Hartford, Conn. — Compare tapes of Matt Doherty's first two years as a head coach with one from this horrid season and the differences are tough to find.
He still cajoles the crowd, his arms up higher and waving more than any of his players on defense.
As a rookie at Notre Dame and then in his first season at North Carolina, Doherty's sideline demeanor was often talked about and routinely criticized. It hasn't changed even though the Tar Heels are in the midst of their worst season in four decades.
"I don't like losing but I like coaching this team and I like these kids," he said. "I really believe this situation is good for Matt Doherty the coach in that it's going to make me a better coach. I've learned a lot about patience, a lot about nurturing kids. I learned about teaching young people."
He has also learned plenty about himself.
Doherty, 39, doesn't have the look you might expect from a coach with a 5-11 record and whose second season is about to alter his alma mater's impressive history.
There's no haggard face or weight swings. In fact, the 6-foot-7 Doherty about to celebrate the 20th anniversary of his NCAA title as a player could be mistaken for one of the current Tar Heels except for the head of gray hair.
There has been no physical toll on Doherty, who helped himself by coming into the season in shape.
"Heck, I started working out in August and stopped eating sweets for the most part," he said. "Heck, I'm in the best shape I've been in since I played college basketball."
Doherty's teams were 117-21 while he wore Carolina blue. He was 22-15 as a rookie coach at Notre Dame and then 26-7 last season at Carolina.
It's been a long time since Doherty was on a team that finished with a losing record.
"My baseball team at St. Rayfield's, the Mustangs, we weren't very good. That's probably the last time," he said, referring to his Catholic Youth Organization days on Long Island.
"As an assistant at Davidson we were below .500 my three years there. It's different as an assistant. As an assistant it doesn't fall as squarely on your shoulders. As a head coach you feel at times it defines you as a person and that can be depressing at times, but I've been able to step out of the coaching mode and put on Matt Doherty the husband and dad's hat.
"I think having kids has been great because when I come home my son is 41/2 and all he wants to do is play Power Rangers and wrestle with me. My daughter is 21/2. My son is just starting to figure out that I coach but he doesn't know."
Doherty knows he has a lot of critics, but he's concentrating on the support.
"I have a weekly radio show I do at Michael Jordan's 23 restaurant and the last two weeks I've had some of the best crowds at my show over the last two years," he said. "All the calls have been positive and one night as I was leaving they gave me a standing ovation."
That may change as the run of 27 consecutive NCAA tournament berths ends barring an astounding ACC tournament run. And the string of 31 consecutive 20-win seasons is over since there are 11 games left in the regular season.
Doherty says he won't change, as long as he feels his team is giving him all it can.
He said that after the loss to Florida State, the fourth of the current six-game losing streak, he talked to the team and gave himself some advice as well.
"When we got back to the Smith Center after that loss I said I was proud of them for battling back from being down 18 points and taking the lead and that I had fun coaching the team and I hope they had fun playing," he said.
"You can't lose sight of why we do this, because it is fun. It is fun to compete in a college basketball environment especially the ACC and on national TV. I saw some guys nodding their heads. Yeah, we're disappointed, but why do we play this game? Because it is fun first and foremost and we want to win. It is fun to play college basketball and coach college basketball."
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