Charlotte 49ers coach hires are familiar and ascendant

NORTH CAROLINA ATHLETICS

Former North Carolina assistant coach Marcus Paige has joined fellow Tar Heels alumnus Wes Miller's staff at Charlotte.

Wes Miller’s first hires as Charlotte basketball are familiar faces.

The addition of Marcus Paige and Chad Dollar as assistant coaches gives Charlotte core elements to rebuild the program. Paige, who was on Hubert Davis’ staff at North Carolina for three seasons, gives Charlotte a jolt of youth on the staff. He played seven years of professional basketball after suiting up for the Tar Heels from 2012-16.

“I’m thrilled to add Marcus Paige to our staff,” Miller said in a statement. “He is a rising star in coaching. I’ve gotten to know him well during his time as an assistant at UNC and have been blown away by him as a young man and coach. He works hard, he’s curious, and he understands the game at an extremely high level. What I’m most impressed with is how naturally he communicates and connects with young people.” 

Dollar, who worked with Miller at Cincinnati for five seasons, was promoted to associate head coach a year later.  Before landing with the Bearcats, Dollar was an assistant coach at Georgia from 2018-21 on Tom Crean’s staff; Auburn (2016–17) and Georgia Tech for five seasons, including two as an associate head coach.

“Chad Dollar is the total package as a coach,” Miller said. “He brings with him a wealth of knowledge, wisdom, and experience. He connects with young people and has a passion for teaching our game. He’s also a great evaluator and recruiter. Most importantly, we have worked together for five years, and we share the same vision and values for the direction of this program.” 

As a player, Paige is the only three-time captain in North Carolina history, finished his Tar Heels career 11th all-time in scoring (1,844 points), first in 3-pointers (299), third in steals (203), fourth in free-throw percentage (84.4%), and eighth in assists (602). He’s also first in program history with 39 three-point shots made in the NCAA tournament and was the only player in history to connect on multiple shots beyond the arc in all 13 games he played. 

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