University of North Carolina Athletics
A History Of The Carolina JV Program
November 12, 2007 | JV Men's Basketball
Nov. 12, 2007
Junior varsity teams were originally used at Carolina as freshman teams because freshmen were not allowed to play on the varsity team until the 1970s.
After most schools decided to get rid of their teams Carolina's staff decided they wanted to keep the team so that non-scholarship students were all given the chance to play basketball for UNC. Carolina also uses their J.V. team as a way for varsity assistant coaches to gain experience as a head coach. Roy Williams was a J.V. coach for eight years before he took the helm as the head coach of the varsity team.
Students at UNC are only allowed to play on the team for two years, and then they are given a chance to try out for the varsity. The J.V. team also serves as a way for coaches to evaluate players for two years on the J.V. so they will better know what to expect when they try out for varsity later. Just this year, former J.V. players J.B. Tanner, Patrick Moody and Jack Wooten made the varsity team.
UNC's J.V. team plays a combination of teams from Division II and III schools, some community colleges, and a few prep schools from around the North Carolina area.
