Matt Doherty Biography

Following seven seasons as an assistant coach to Roy Williams at Kansas and one season as head coach at Notre Dame, in July of 2000 Matt Doherty accepted the head basketball coaches job at his alma mater, the University of North Carolina.

Doherty said at the time, the tradition that's been created from Frank McGuire to Coach Smith to Coach Guthridge is second to none, this is the best job in all of basketball. I hope I can carry on the tradition, not only of winning but of excellence off the court.

In 2000-01', Doherty's first season as head coach at UNC he coached the Tar Heels to 26 wins and a number 1 national ranking. UNC had a 13-3 ACC league record and shared the regular season championship, their first since the 1994-95 season. The Tar Heels went to the ACC Tournament final game and earned a trip to the NCAA Tournament.

Doherty achieved a unique niche in ACC history never before accomplished by any ACC coach in thelong and storied history of ACC basketball. He became the only coach to win the regular season title in their first year in the conference as well as the only person ever to coach and play for a number 1 ranked team at the same school.

His first Tar Heels team won the first 18 games they played including 11 straight conference games in the incomparable ACC. This was the longest streak UNC had enjoyed since the 1985-86' season.

The Associated Press named Doherty the National Coach of the Year following the 2000-01' season and the United States Basketball Writers Association named him District Coach of the Year. Not a bad start for a man who was already living his dream.

"It's proving that you must be yourself and utilize your personality as a strength", said ESPN/ABC's Dick Vitale. "And that's what Doherty has done by working up the crowd into a frenzy with his emotional style. I have never seen the Dean Dome as alive and rocking as it was versus Wake Forest" continued Vitale. Sam Cassell once labeled the Carolina crowd as the "wine and cheese" bunch. Sorry, Sammy, but you haven't been to Chapel Hill recently.

"As a coach, Matt has the total package", says Dean Smith. "He can coach, he can teach the game to others, he represents the University the right way, is task-oriented, not time-oriented, and is obviously a much more thorough recruiter than I ever was. That's a real positive". High words of praise coming from the legendary Dean Smith, the winningest coach in Division I history.

"As a player, Matt was the consummate coach on the floor, always thinking one step ahead of the game", said former NBA All-Star and Carolina teammate Brad Daugherty. "I know in my case as a younger teammate of his, I would look to Matt for advice even more than Michael (Jordan) and Sam (Perkins) because he knew everyone's position on the floor. He always played hard and strategically. Matt brings a no-nonsense style of basketball to Carolina. The youth and enthusiasm he brings to the program are dynamite.

"I'm so pleased Matt is the head basketball coach at North Carolina because I love that program so, so much and know it's in fantastic hands," said Roy Williams. He continued on to say, "Matt is one of the most organized, intense and competitive coaches I have ever known, and those qualities will help keep the North Carolina basketball program where it is and where it should be, and that's at the top of the basketball world. The greatest compliment I can give somebody is to say how much I love that basketball program, and along with that say I am so, so pleased that Matt Doherty is in charge. He is a Tar Heel and will continue that program at the high level of Coach Smith and Coach Guthridge".

In Doherty's lone season at Notre Dame he coached the team to 22 wins in the 1999-2000 season, the best record the Irish had enjoyed since the 1988-90 season. The Fighting Irish also played .500 ball in the Big East, the first year they had not had a losing record in the five years they had been in the conference.

As one of his players said, "Coach Doherty has brought a lot of emotion. We go out there and no matter who we're playing, we believe we can win. That definitely comes from Coach Doherty. He's always behind us. He's the ultimate players' coach. He's our leader."

In Doherty's one season Notre Dame defeated five ranked teams beating 4th ranked Ohio State who had been a NCAA Final Four contestant the previous season. They also bested the previous years national champion, Connecticut as well as defeating nationally ranked St. John's and Seton Hall. The 22 win season was the most ever in the school's history by a first year coach.

"He took care of every single aspect of coaching, Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun told the Winston-Salem Journal. "I don't think what he did at Notre Dame was a miracle, but the feeling of playing Notre Dame was more difficult because of Matt Doherty sitting in that seat. He came into a tough basketball league and he wasn?t intimidated at all."

Doherty played at UNC under Dean Smith. The Tar Heels compiled a 117-21 record in Doherty?s four seasons, a winning percentage of .848. "Matt played small forward, but today it would be called point forward because he was a great passer and unselfish player," says Coach Smith. "He was a very smart player and had great savvy. He was a tremendous passer and smart defender. He was a streaky shooter, but had some big games shooting the ball. He was always thinking pass first, especially playing with Perkins and our other post players, he knew to get the ball inside first. Matt knew the game and knew the only statistic that was important was how many games we won. He played hard and played starters minutes for four seasons."

According to Coach Gutheridge, the man Doherty replaced at the Tar Heels helm "Matt had an excellent playing career at Carolina. It was obvious during his playing days he could be a very good coach if he chose that profession. He was a smart player, had a great feel for the game and knew how it should be played. He was a competitive, hard-nosed team player."

After three exciting years at UNC Doherty resigned after the season in April of 2003.

A consumate player, a consumate coach, wherever Doherty winds up you can be sure he'll bring intensity, a will to win and unquestionable integrity.

Matt and his wife Kelly have two children a son, Tucker and a daughter, Hattie Fitzgerald.

Some of his accomplishments are:

First season as head coach at UNC he coached the Tar Heels to 26 wins and a number 1 national ranking
UNC had a 13-3 ACC league record and shared the regular season championship
Tar Heels went to the ACC Tournament final game
UNC earned a trip to the NCAA Tournament
Only coach to win the regular season title in their first year in the ACC
Only person ever to coach and play for a number 1 ranked team at the same school
His first Tar Heels team won the first 18 games they played including 11 straight conference
Longest win streak UNC had enjoyed since the 1985-86' season
Associated Press named Doherty the National Coach of the Year following the 2000-01' season
United States Basketball Writers Association named him District Coach of the Year following
Coached Notre Dame to 22 wins in his only season there - 1999-2000
Notre Dame defeated five nationally ranked teams
22 win season most ever in Notre Dame's history by a first year coach
As a player the Tar Heels compiled a 117-21 record in Doherty's four seasons, a winning percentage of (.848).