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Jim Tanner wants to give back and work for the greater good.
The new general manager of Carolina basketball is another UNC grad who has joined the program, just what Hubert Davis said he wanted when he took over in 2021. Tanner is a Morehead-Cain Scholar whose two children also went here.
Some eyes widened when his contract terms were released. His current base annual salary is $950,000, which could jump up another hundred grand if the 2025-26 Tar Heels earn an NCAA bid and/or they sign at least one 4-star or 5-star recruit, a given at UNC.
He has yet to hold a press conference but recently was a guest on the Carolina Insider Podcast to talk about his job. He seems like a good guy and admits he has a lot to learn.
“I felt my background and skillset and relationships could be very helpful here,” he said. “You come in, it’s a collaborative environment, and so I don’t wanna overstate what I do as compared to everybody else. I felt like a lot of my background in terms of negotiating contracts, recruiting players and their families would translate nicely to this role.”
As a professional sports agent for 28 years, Tanner is probably a big help figuring out the value of scholarship players and involved in how much rev share money they get each school year. But he is not an NCAA-designated recruiter, so he can only go off campus under certain circumstances to visit prospects.
Tanner said assistant coach Brad Frederick does most of the scouting and evaluating of players outside the U.S. The overseas addition getting most of the attention is 6-6 freshman wing Luka Bogavac from Montenegro, whose 3-point shooting should be a help to the Tar Heels improving on the .356 percent from the arc last season, with no regular making close to 40 percent. Bogavac made .398 in his second of two professional seasons abroad.
Tanner said recruiting is “a team effort, and so the coaches have input in terms of who they like and who they want us to investigate. We also have (former Tar Heel) Buzz Peterson working with us who obviously was a long-time assistant GM and scout in the NBA.
“Coach Davis really cares about character and that’s something that we’re gonna evaluate,” he added. “So you’re looking not only at what they can do on a basketball court, but how they’re gonna conduct themselves off the court as well in the community.”
Davis’ fifth Carolina team (and the first without R.J. Davis) has 11 new players and only a handful of returnees. Tanner said, so far, the chemistry has been “off the charts” and they all enjoy practice and spending personal time together, like the trip to the beach they took over the summer.
Fans can get their first look at the newest Tar Heels Saturday at the Blue-White scrimmage, which begins one hour after the football game against Clemson.
Featured image via Jim Tanner
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.
