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Who’s going, who’s coming and who’s staying at Carolina.
After much speculation, John Montgomery has announced his retirement as executive director of the Educational Foundation, also known as the Rams Club. Montgomery says he will retire at the end of this year but agreed to stay until his successor is named.
“Monty” arrived in 2001 during a true lapse in our athletics. During the last six months of 1997, UNC suffered seismic changes in its coaching and administration, a testament to the stability here over the two-plus decades.
John Swofford left to be commissioner of the ACC, replaced by Dick Baddour. The Dean Smith era ended, and Matt Doherty was in his short stay as hoops coach. Then Mack Brown received an offer from Texas he could not refuse.
All three changes began with career assistants, which celebrated UNC’s penchant for loyalty over experience and ability. And within five years, three more marquee coaching changes occurred. Montgomery stepped into that revolving door.
He wasn’t a Carolina grad, which always makes an athletic fundraiser’s job tougher because he has to learn names of all the former Tar Heel athletes. And Monty did that well. As just the third leader of the Rams Club, he began building memberships, setting and beating annual fundraising goals and growing the endowment.
UNC has hired Parker Executive Search to begin looking for another Monty, and that won’t happen by going outside. Carolina is a different place, not like the most powerful power schools that want to win and will give gobs of money if they do. Tar Heel alumni stay loyal whatever the records might be.
That doesn’t mean the lines don’t light up at the Rams Club after disappointing losses.
It would be hard to lose both Montgomery and athletic director Bubba Cunningham, who is still rumored to be the top choice at Michigan State, where former UNC chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz is the president at East Lansing. The Detroit media has tagged Bubba as the leading contender, although reports say one of two preferred candidates dropped out. Cunningham is not the type to announce, “I am staying.”
The most likely loss looks to be basketball star Drake Powell, who has said he is staying in the NBA Draft but still has until May 28 to withdraw and return to college. The would-be rising 6-foot-6 sophomore from Pittsboro has been quoted by bloggers as saying he was disappointed with how much he had to play out of his natural position (small forward) last season, further stoking criticism of Hubert Davis’ development ability.
Powell is a first rounder in only one mock draft, but he may be testing well for speed, quickness and vertical jump and why he sat out the games that end the combine.
Perhaps an NBA team has guaranteed to draft him and sign him to a rookie contract. Still, Powell must prove he can make that team’s roster or it’s the G League, baby!
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Featured image via Todd Melet
Art Chansky is a veteran journalist who has written ten books, including best-sellers “Game Changers,” “Blue Bloods,” and “The Dean’s List.” He has contributed to WCHL for decades, having made his first appearance as a student in 1971. His “Sports Notebook” commentary airs daily on the 97.9 The Hill WCHL and his “Art’s Angle” opinion column runs weekly on Chapelboro.Chapelboro.com does not charge subscription fees, and you can directly support our efforts in local journalism here. Want more of what you see on Chapelboro? Let us bring free local news and community information to you by signing up for our newsletter.
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