UNC Basketball: Jeff Lebo joins high school coaching staff

The former UNC basketball star embarks on a new coaching challenge as he will serve as an assistant coach at West Carteret High School.

Imagine being able to add a coach who has 20-plus years of NCAA and NBA G-League experience to your town’s high school varsity basketball coaching staff. For West Carteret High School, that has become a reality.

Former Tar Heel Jeff Lebo has agreed to join the school’s coaching staff as an assistant basketball coach. This will mark the first time that the 54-year-old has coached at the high school level. But in terms of experience, it may be very difficult to find a coach that matches Lebo’s basketball resume.

Out of Carlisle High School, Lebo was a four-year starter. During his high school career, Carlisle posted an incredible 108-9 record, winning the 4A Class State Championship during his senior year. Lebo earned McDonald’s All-American honors, and went on to play his collegiate basketball in Chapel Hill.

Once he arrived at North Carolina, Lebo’s success continued. He became an All-ACC caliber player, and helped lead the Tar Heels to a 116-25 record from 1985-1989. During that span, the Tar Heels made four Sweet 16 and two Elite 8 appearances.

Even though his time in Chapel Hill ended over 30 years ago, Lebo is still included in the Tar Heels’ record books. Currently, he ranks second all-time in three-point percentage (.428), and fifth all-time in free-throw percentage (.839).

After his collegiate career ended, it didn’t take long for Lebo to join the coaching ranks. He became an assistant coach at East Tennessee State, and then spent time in the same role at Vanderbilt and South Carolina.

His first head coaching gig came in 1998 when he took over the Tennessee Tech basketball program. After four years with the program, Lebo also served as the head coach of Chattanooga, Auburn and East Carolina over a span of almost 19 years.

Most recently, Lebo was serving as an assistant coach in the NBA G-League. This winter, you’ll see him on the sidelines in a similar role that he’s grown accustomed to, but will be at a much different level than he’s typically used to.

The level of competition may be different, but Lebo’s love for the sport of basketball remains the same. With his new role, Lebo will probably also have more time to watch some North Carolina basketball this season, as his son Creighton is a freshman on the team’s roster.

Continue to follow the Keeping It Heel team for all the latest news and updates regarding the North Carolina Tar Heels men’s basketball program.