University of North Carolina Athletics
Doug Moe
Tar Heel Great Doug Moe Passes Away At Age 87
February 20, 2026 | Men's Basketball
Doug Moe, a first-team All-America forward as a Tar Heel in the 1960-61 season, passed away on Tuesday February 17 at the age of 87.Â
Moe was a two-time All-ACC pick at Carolina, averaging 20.4 points and 14.0 rebounds as a senior in 1961 and 10.6 boards per game in his career. Hall of Famer Billy Cunningham is the only Tar Heel to average more in a season or career. He later played professionally in Italy, was a three-time All-Star in the American Basketball Association (ABA) and an NBA head coach for 15 seasons, winning 628 games and earning NBA Coach-of-the-Year honors with the Denver Nuggets in 1987-88.
Harvey Araton of The New York Times published this obituary of Moe on Thursday:
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Doug Moe, an irreverent, freewheeling N.B.A. head coach who prided himself on rarely calling preplanned plays across 15 years on the bench, and whose promising playing career was curtailed by a connection to a college point-shaving scandal, died on Tuesday in San Antonio. He was 87.
Larry Brown, the Hall of Fame coach and a close friend and former college teammate of Moe's at the University of North Carolina, said the cause was cancer.
A sports journalist's dream, Moe was as colorful as he was unpredictable. He called players who were without great technical ability but who had intangible qualities of passion or instinct, "stiffs" — a term of endearment, he said, because "a stiff has no talent, but he can help you win."
Below that in his lexicon were "no-hopers," players with neither talent nor intangibles.
Moe's wardrobe, loud and rumpled, matched his full head of shaggy hair. He was once fined by the N.B.A. front office for throwing water on a referee. Dismayed by his players' lack of effort in one game, he ordered them to stop playing defense after a certain point so that the opposition could set a team scoring record.
After coaching the San Antonio Spurs for several years in the late 1970s, he was hired by the Denver Nuggets in 1980. But he was fired by the Nuggets in 1990 during a front-office shake-up by the team's new owners, who thought he was a bit too animated and profane on the bench. This came despite his making the playoffs in nine of 10 seasons with the team and being named N.B.A. coach of the year in 1987-88.
Moe showed up for a news conference after the announcement wearing a Hawaiian shirt, uncorked a bottle of champagne and toasted the following season — when, under his contract, he would be paid for not working.
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To read the rest of the Times' obituary, click here.
Moe was a two-time All-ACC pick at Carolina, averaging 20.4 points and 14.0 rebounds as a senior in 1961 and 10.6 boards per game in his career. Hall of Famer Billy Cunningham is the only Tar Heel to average more in a season or career. He later played professionally in Italy, was a three-time All-Star in the American Basketball Association (ABA) and an NBA head coach for 15 seasons, winning 628 games and earning NBA Coach-of-the-Year honors with the Denver Nuggets in 1987-88.
Harvey Araton of The New York Times published this obituary of Moe on Thursday:
Â
By Harvey Araton
Doug Moe, an irreverent, freewheeling N.B.A. head coach who prided himself on rarely calling preplanned plays across 15 years on the bench, and whose promising playing career was curtailed by a connection to a college point-shaving scandal, died on Tuesday in San Antonio. He was 87.
Larry Brown, the Hall of Fame coach and a close friend and former college teammate of Moe's at the University of North Carolina, said the cause was cancer.
A sports journalist's dream, Moe was as colorful as he was unpredictable. He called players who were without great technical ability but who had intangible qualities of passion or instinct, "stiffs" — a term of endearment, he said, because "a stiff has no talent, but he can help you win."
Below that in his lexicon were "no-hopers," players with neither talent nor intangibles.
Moe's wardrobe, loud and rumpled, matched his full head of shaggy hair. He was once fined by the N.B.A. front office for throwing water on a referee. Dismayed by his players' lack of effort in one game, he ordered them to stop playing defense after a certain point so that the opposition could set a team scoring record.
After coaching the San Antonio Spurs for several years in the late 1970s, he was hired by the Denver Nuggets in 1980. But he was fired by the Nuggets in 1990 during a front-office shake-up by the team's new owners, who thought he was a bit too animated and profane on the bench. This came despite his making the playoffs in nine of 10 seasons with the team and being named N.B.A. coach of the year in 1987-88.
Moe showed up for a news conference after the announcement wearing a Hawaiian shirt, uncorked a bottle of champagne and toasted the following season — when, under his contract, he would be paid for not working.
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