Coach Doherty suits up to lead Shocker squad
Coach Doherty suits up to lead Shocker squad
All season long, men's basketball coach Matt Doherty strove to get the student body excited about his team, and he succeeded. Now students are returning the favor, calling on Doherty to take part in the most popular student basketball tradition on campus, Bookstore Basketball.
Doherty, a collegiate star at North Carolina in the early 1980s, readily agreed to participate. In fact, playing Bookstore Basketball was one of the first things he did after accepting the head coaching position a year ago.
"I want to compete with the students, and have fun with the student body," Doherty said.
In 1999, Doherty played on "Lebo's Legends", a squad named after former Tarheels player Jeff Lebo. That team bowed out in the tournament's early rounds, but Doherty hopes his second try will fare better.
This time around, Doherty and his assistant coaches, who are also playing in the tournament, left the team assignments up to the Bookstore Basketball commissioners. Doherty went to the first team to ask for his services, a freshman-dominated squad called Shocker.
"I needed a big guy, and he's 6-foot-8," sophomore captain John Moravek said. "So I called him and asked him."
Since Doherty will miss some games due to his travels for recruiting, Moravek signed on four freshmen to fill out the roster: Nick Alfermann, Phil Brennan, Brandon Oliver and Kyle Fager. They haven't all had an opportunity to practice together because of Doherty's travel schedule, but Moravek predicts good things from their 29th-ranked squad.
"I think we have a good chance of making it to the round of 32," Moravek said. "Our strength is definitely our shooting, so hopefully we'll be able to knock down some shots."
As a sophomore at North Carolina, Doherty helped lead his school to the 1982 NCAA Championship. Of course, he had a little assistance from one of the best basketball players of all time — former Chicago Bulls great Michael Jordan. Looking back, Doherty jokes that his main weakness as a college player was giving Jordan the ball too frequently.
"I passed the ball too much in college," Doherty said. "I think it's time to make up for that."
With that in mind, the 38-year-old coach set down a half-serious ultimatum for the other guys on his Bookstore team Shocker.
"They better be able to pass the ball and set a lot of screens to get me open," Doherty said.
No matter how much time Doherty spent around basketball this year in coaching the Irish to a 22-15 record, there's only so much a person can do when he's sitting on the bench. That's why he's looking for a return to the more active days of his Division I career. At North Carolina, he became just the second player in Atlantic Coast Conference history to tally 1,000 points, 400 rebounds and 400 assists in his career as a forward.
After 16 years out of college, however, the prime physical shape necessary to make a run at a Bookstore title surprised Doherty a year ago.
"I didn't know it was full-court. I thought it was half-court," Doherty said. "We're going to definitely be prepared this time. I need to get in shape."
Doherty emphasizes conditioning on his Irish team. He once forced the players to run 304 wind sprints while he sat on the sidelines sipping a glass of water. That coaching regimen won't get him in shape for Bookstore. Doherty claims to be doing early morning conditioning to get in shape for the 2000 tourney, a boast his players and assistant coaches would be glad to test him on.
Several may get the chance, as outgoing seniors Jimmy Dillon, Skylard Owens and Todd Palmer are all eligible to compete in Bookstore Basketball.
"They don't want to go up against me," Doherty warned with a smile.
Shocker's first game will be Tuesday at 6:15 p.m. on the Stepan basketball courts. Doherty's team will go up against a squad called "Who's the Animal?" comprised of five women from Lewis Hall.
All Sports Stories for Thursday, April 6, 2000
