Pat Sullivan (basketball)

Patrick Sullivan (born December 15, 1971) is an American basketball coach, currently serving as the Director of Recruiting at his alma mater, North Carolina. He joined the staff of former teammate Hubert Davis in April 2021, a move that was confirmed by the school that May.[1][2] In his Tar Heel playing career, Sullivan was a member of three Final Four teams, including the 1992–93 team that won the national championship.[3] After starting with stints at North Carolina and UNCW as an assistant, Sullivan spent the majority of his coaching career in the NBA before returning to Chapel Hill.

Pat Sullivan
North Carolina Tar Heels
PositionPlayer Development
LeagueAtlantic Coast Conference
Personal information
Born (1971-12-15) December 15, 1971
New York City, New York, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
Listed weight215 lb (98 kg)
Career information
High schoolBogota (Bogota, New Jersey)
CollegeNorth Carolina (1990–1995)
NBA draft1995: undrafted
PositionSmall forward
Number3
Coaching career1997–present
Career history
As coach:
1997–2000North Carolina (assistant)
2001–2003UNC Wilmington (women's assistant)
2004–2005Detroit Pistons (assistant)
20052008New Jersey Nets (assistant)
20082011Detroit Pistons (assistant)
20132016Washington Wizards (assistant)
20162018Los Angeles Clippers (assistant)
20182020New York Knicks (assistant)
2020–2021Minnesota Timberwolves (player development/defense)
2021–presentNorth Carolina (Director of Recruiting)
Career highlights and awards
As player:

Playing career

Sullivan was born in New York City[4] and was a highly recruited high school player at Bogota High School in Bogota, New Jersey, where in 1990 he was named a third-team high school All-American by Parade Magazine.[5] The small forward ultimately chose to play for coach Dean Smith at North Carolina (UNC), choosing the Tar Heels over Duke, Virginia, Providence and Seton Hall.[6][7] Sullivan was a bench contributor and sometime starter for his most of career, and was on the floor for Chris Webber’s infamous “time-out” at the end of the 1993 national championship game. He redshirted in what would have been his senior season in 1993–94[8] which allowed Sullivan to join the 1994–95 Tar Heels, where was able to become the first Tar Heel to play in three Final Fours since 1969.[3]

Coaching career

In 1997, Sullivan was hired as an assistant coach at his alma mater, UNC under Bill Guthridge. He served in this role until 2000, when Guthridge retired and new coach Matt Doherty chose to bring in a new staff. Sullivan was then an assistant women's coach at UNC Wilmington for two seasons before leaving in 2003 for a video coordinator role with the Detroit Pistons of the National Basketball Association (NBA).[9] After being a part of the staff for the NBA champion 2003–04 Detroit Pistons, Sullivan was promoted to a full assistant for the following year. Sullivan then held assistant roles with the New Jersey Nets, a repeat run with the Pistons, the Washington Wizards and Los Angeles Clippers before joining the staff of new New York Knicks coach David Fizdale in 2018.[10][11] After a few months on the Minnesota Timberwolves coaching staff in a development role, Sullivan was reported to join new head coach Hubert Davis' inaugural UNC staff in a player development role in April. He was officially announced as the Tar Heels' new Director of Recruiting in May 2021.

References

  1. "Pat Sullivan Joining UNC Basketball Staff". 247Sports. April 26, 2021.
  2. Steve Kirschner (May 24, 2021). "Pat Sullivan Joins Men's Basketball Staff". GoHeels.com.
  3. "Sullivan holds UNC trivia key". The Daily Times. March 30, 1995. p. 21. Retrieved December 3, 2019 via Newspapers.com. open access
  4. "Carolina Basketball 1992–93". archive.org. 1992. p. 19. Retrieved December 13, 2019.
  5. "Meet Parade's high school boys' All-America basketball team". South Bend Tribune. March 4, 1990. p. 116. Retrieved December 3, 2019 via Newspapers.com. open access
  6. "Sullivan keeps 5 colleges in the running". The Record. October 18, 1989. p. 13. Retrieved December 3, 2019 via Newspapers.com. open access
  7. "Shooting stars heading south". The Record. November 15, 1989. p. 13. Retrieved December 3, 2019 via Newspapers.com. open access
  8. "Sullivan to redshirt senior year". United Press International. November 16, 1993. Retrieved December 3, 2019.
  9. Hendrickson, Brian (July 11, 2003). "UNCW loses Sullivan to NBA". Star-News. Retrieved December 3, 2019.
  10. Lee, Michael (June 29, 2013). "Wizards promote Pat Sullivan to assistant coach". The Washington Post. Retrieved December 3, 2019.
  11. Iseman, Chris (October 25, 2018). "The local basketball legend working on David Fizdale's New York Knicks coaching staff". North Jersey Media Group. Retrieved December 3, 2019.
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