career. Williams hired Doherty from Davidson and, Doherty said, gave him the knowledge to move on to Notre Dame. Williams shocked and, according to Doherty's statements, probably hurt some in Carolina by turning the school down. But Doherty ensured that Williams will be a part of his Carolina extended family. Doherty was also humble in his admission that he wasn't the first choice. He said his accomplishments could not rival those of Williams, South Carolina's Eddie Fogler, Philadelphia 76ers coach Larry Brown and Milwaukee Bucks coach George Karl -- who were all ahead of Doherty on the Carolina pecking order. Doherty may not have been the first choice, but he does have the recruiting experience and the energy to keep the Tar Heels in the top 10 in college basketball. The only knock on Doherty could be his game management, but only because of a lack of experience. While he may not have had many late-game coaching decisions, he has been there as a Carolina player. He won a national championship at Carolina. He played for Smith. He served as an assistant to Williams and he coached on his own, albeit for one year. Under the Carolina criteria, Doherty fits the profile fine. Andy Katz is a senior writer at ESPN.com. | ALSO SEE North Carolina hires Notre Dame's Doherty Katz: One tree, but no forest Irish players understand Doherty's decision Carlesimo out for Notre Dame; Irish to interview Kent | |||||