Marcus Paige, who became one of the most beloved Tar Heels in recent memory during his four years in Chapel Hill, will return to UNC and join the men’s basketball coaching staff. Inside Carolina first reported the news in April, and the basketball program confirmed it with a release on Friday.

“I am thankful and honored to be a part of UNC Basketball with Coach [Hubert] Davis and his staff,” said Paige in a statement. “I’ve always wanted the opportunity to make the same positive impact on players that my former coaches, including Coach [Roy] Williams and Coach Davis, made on me.”

Paige will assume the role of Director of Team and Player Development. That role was most recently filled by Jackie Manuel, who left the program this offseason for an assistant coaching position at American University. The position means Paige will be allowed to sit on the bench during games.

Manuel’s responsibilities with Carolina included video services, career development and coaching the UNC junior varsity basketball team.

Paige played under head coach Roy Williams at Carolina from 2012 through 2016, immediately starting at point guard as a true freshman after the departure of Kendall Marshall. Paige finished his career with 139 starts and still ranks as UNC’s all-time leader in three-pointers made (299), attempts (798), consecutive games with a made three (41) and three-pointers made in the NCAA Tournament (39). The last of those makes is one of the most indelible images in Carolina history: a double-clutch shot in the waning seconds of the 2016 NCAA championship against Villanova which tied the game. Ultimately, the Wildcats won the game on a buzzer-beater to deny Paige a national title in his final collegiate game.

“It’s hard, because at some point tonight I have to take this jersey off, and I never get to put it back on,” a despondent Paige said after the game.

Paige’s No. 5 jersey is honored in the rafters at the Smith Center due to him being named a second team All-American as a sophomore. His work in the classroom also earned him Academic All-American honors three times, and Paige graduated with a degree from the School of Media and Journalism. He won the Skip Prosser Award, given to the ACC’s top scholar-athlete in basketball, twice.

“The standard for every Carolina basketball player is to be elite in three areas: on the court, in the classroom and in the community,” said Davis. “There was no better example of that than Marcus Paige. I am thrilled to have a person with his character, love, passion, and devotion to this program and university be around our players every day.”

 

Featured image via Todd Melet

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