Former UNC basketball fan favorite making a name for himself coaching

Jackie Manuel is putting together a solid coaching resume
North Carolina Tar Heels v Illinois Fighting Illini
North Carolina Tar Heels v Illinois Fighting Illini | Elsa/GettyImages

Jackie Manuel is coaching with the same grit and determination he brought to the floor with UNC in the early-mid 2000s. Manuel was the defensive stopper on a team full of stars. The 2005 Tar Heels were a star-studded squad that won a national championship under Roy Williams -- his first title.

While future lottery picks like Marivn Williams, Raymond Felton, Rashad McCants and Sean May got most of the publicity, it was Manuel that did a lot of the dirty work. He was often assigned to stop the opposition's best wing man, and he excelled at it, being named to the All-ACC Defensive Team in 2004 and 2005.

After a professional career that was marred by injuries, Manuel decided to trade in the high tops for a chalkboard. He started his coaching as an assistant strength and conditioning coach at UNC in 2011 and made stops at UNC-Greensboro, Valparaiso and UNC-Wilmington, before coming back to Chapel Hill. Manuel spent time as an assistant for the women's team and later as the Director of Player and Team development for a Tar Heels squad that made it to the 2022 NCAA championship game.

Since 2023, Manuel has been an assistant at American University, and it could be his last stop as an assistant before being given the opportunity to run his own program. Manuel told the Palm Beach Post that he always had a love for teaching and sharing knowledge.

“From the time I left college, I always had passion for pouring into guys coming behind me and really trying to help them and provide whatever knowledge,’’ Manuel said. “I didn’t know that would prepare me for coaching. I just felt like things I learned, I wanted other guys not to go through - from my experiences.’

Manuel has always had a special relationship with the Tar Heel nation. As much as they appreciated the stars on that 2005 team, they also loved Manuel's intensity on the defensive end. There's no doubt that many in and around Chapel Hill are pulling for him to get his first head coaching opportunity.