GoHeels Exclusive: A Win For All

By Pat James, GoHeels.com

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. — From Chapel Hill to Florence, S.C., they came in droves, expecting to witness history.

Only three college basketball coaches had ever reached 1,000 career wins. But none of them experienced a journey quite like Sylvia Hatchell, who began her head-coaching career in 1975 at Francis Marion College, a tiny school in Florence that had fielded a women's basketball team for only two seasons.

Eleven years and two national championships later, she became the head coach at North Carolina in 1986. She's called Chapel Hill home since, winning the 1994 NCAA championship and eight ACC titles at the helm of the UNC program.

Along the way, Hatchell created close relationships with everyone she encountered. And many of them filled the Myrtle Beach Convention Center on Tuesday afternoon.

So as the clock ticked down on the Tar Heels' 79-63 victory over Grambling State, those in attendance chanted "One-Thousand!" in celebration of Hatchell's entrance into one of college basketball's most exclusive clubs.

With her 1,000th win, Hatchell joined Duke's Mike Krzyzewski on the men's side and former Tennessee legend Pat Summitt and Stanford's Tara VanDerveer on the women's as the only Division I basketball coaches hit the milestone. Connecticut's Geno Auriemma also achieved the feat Tuesday night.

"A thousand wins, I look at that and I'm thinking, 'Oh, my gosh,'" Hatchell said. "I remember my first game at Francis Marion, and it doesn't seem that long ago. But life is good, and I'm just very thankful and blessed for all of the opportunities I've had throughout the years and this great game of basketball."

Myrtle Beach has served as a second home for UNC and Hatchell over the years. The team has played at least one game every year on the Grand Strand for 24 straight seasons, and Tuesday's historic win marked the Tar Heels' 29th in Myrtle Beach during that span.

"We love coming down here," Hatchell said. "The people are fantastic. They treat us like gold … It's really special, especially with all of the people I've seen while we've been down here and all of the memories."

If win No. 1,000 couldn't occur in Carmichael Arena, it had to in Myrtle Beach. And of course, it came in this way. It required resilience, a trait that's synonymous with Hatchell and her teams.

UNC started the game 1-for-6 from the field, as Grambling built a 10-2 lead. The Tar Heels trimmed the deficit to 23-19 after 10 minutes. But they appeared lethargic, committing six turnovers and struggling in transition defense.

"I just thought, 'Hmm, I'm going to have to coach a lot harder,'" Hatchell said. "We were flat. I called a timeout, talked to them a little bit and then I substituted a few times."

Finally, UNC took a 25-23 lead, its first of the game, on a 3-pointer by Leah Church early in the second quarter. The Tar Heels seized it for good when Jocelyn Jones broke a 35-all tie on a layup with about three minutes left before halftime. Yet they couldn't create much separation.

That remained the case early on in the third quarter. But a 3-point play by Jamie Cherry capped an 8-0 run that handed UNC a 57-47 lead with two minutes, 35 seconds left in the period.

The Tar Heels pulled away from there. And with 48 seconds left, Hatchell called a timeout to clear her bench and ensure every player participated in the game.

"Just being a part of that, that's huge," said Cherry of Hatchell's win. "It was perfect, and I'm glad I was able to help contribute to that."

Hatchell's players entered Tuesday knowing what a victory would mean, and the subject was brought up a couple of times. But they insisted on approaching the game like any other.

That, however, was no longer the case once it ended and they shook the Grambling players' hands. They surrounded Hatchell in front of the UNC bench and insisted she put on the commemorative hat and T-shirt handed to her. As she obliged, they chanted "1K."

Cameras flanked Hatchell as she then strolled to midcourt. Once there, incumbent Myrtle Beach mayor John Rhodes, a longtime friend of Hatchell's, issued a proclamation honoring her latest achievement. He promptly handed Hatchell the microphone.

"It's all because of them," said Hatchell multiples times, referencing her players.

Former Tar Heel and Francis Marion players littered the crowd. Yet none reflected Hatchell's toughness more during their playing career than Ivory Latta, who looked on from the baseline as Hatchell posed for pictures.

Latta, the 2006 National Player of the Year and UNC's all-time leading scorer, played in 121 of Hatchell's wins. And she wasn't going to miss this one.

"It's an unbelievable feeling, a feeling that (makes) you try to hold back tears," Latta said. "I'm just so happy for her. I'm blessed I was able to come down and make this special moment for her. It means a lot. She's an amazing person and coach. That's my second mom."

For Hatchell's 32 seasons in Chapel Hill, associate head coach Andrew Calder has been the fatherly figure on her coaching staff.

Hatchell and Calder became friends after meeting each other at basketball tournaments around the South. In 1984, she and Calder were chatting in the bleachers at an AAU tournament held at Francis Marion when their mutual interest in coaching at North Carolina came up.

At that time, Calder joked that he'd be Hatchell's assistant if she ever became UNC's head coach. When Hatchell accepted the job two years later, she called Calder.

Tuesday's win marked their 728th together.

"She's an amazing woman, and I've just enjoyed working with her so much," said Calder, watching as Hatchell walked through the crowd of fans. "I've learned so much from her, and it's just so great to be able to work not only with her, but at the University of North Carolina. What a great ride this has been. And we hope to continue it this year and for many years to come."

Hatchell, who will turn 66 in February, easily could have retired at any point over the past four years. She missed the entire 2013-14 season fighting leukemia. Then after returning to the bench and leading the Tar Heels to the Sweet 16 in 2015, she endured her first back-to-back losing seasons since 1989-91.

The only coach to win NCAA, AIAW and NAIA national titles, she could have moved on and immersed herself in her off-the-court activities, perhaps none more important to her than raising money for the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center.

But Hatchell never reached that point. She's still passionate about coaching, even 1,000 wins later.

"I still get nervous and get the jitters, the good jitters, before all the games," said Hatchell, finally at her press conference after mingling with all her supporters for about 30 minutes. "Whenever I lose that, that will be time to let somebody else do it. But I've got it now just as much as ever.

"And what I've gone through the last few years has absolutely renewed my passion for the game and for winning, especially at UNC."

As Hatchell's press conference ended, she turned her attention to the people standing toward the back of the room. She recognized Director of Athletics Bubba Cunningham and Chancellor Carol Folt, who also donned one of the commemorative hats. She also pointed out Dr. Beth Miller.

Miller oversaw UNC's Olympic Sports program from 1985 until her retirement in 2015. And in 1986, she called Hatchell about interviewing for the vacant head-coaching job.

"We knew she was successful at Francis Marion and knew she was going to be a good coach," Miller said. "But we never really knew we would get this far. Not that we ever doubted her at all, but 1,000 wins is a tremendous accomplishment.

"For her to stay with Carolina and to love Carolina and to be so enthusiastic over these years has just been a blessing for all of us."

And that can't ever be quantified.

University of North Carolina Athletics

Players Mentioned

Jamie Cherry

Leah Church

Jocelyn Jones

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