CHAPEL HILL, N.C. ? The door to the basketball office at the Smith Center was locked Wednesday.

In years past, that might have meant North Carolina was in the Final Four. And if the tournament happened to be in New Orleans, all the better.

The Big Easy was a big, lucky charm for Dean Smith, who won two national championships there — one with a skinny kid named Michael Jordan.

So much has changed.

The best of college basketball is indeed in New Orleans this weekend, but the Tar Heels are still on campus, sorting through a mess that came to a head Tuesday night with the resignation of coach Matt Doherty.

He submitted it shortly after athletic director Dick Baddour concluded 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.

The Tar Heels also made the NCAA Tournament only once during Doherty’s three-year tenure.

Suddenly the cool, calm model of college basketball success, painstakingly built over four decades by Smith and Bill Guthridge, had an image problem along with a need to return to national prominence.

“There probably are aspects that we have to be concerned about,” athletic director Dick Baddour said. “If we’ve lost any luster I think we can replace it quite easily.”

Added chancellor James Moeser: “The foundation of this program goes very deep. It is not a difficult building process to build strength on a strong foundation.

“The regrettable thing about this is it really has divided the supporters of this university,” he said. “One of the things we have to do now is rally to the people who love this program and unify that support behind the new head coach.”

Doherty, who played for Smith and alongside Jordan, didn’t return phone calls Wednesday. The lights were out in his closed office. A few boxes filled with photos sat in the lobby. The school said it might look outside the “Carolina Family” for his successor.

John Montgomery, president of the school’s Educational Foundation, which helps fund athletic scholarships, said the group didn’t pressure Baddour to replace Doherty.

In fact, he said, donations are on a record-setting pace this year and he’s confident the basketball program will rebound from any negative publicity once a new coach is hired.

“Our brand is very strong and we all know that,” Montgomery said.