Who remembers the 1990s era of UNC basketball? With Dean Smith and Bill Guthridge as head coaches, North Carolina maintained its streak of historic dominance, winning the 1993 National Championship and making four additional finals appearances.
One player from the early 90’s, King Rice (1987-1991), is now the head coach at the University of Monmouth. The Hawks consistently finish with a winning record in conference play, but are unable to break into the playoffs.
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With a growing community coaching movement in today’s college basketball world, Rice will have another former Tar Heel on its staff this season. Monmouth recently announced the addition of Shammond Williams as UNC’s assistant coach.
Williams earned ACC Tournament MVP honors in 1997, leading North Carolina to the conference title over NC State, plus made two all-ACC teams. Williams then played seven NBA seasons and several more overseas, before retiring from Furman and joining as an assistant coach in 2012.
There are several other former UNC players with coaching gigs, most notably Michael Malone on the first staff. Deon Thompson is the director of development for the Tar Heels, while Sean May and Brandon Robinson are assistant coaches. Wes Miller, the first outside candidate considered for the North Carolina head coaching job, is now the boss in Charlotte.
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Ironically, the Tar Heels will host Monmouth as part of their non-conference schedule, with a Nov. 23 game at the Smith Center. There will almost certainly be some kind of exchange, when these two programs fight, which feel serious “Carolina Family”.
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This article originally appeared on the Tar Heels thread: Former Tar Heel and ACC Game MVP hired by Monmouth Basketball