The Tar Heels are losing their long-time coach after the season
Before the Tar Heels play Oregon in the Final Four, news has broken out that North Carolina will be losing one of their coaches for the 2017 season. Just like the football team has lost several of their staff in the offseason, the basketball team will soon be without assistant coach C.B. McGrath. The long-time coach is reportedly in agreement to be the next head coach of the UNC Wilmington Seahawks.
McGrath has gone everywhere Roy Williams has gone for the last 20 years. After playing under Williams for Kansas from 1994-1998, he joined the coaching staff there through the 2003 season. When Roy Williams was hired by North Carolina, he made the leap to Chapel Hill alongside his former coach.
This move became possible after NC State fired head coach Matt Gottfried after six seasons without much hope in sight for the program. UNC Wilmington head coach Kevin Keatts was hire to fill the vacancy earlier this month. Now McGrath is shifting over to replace Keatts.
In his time with UNC, McGrath has assisted in recruiting and scouting, while also providing bench coaching duties. He oversaw the team’s coaches clinic and the autographed basketball program, which supported local charities. McGrath was a big part of Carolina basketball, and he will certainly be missed.
Not only will North Carolina be losing a strong coach, but they have lost one of their best recruiters. McGrath built himself a reputation as a strong recruiter after working with stars like Marcus Paige, Brice Johnson, Joel Berry, Kennedy Meeks, and Isaiah Hicks. He also helped to bring in guys like Luke Maye and Seventh Woods, who have bright futures ahead of them.
This is probably not the greatest time for the news to come out, since the team is in the middle of a run at the National Championship. The players will have to look past something like this, which can create unwanted distractions, in order to overcome the Ducks and whoever they might face next.
