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UNC hires longtime NBA agent Jim Tanner as basketball general manager

North Carolina has hired longtime NBA agent Jim Tanner as its men’s basketball executive director and general manager, the program announced Tuesday.

Tanner will work directly with head coach Hubert Davis to modernize the program’s infrastructure, especially the Tar Heels’ recruiting and name, image and likeness efforts. The program’s release said that Tanner will also be responsible for identifying and hiring new scouting and analytics staff members.

Tanner is a 1990 UNC graduate who currently serves on the university’s Morehead-Cain Scholarship Fund Board of Directors. He has multiple decades of experience working in sports management, first alongside longtime NBA agent and executive Lon Babby — who represented Tim Duncan, Grant Hill, and Ray Allen — before eventually branching out and starting his own agency, Tandem Sports + Entertainment, in 2013. Today, Tanner counts many former Tar Heels as clients, in addition to active NBA players like Memphis Grizzlies guard Desmond Bane and San Antonio Spurs forward Jeremy Sochan.

“Both of my kids and I went to Carolina and we owe so much as a family to this university,” Tanner said in a statement. “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.

In the wake of UNC’s 17-point loss to rival Duke earlier this month, Davis announced during his radio show that he would be hiring a general manager, despite previous resistance to the idea.

“I never would have thought in the four years that I took the job that 100 percent what is needed is a general manager,” Davis said. “It’s so much on the plate that it’ll take you away from doing what’s the most important thing — which is coaching basketball.”

Pressed further on potentially hiring a general manager last week, Davis declined to provide further details. “Nothing has changed, but I just want to stay away from commenting about that position,” Davis said. “I want to talk about basketball. That’s the only thing that’s on my mind.”

A source familiar with the negotiations said that the process of hiring Tanner has been in the works for several weeks, dating back to before the Super Bowl.

Hiring Tanner represents Davis’ second attempt at getting his arms around the modern college sports landscape. He first hired TJ Beisner, formerly Kentucky’s director of player development, in September 2023 to oversee UNC’s NIL efforts — but Beisner technically worked for the program’s then-collective, Secondary Break Club, rather than as an in-house member of UNC’s athletic department. (Secondary Break Club has since merged with UNC’s preexisting football collective, Heels 4 Life, into one overarching organization, Old Well Management.) Beisner still works for Old Well Management, but after the collectives merged, his duties no longer solely applied to assisting the men’s basketball program.

That’s where Tanner comes in. In many ways, he’s the ideal candidate for this role: someone familiar with professional negotiations who also has institutional knowledge of North Carolina and its men’s basketball program. Since Davis became UNC’s head coach in April 2021, he has maintained a preference for only having former Tar Heels on his staff. (All five of Davis’ assistant coaches played at UNC.) And while a source familiar with the search process said that UNC interviewed at least one candidate who did not attend the university, Tanner’s ties and experience make him a more obvious fit.

“I am excited and happy to have Jim join our staff and the UNC family,” Davis said in a release. “Jim’s experience and knowledge is needed in helping us navigate contracts, the transfer portal and the advancement of this program. His resumé speaks for itself and his commitment to this university and community make him a great addition to the Carolina men’s basketball program.”

UNC’s recruiting and roster-building efforts have come under fire this season amidst the team’s 18-11 campaign, which has the Tar Heels squarely on the NCAA Tournament bubble entering the final two weeks of the regular season. After blowout losses to Duke and Clemson earlier in February, UNC has now won four straight games with a new starting lineup to keep itself in contention for March Madness. Davis’ team is still 1-10 in Quadrant 1 games against the sport’s best teams, but has the chance to earn a second in its regular-season finale vs. rival Duke next Saturday.

The Athletic’s most recent bracket projection, released Tuesday morning, did not include the Tar Heels in the field of 68; North Carolina instead was among the “First Four Out.”