UNC Basketball: The Importance of General Manager Jim Tanner

Before the need to hire a general manager at the college level of sports, general managers were not normally found until about 4-5 years ago. And the importance of the role makes life just a little bit easier for head coaches. In Hubert Davis' case, it seems to be the case with Jim Tanner being the first general manager in program history, and he has done an impressive job in his first offseason recruiting and handling incoming players.

As a reminder, here are the new faces to join UNC this offseason via the transfer portal:

Jonathan Powell
Henri Veesaar
Jarin Stevenson
Kyan Evans

Jaydon Young
Luka Bogavac

Six new players, including one international recruit in Bogavac (a good one at that), but this is just the beginning of what's ahead for GM Tanner and his role, working alongside Coach Davis.

To put it simply, Coach Davis can focus more on the X's and O's and less about gathering players, the responsibilities are delegated evenly — making for an effective and efficient gameplan.

GoHeels told more about GM Tanner, describing his past before taking the job at UNC — his alma mater:

"Tanner, a 1990 Carolina graduate, has represented 40 first-round NBA Draft picks, including 12 top-five selections, and six inductees in the Naismith Hall of Fame (UNC's Vince Carter, Ray Allen, Tamika Catchings, Tim Duncan, Grant Hill and Dominique Wilkins) and has negotiated more than a billion dollars in contracts for his clients.

He has represented 17 former Tar Heels in their professional careers, including Carter; Final Four Most Outstanding Players Joel Berry II, Wayne Ellington and Sean May; All-Americas Raymond Felton, Tyler Hansbrough, John Henson, Justin Jackson and Luke Maye; and top-10 first-round draft picks Marvin Williams and Brandan Wright.

"Both of my kids and I went to Carolina and we owe so much as a family to this university," says Tanner. "This is such an exciting opportunity, and I couldn't be more thrilled. The landscape of college basketball has changed dramatically in a short period of time with NIL, collectives and the transfer portal. It's a highly-competitive and constantly-evolving environment. I look forward to using my 28 years of experience recruiting and representing players to help position UNC as strategic, adaptive and innovative in scouting and attracting top domestic and international talent while staying true to the principles and values that have defined Carolina Basketball over the years.

"I look forward to working with Coach Davis, the staff, Bubba Cunningham, and the Carolina Athletics family."

A native of High Point, N.C., Tanner was a Morehead-Cain Scholar at UNC and attended law school at the University of Chicago. He sits on Carolina's Board of Directors in the College of Arts and Sciences and previously served on the Board for the Morehead-Cain Scholarship Fund."

Clearly, the ties between North Carolina and him are evident, and now his new role allows him to help the school in a big way. The times of college athletics are continuously changing, and the UNC men's basketball team is adjusting appropriately.

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