CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- North Carolina's basketball program ran on automatic pilot for four decades under Dean Smith and Bill Guthridge.

Fans and players took it for granted that Matt Doherty would continue the tradition.

But Doherty's reign as coach of the Tar Heels ended Tuesday, his resignation concluding three seasons of tension on and off the court.

"Guys were frustrated and it wasn't because of the losing," said Rashad McCants, one of the team's freshman stars. "It was mostly because we had to go to practice every day saying, 'Man, we've got to deal with this guy.' "

Melvin Scott, a sophomore, also had his ups and downs with Doherty.

"I've been through a tough year," Scott said. "But I don't hate coach. I didn't want him to get fired. But that comes with basketball, man. Personally, I want what's best for the university. Whatever's best to get this program to where it used to be."

The team's failure to make the NCAA Tournament in two of his three seasons was secondary to Doherty's inability to lead and get along with players and athletic department staff.

"It's not about winning and losing," athletic director Dick Baddour said. "It has not been and I say that with great confidence. It's hard to predict what might have happened had we gone to the Final Four. I don't know. I had to play with the cards that I'm dealt.

"It's difficult to follow two coaches as successful as Dean Smith and Bill Guthridge," he added. "But Carolina is a basketball trust and the athletic director and the head coach are charged with maintaining that trust."

	Matt Doherty failed to make the NCAA Tournament in two of his three seasons.

Baddour and chancellor James Moeser portrayed Doherty as a coach who failed to communicate and connect with his players, and was unable to move the storied program forward with a 53-43 record in three seasons.

"The issue here is not basketball," Moeser said. "It's not wins and losses or players running the program. It's about leadership."

The 41-year-old Doherty leaves with three years left on a six-year contract that paid him $855,000 a season. He will receive $337,500 from the school, which will include $150,000 from the upcoming basketball camp, Baddour said.

"Our responsibility has been immense given the outstanding tradition of the University of North Carolina," Doherty said in a statement. "I have always recognized and taken very seriously the responsibility entrusted to us as a coaching staff. That responsibility extends to our players and fans and ultimately to the tradition I have personally been a part of since 1980. I continue to wish the best for this program and this university."

Doherty's resignation came after Baddour held a series of meetings with players and parents, some of whom complained about the coach's intense practices and drastic mood swings. Three players transferred last season and others talked about it this year.

Doherty was a Tar Heels fixture long before he took over the program, having played with Michael Jordan in the early 1980s.

He left Notre Dame and returned to North Carolina to succeed Guthridge, and for the first season, things were fine. North Carolina went 26-7, but slipped to 8-20 last season -- the worst record in the program's history.

This year, his young team finished 19-16.

Baddour picked the inexperienced Doherty after Roy Williams -- a former assistant to Smith -- turned down UNC to remain at Kansas. It's unclear whether Williams, whose team is in the Final Four, will be a candidate again.

"This is a very exciting, very satisfying time for me, my players and Kansas basketball," said Williams, who hired Doherty as an assistant at Kansas. "I'm just planning to enjoy the hell out of this week. I'm not letting anybody bother me with any junk that doesn't have to do with Kansas basketball, great places to eat and rivers to spit in."

Baddour said he had no specific timetable for hiring Doherty's replacement.

"It will be a national search," he said. "It will be open. It will not be limited to members of the Carolina family."

After the team's final game last Wednesday night in the NIT quarterfinals, most of the players said they would return and supported their coach. The next day, Baddour met with them as a group and then individually.

"It's undeniable that there has been some turmoil regarding the status of players in the program for some time," Baddour said. "Coach Doherty worked hard to get beyond that turmoil and at times was successful.

"This is extremely difficult for Matt and his family. It is made harder by the fact that coach Doherty is one of our own."