CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (WNCN) – As the modern, ever-changing landscape of college sports continues to evolve, the University of North Carolina men’s basketball program is beginning to adapt to the times.
The university plans to hire long-time sports agent and UNC-Chapel Hill alumnus Jim Tanner to be the Tar Heels’ first general manager in men’s basketball history, according to a report from Inside Carolina on Monday night.
Tanner, a High Point native who graduated from UNC in 1990 as a Morehead-Cain scholar, accepts this role after embarking on a highly respected career as a sports agent. After his time in Chapel Hill, he later went on to earn a law degree from the University of Chicago, eventually becoming the founder and president of Tandem Sports + Entertainment.
He’s represented a wide range of notable professional athletes, such as the likes of Basketball Hall of Famers Tim Duncan, Dominique Wilkins, Grant Hill and Ray Allen. His current NBA clients include Memphis Grizzlies guard Desmond Bane, Cleveland Cavaliers forward Jarrett Allen, San Antonio Spurs forward Jeremy Sochan and New Jersey Nets guard Cam Thomas.
In early February, UNC men’s basketball coach Hubert Davis promised major institutional adjustments to the program, amid the rise of name, image and likeness (NIL) deals for student-athletes as well as free player movement through the transfer portal. He said these adjustments consisted of expanding the program’s resources, like additional staff and hiring a general manager.
“We’re going to hire a GM,” Davis said during the “Hubert Davis Live” radio show with play-by-play announcer Jones Angell on Feb. 3.
The fourth-year UNC coach mentioned the program also needs a director of marketing and fundraising for name, image and likeness, a video coordinator, a recruiting coordinator, as well as a graphics coordinator.
“All those different types of stuff that have to be built out, whether it’s from specific hires or grad students,” Davis said.
The old model for Carolina basketball just doesn’t work,” he continued. “It’s not sustainable. It has to be built out, because there’s so many things in play with NIL, the transfer portal, agents, international players. You just need a bigger staff to be able to maintain things. You need a bigger staff so I can do what I’m supposed to be doing, and that’s coaching basketball.”
When asked what he meant about his “old model for Carolina basketball” remarks, Davis clarified he was referring to “staff-wise, not the foundation of this place. That’ll never change.”