Oct. 16, 1999

NOTRE DAME, Ind. – On March 30, 1999, the Notre Dame men’s basketball program announced the hiring of its 16th head coach,Matt Doherty. Doherty brings with him not only an intense vision of the future but a storied past in the world of college basketball. Today the Irish Insider examines his approach to rebuilding the Notre Dame program in this final installment of a three-part series.

The number one requirement for a new coach is to have a vision and the new Irish head coach Matt Doherty brings just that to the Notre Dame program.

With such a storied past in the world of college basketball, Doherty has seen what it takes for the recipe of success.

He brings to a struggling team, all the ingredients, which he feels is needed to obtain success. Having played at North Carolina under the tutelage of legendary coach Dean Smith, he brings the same team mentality.

“The most important thing is taking care of the players and treating them with respect,” Doherty said. “It is caring for the players and putting the players first and foremost. They have to feel special and realized they are special. The players are the ones out on the court doing it. They have to respect me and know that I care about them. Then I think they will really be committed to doing a good job for me and Notre Dame basketball.”

Having participated in two of the top programs in the country, Matt Doherty brings a lot to the table at Notre Dame.

After being hired, his first goal remained simple. He wanted to talk to the current Notre Dame players and assure them that he knew what they were going through. Doherty wanted to try and connect with them immediately.

“My first goal was to talk to current players and tell them what I expected form them and from myself,” Doherty said. “I told them that I have been part of some winning programs as a player and a coach and that I knew what they were going through.”

What excites most people about Doherty is his recruiting skills. While under the watchful eyes of Kansas head coach Roy Williams, Doherty developed his recruiting abilities. Although, the new head coach has undergone some questions from fans. Many want to know how he can sell Notre Dame to young people when he himself did not select it. When Doherty graduated from Holy Trinity high school, he selected North Carolina over Notre Dame.

“I tell them that it is one of the best institutions in the world,” Doherty said. “Notre Dame is known worldwide. It is a great education. You are going to get to meet a lot of great people. You will make relationships that will last you a lifetime and benefit you a lifetime. You will be in a class or a dorm room with kids that are going to be successful and that will help you later in life when you develop those relationships.”

In order to catch the eye of Doherty, a player must retain the fundamentals like pass, handle and shoot.

“If you can’t do some of those things very well then you have to be something special in terms of a great athlete either really quick or really tall,” Doherty said. “You have to do something unique, otherwise I want guys that can pass, handle or shoot. It is also important that they play hard.”

Perhaps the strongest testament to the new coach’s work ethic and vision is the statement which his former boss, Williams , released after Doherty’s hiring.

“Matt was very important to our basketball program and will be greatly missed by me personally and everyone involved with Kansas basketball,” Williams said in a statement. “He was very influential in every aspect of our program, and his efforts were an integral part of our success.”