Know what will be really funny?

Maybe Doh and Siefert have been talking about game strategy

 

...with Barney Fife

 

Baddour needs to go. New AD. New BB Coach.

 

There were two less than flattering articles in today's edition of the Raleigh News and Observer.

Baddour gives support to UNC coach
By Barry Svrluga, Raleigh News & Observer

North Carolina athletics director Dick Baddour said Wednesday that he remains firmly behind basketball coach Matt Doherty, though he stopped short of saying Doherty definitely would be back next season.
"I am very supportive of Matt," Baddour said. "He's trying to build this program. I think the kids are playing hard. I think the fans are into it. He's providing encouragement, and we're just trying to work through all this."

When asked whether his support meant Doherty would return in 2003-04, Baddour hesitated.

"I don't want to get in a word game," he said. "I support Matt, and he will be evaluated after the season, just as any of our coaches would be."

Doherty, whose team is struggling to stay above .500, is in the third year of a six-year contract that pays him $855,000 annually. UNC pays him only $145,000 in base salary and $25,000 for expenses; the rest comes from contracts with athletic apparel maker Nike and Learfield Communications, which produces Doherty's television and radio shows.

If UNC should decide to let Doherty go after this season, UNC would owe him $510,000. Doherty did not return a phone message Wednesday.

The Tar Heels (14-13, 4-9 ACC), who are eighth in the nine-team league, are heading toward their first appearance in the ACC Tournament play-in game between the eighth- and ninth-place teams. The Heels have lost eight of their past 11 games.

The last three ACC losses have been particularly painful. An 80-77 loss Feb. 15 at Clemson prevented the Heels from pulling within one game of .500 in the league. On Saturday, the Heels suffered their worst ACC loss ever, 96-56 at Maryland. On Tuesday night, they lost 75-67 in overtime to rival N.C. State after leading by six points with 2:55 left in regulation.

The losses led to a busy Wednesday at the offices of the Educational Foundation, the UNC booster group better known as the Rams Club. Some boosters, their patience wearing thin, called the foundation's leaders.

"We've had a lot of activity," said John Montgomery, the Rams Club president. "I think what sums it up is that our fans want to win as badly as our players and coaches do.

"Saturday, we did suffer a loss by 40, but then we had a great crowd [Tuesday] night from the beginning to the end of the game. We just didn't get that victory, and that's what frustrates fans -- they want to win as badly as anybody."

Doherty's record in three seasons at Carolina is 48-40, including 22-33 over the past two years and just 21-24 in ACC regular-season games. He was The Associated Press' national coach of the year in 2001, but the Heels missed the NCAA Tournament last year for the first time since 1974, and unless they win the ACC Tournament, they are unlikely to go this season.

The current team, the youngest in Division I, was picked to finish seventh in the ACC in a preseason poll. But Carolina raised expectations by starting 5-0, winning the Preseason NIT and jumping back into the national rankings.

However, center Sean May broke a bone in his left foot Dec. 27, and the Heels are 7-10 without him.

"The whole year, we needed him," freshman Rashad McCants said.

Doherty's relationship with some of his players also has been troubled at times. The freshmen, particularly McCants, have chafed at his intense style. Last year, three players transferred.

Baddour said he hears from boosters with a range of opinions.

"I'm certain that some people are upset, and I hear from some of those," he said. "But I also hear from people who are saying that Coach Doherty loves this university. He's committed to it. He needs time to develop. ...

"I believe people that I talk with are understanding of the youth issue. They're understanding of the injury issue."

Baddour would not discuss the details of how Doherty will be evaluated after the season.

"I would like to answer that question, but I don't want to go there," Baddour said. "What we do, what Coach [Doherty] does, what every coach we have does, is do a thorough review of the program -- and all aspects of it are considered."

Baddour said his confidence in Doherty stems from the coach's work ethic.

"He's working hard. His staff is working hard. There's a lot of energy there. I think there's success in our future, and I hope there's success the rest of this season. I don't have any signs that anybody's given up on anything."

 

UNC has to make a call
By Caulton Tudor, Raleigh News & Observer

In today's era of tight athletic budgets and million-dollar coaching contracts, the uncomfortable truth is that North Carolina can't afford to be average in basketball. The question facing UNC is simple: Is Matt Doherty the right coach to get the Tar Heels back into the top 10 nationally and keep them there?
If the school believes the answer is yes, Doherty should get a fast, definitive statement of support - something a lot stronger than athletics director Dick Baddour offered Wednesday.

If the school thinks the answer is no, then he shouldn't be given a fourth season.

Either way, Carolina would be taking a big risk.

If Doherty is retained for another year and doesn't produce an ACC championship contender, valuable catch-up time and top recruits probably will be lost.

If Doherty is fired, what does Carolina do next? Does it turn away from the Dean Smith coaching tree or maintain its loyalty to former Smith players or assistants?

That UNC would be in such a unsavory predicament hardly seemed possible in the final month of Doherty's first season. But when that talented 2000-01 team went from the top ranking nationally to a 5-5 finish and a second-round NCAA loss to Penn State, Doherty's stock with Carolina fans began a slide that still hasn't stopped.

Barring an upset against Wake Forest or Duke next week, Doherty's third team is on track to finish 15-15 in the regular season and would need at least one ACC Tournament victory just to be considered for the NIT field.

The neighborhood losing streaks stand at six against Duke, four against N.C. State and three against Wake.

While the link to UNC's tradition of greatness continues to grow thinner, so does the influx of top recruits. So far, Doherty has signed one for next season - wingman Reyshawn Terry of Winston-Salem. The two centers he wanted badly - David Padgett and Brian Butch - picked other schools.

Even if Doherty returns next season, a big recruiting haul isn't likely. Top prospects rarely sign with coaches in such uncertain situations, and most of next year's top high school seniors will sign in November.

Doherty would have to win big next season and then use that success as recruiting bait for the 2004-05 crop of seniors.

Is all of this fair to the coach?

Absolutely not.

While Doherty has done very little to establish that he's an above-average coach or even making much progress, almost all college coaches have the right to expect four or five seasons to prove themselves.

After replacing Bill Guthridge in midsummer of 2000, Doherty had little time to recruit the November signees.

After the loss of Joseph Forte, Brendan Haywood, Ronald Curry and Julius Peppers from his first team, Doherty's second squad lacked quickness.

The current team has suffered immeasurably from the loss of center Sean May in December because of a foot injury.

Much of what happened has been beyond Doherty's control.

But none of that misfortune changes the fact that the school's reputation as a basketball power has all but evaporated; some players have left the program abruptly; one-sided losses have become commonplace; and many fans simply have lost confidence in Doherty.

It should be pointed out that both Smith and Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski faced crises in their third seasons, Smith in 1964 and Krzyzewski in 1983. But it should also be pointed out that Doherty was handed an extremely talented team. Smith and Krzyzewski were not.

Besides, times have changed. So has athletic budgeting. Losing is a more urgent financial issue now, and the investment in a head coach has become a matter of millions of dollars rather than thousands.

That's why Carolina can't afford to be average in basketball. And that's why the school must soon make a firm commitment - either to keeping Doherty for at least one more season or to changing coaches.