<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

Discuss UNC basketball with other like-minded Tar Heels fans

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

CHAPEL HILL – While Marcus Paige was in the midst of playing last season for Obradoiro CAB in Spain, he started thinking about his future.

How much longer would be play basketball? When was it time to venture into the next phase of his professional life?

A former All-America at North Carolina in the 2013-14 season, Paige had spent time with six different pro teams since last playing for the Tar Heels in 2016; his final moment a historic double-pump three-pointer tying the national championship game versus Villanova. Of course, the next and final 4.7 seconds of the contest went the Wildcats’ way, denying Paige and the Heels a title.

So, as he contemplated the future, Paige called UNC Coach Hubert Davis expressing an interest in getting into coaching, preferably with the program in which he starred for four seasons.

“He said he’d love to get into coaching and he’d love to come back here,” Davis said during his annual summer press conference last week at the Smith Center.

Nothing came of that initial conversation, but it also wasn’t the last time they had such a discussion.

“We just continued to talk,” said Davis.

Paige eventually retired from playing and was hired by Davis, an opportunity that came up when former UNC player and assistant Jackie Manuel took a job at American University.

Hired in late spring as UNC’s Director of Player & Team Development, Paige is settling into his new role at his old school. And he fits like a glove.

“I just love having Marcus here,” Davis said. “He’s just a great person.”

Paige was second-team All-American in 2014 after averaging 17.5 points per game. He was also All-ACC multiple times and an academic All-American as well.

A second-round pick by the Brooklyn Nets in 2016, Paige had a brief stint in the NBA, playing five games with the Charlotte Hornets during the 2017-18 season. He averaged 2.4 points in 5.6 minutes per outing

He was with two teams in the G-League and three overseas, and while playing for Partizan Belgrade, Paige gained Serbian citizenship. He also played for teams in France and Spain.

In coming back to Carolina, Paige reunites with Davis, who arrived at UNC as an assistant coach under Roy Williams at the same time Paige came in as a skinny freshman.

“Can you believe that? A lot has changed in 12 years,” Davis said, smiling.

They know each other well, and choosing to have Paige around the program every day wasn’t difficult for Davis.

“My relationship with Marcus, just being one of his assistant coaches and enjoying coaching him an being around him and knowing him for so many years, I know that he had a successful professional career,” Davis said.

“Not only was he great on the court, he was at the top in terms of academically and being a leader, and being that person off the court that represented not only our team, but our university and our program at the highest level. Why wouldn’t you want to have a guy like that around every day around our players?”

It helps that Paige can coach hands-on, along with Pat Sullivan, UNC’s Director of Recruiting now going on three seasons. The NCAA allows six coaches to instruct on the court now, up from four previously. So with UNC freshman point guard Elliot Cadeau having the keys to the team, Paige by his side and in his ear every day and on the floor most days, will only help escalate Cadeau’s growth.

The timing of landing Paige couldn’t have been better. As a player, Paige never indicated to Davis he wanted to get into coaching, but he certainly showed it could have been in his wiring, though.

“He was an extension of Coach Williams out on the floor,” Davis said. “Not only did he know what he needed to do out there on the court, he knew the responsibilities of everybody else out there on the floor…

“Him being a coach is not a far stretch for me thinking about his experience here as a player.”

And now, it has become a reality.