Filed under: UNC, ACC, Coaches, FanHouse Exclusive
He was on a first-name basis only with many fellow students during his freshman year at the University of North Carolina. He also had a standard response for those who quizzed him about his parents, specifically his mother. He simply offered she worked in the school's athletic department, quickly changing the subject while figuring not many would press him for a more detailed explanation.
Four years later and a senior walk-on on the North Carolina men's basketball team, Van Hatchell still has some explaining to do.
"I have people coming up to me even now saying they never knew who my mom was," the good-natured Hatchell said and laughed.
"They will ask, 'Why didn't you tell me?' I just didn't bring it up, that's all. I would never tell anyone who my mom was just because I didn't want people to like me because of that or think I was here because of her."
Hatchell's mother, if you haven't guessed, is Sylvia Hatchell.
She's the coach of UNC's women's basketball team, the first and only coach to lead teams to national championships at the AIAW, NAIA and NCAA levels. Since arriving at UNC in 1986, Hatchell has directed the Tar Heels to one national title (1994), eight ACC titles and six 30-win seasons.
No comments:
Post a Comment