Matt Doherty had a perfect candidate in mind to replace Roy Williams as head basketball coach at Kansas University.

The candidate — drum roll please — is none other than Doherty, who has three years head coaching experience at North Carolina and one at Notre Dame to go with seven years apprenticeship under Williams at KU.

“Yes, I called to try to get involved,” Doherty said Friday by phone from the mountains of North Carolina, where he is vacationing with family members. “They (KU officials) indicated they were not interested at this time.”

Doherty, who resigned under pressure April 1 at Carolina, thought he would be a good fit at Kansas, where he was known as a tireless recruiter, good Xs and Os man and a strong member of the community.

Considering his reputation around Mt. Oread, Doherty was a bit disappointed he wasn’t allowed to make a pitch.

“I was there seven years,” said Doherty, who worked at KU from 1993 to ’99. “People there know me, and should make a decision on what they think of me, not the fallout from the North Carolina job.

“There were some (negative) remarks made at the press conference that has impacted the University of Kansas’ view of me. There’s a difference between perception and fact. I think I’d be a good candidate, but they must make the decision for themselves. I will not force myself on them. I still love Lawrence and the University of Kansas.”

He also said he’s still a close friend of new Carolina coach Williams.

There had been rumors that former Carolina coach Dean Smith orchestrated Doherty’s ouster during the season and even reached an agreement with Williams weeks, perhaps months, ago.

“From my standpoint, I felt maybe a decision was made during the season and they had to go ahead and follow through with it after the season,” said Doherty, who had a series of meetings with North Carolina athletic director Dick Baddour immediately following the season addressing concerns Tar Heel players had with their coach.

“I did not like that. I did not think the process was fair and maybe there is something to that it had already been decided, but as far as coach Williams … no. I do not buy that. Coach has been good to me. He gave me a great opportunity to come to Kansas. He put me in a position to be head coach at Notre Dame. We have always been close. It was a pleasure working with him, and I believe we’ll get together and sit down and talk very soon.”

Williams emphatically denied having agreed to take the North Carolina job before last Monday morning.

“Wanda (Williams’ wife) said one thing about the so-called conspiracy theory. She said, ‘Did anybody in their right mind think the North Carolina job would change in three years?’ That doesn’t happen,” Williams said. “So how can anybody envision that for there to be a conspiracy?

“The truth is I changed my mind 5,000 times before coming to that decision when the plane landed in Lawrence Monday morning (after his trip to Los Angeles for Wooden Awards).”

Doherty said in retrospect, he wishes he’d remained Notre Dame coach in the summer of 2000, when Williams decided to remain at Kansas and not replace Bill Guthridge at UNC.

“I tell kids that your life is nothing but a series of decisions, and you deal with the consequences,” Doherty said. “When North Carolina called me, I made the decision to go to North Carolina. It’s a decision I made. I could have stayed at Notre Dame. Looking back I wish I did stay.

“I’m a big boy. I felt if I’d have had another year at North Carolina, things would be fine there and we’d be in contention for national championships. But I will be able to move on.”

Doherty said he is looking into the possibility of working as a TV color analyst or commentator, but also would entertain coaching offers if they come along. As for now, he has no plans to leave Chapel Hill and has nothing against his alma mater.

“I always will have a good relationship with the school,” Doherty said. “I have great memories of playing at North Carolina and coaching at North Carolina. It’s the administration I had some issues with. The fact coach Williams is there, I’m sure it’ll help.

“I’ve always said time heals all wounds. Sometimes we can assume certain things went on, but we never know for sure. As far as Kansas and the people’s feelings toward coach Williams … he put in 15 great years there. As you distance yourself, it’ll heal all wounds. It’s like any divorce. It takes time for healing.”