The junior varsity men's basketball team at the University of North Carolina was a two-year program that gave non-scholarship students the opportunity to continue their basketball careers at the collegiate level.[2] Tryouts for the J.V. team occurred every year prior to the beginning of basketball season in October. Players were only allowed to play on the J.V. team for two years and then they are given a chance to try out for the varsity team as a walk-on. With a valid physical examination, any student that attends the university could try out for the J.V. team. The J.V. team was coached by assistant varsity coaches, who were given the opportunity to gain head coaching experience while fulfilling their assistant duties at the varsity level.[3]Hubert Davis, prior to his promotion to head coach for the varsity team, was the head coach of the J.V. team. After the COVID-19 pandemic shut down sports in spring 2020, the J.V. team did not compete again until the 2022–23 season. The 2024–25 season was the J.V. team's final season.
The J.V. team originated as a freshman team when scholarship freshmen were not allowed to play their first year as a student per NCAA rules.[4] Following the 1972 NCAA rule change that made freshmen eligible for varsity action, the University of North Carolina established its junior varsity team in place of the freshman team while most other schools across the nation disbanded their freshman teams.[5]
To comply with the House v. NCAA settlement, which limits NCAA basketball rosters to 15 players, UNC Basketball disbanded the J.V. team after 53 years.[6][7]
Roy Williams, the former head coach of the men's varsity basketball team at the University of North Carolina, coached the J.V. team for eight years while serving as an assistant for Dean Smith. Jerod Haase, the current head coach for the Stanford Cardinal men's basketball team, coached the J.V. team for three years while serving as an assistant to Williams. Phil Ford, the second-leading scorer in North Carolina history, also served as a coach for the J.V. team. The former head coach of the North Carolina Tar Heels baseball team, Mike Fox, played for the J.V. team in 1975 and 1976.[9] Former Tar Heel assistant Doug Wojcik also served a stint as the J.V. coach.[10] Three of the walk-ons for the 2008–09 national championship team, J. B. Tanner, Jack Wooten, and Patrick Moody (younger brother of Christian Moody),[11] were graduates of the J.V. program.
Hubert Davis coached the J.V. team for six seasons from 2013-2019 before Roy Williams's retirement resulted in Davis's promotion to varsity coach.[12]Marcus Paige coached the team during its final seasons.[6]
Notes
↑ "Primary Identity"(PDF). Carolina Athletics Brand Identity Guidelines. April 20, 2015. Retrieved March 4, 2024.
Helms and Premo-Porretta national championships in bold; NCAA Final Four appearances in italics; NCAA championships in bolded italics
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