Veteran NBA agent Jim Tanner will be North Carolina basketball’s general manager, UNC athletic director Bubba Cunningham announced Tuesday. Tanner’s hiring comes after fourth-year coach Hubert Davis revealed this month that he intended to hire a GM amid a rocky season for the Tar Heels in an evolving college basketball landscape.
The announcement of Tanner’s hiring came just before WRAL reported that Davis signed a contract extension in December that will run through 2030.
Tanner is the founder and president of Tandem Sports + Entertainment and represents NBA stars Desmond Bane and Jarrett Allen. The 1990 UNC graduate has represented 40 first-round NBA Draft picks over a career spanning nearly three decades.
“I am excited and happy to have Jim join our staff and the UNC family,” Davis said. “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.”
General managers in college athletics rarely wield the authority and autonomy of their professional sports counterparts. However, hiring GMs to assist in roster management has become commonplace in college basketball during the NIL era, and a hire of Tanner’s repute suggests the Tar Heels are serious about arming their GM with legitimate power.
Among his responsibilities will be assisting in roster construction, contract negotiation and the assembly of staff in the scouting/analytics space.
“We are so pleased and excited to bring on an individual with Jim’s decades-long legal and financial experience in negotiating contracts, in identifying top talent across the country and throughout the international game, who works with the best people in all aspects of the sport,” Cunningham said. “This is a new position at Carolina but it is one that numerous programs, including ours, have identified as essential to continue to compete at the championship level in college basketball.”
When Davis revealed the program’s plans to hire a GM earlier this month, he noted how much college basketball has changed since he succeeded the legendary Roy Williams as coach after the 2020-21 season.
“There’s just so much stuff out there,” Davis said. “I mention owner, GM, fundraiser, basketball coach. 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.”
After beginning the season at No. 9 in the AP poll, North Carolina (18-11, 11-6 ACC) sits as one of the “first four out” of the projected NCAA Tournament field, according to CBS Sports Bracketology Expert Jerry Palm. However, UNC has won four straight games and has manageable contests against Miami and Virginia Tech ahead before closing the regular season with an all-important game vs. No. 2 Duke on March 8.
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