UNC basketball alum Quentin Thomas joins UTSA basketball coaching staff

Former UNC basketball player Quentin Thomas has joined the coaching staff at the University of Texas at San Antonio.

Thomas will join head coach Austin Claunch's staff as an assistant coach and director of operations. The Roadrunners finished 12-19 in Claunch's first season at the helm, so it's no surprise that this many changes were made. It is an ideal situation for Quentin Thomas to get his feet wet in Division I basketball, because there's really nowhere to go but up in San Antonio.

It's not a bunch of chumps in the American Athletic Conference, so Thomas will have to roll his sleeves up. Memphis is the name brand, but there are plenty of hard rocks to bang your toe on, but they can also be stepping stones.

Quentin Thomas has been climbing the ladder the hard way, starting in the high school ranks before landing an assistant coaching gig under head coach Gary "The Glove" Payton (famously bested by Michael Jordan in the 1996 NBA Finals) at College of Alameda.

Thomas was a Tar Heel during a period of great importance in Chapel Hill. As a freshman, he was part of the 2005 national championship team. He suited up for 123 wins during his four years, though he did not play in all of them. Mostly a back-up, he was beloved for the role he took on with David Noel shepherding a group of talented freshmen in 2006, culminating with a shock upset over No. 1 Duke on J.J. Redick's senior night.

Good luck to Coach Thomas as he continues his career in San Antonio!