North Carolina Tar Heels v Illinois Fighting Illini
North Carolina Tar Heels v Illinois Fighting Illini | Elsa/GettyImages
Jackie Manuel is coaching with the same grit and determination he brought to the floor with UNC in the early-mid 2000s. Manuel was the defensive stopper on a team full of stars. The 2005 Tar Heels were a star-studded squad that won a national championship under Roy Williams — his first title.
While future lottery picks like Marivn Williams, Raymond Felton, Rashad McCants and Sean May got most of the publicity, it was Manuel that did a lot of the dirty work. He was often assigned to stop the opposition’s best wing man, and he excelled at it, being named to the All-ACC Defensive Team in 2004 and 2005.
Its been 22 years since Carolina beat Kansas. The unranked Tar Heels shocked #2 Kansas in the 2002 Preseason NIT at MSG, 67-56. Carolina’s star freshman led the way, including a dynamic slam from Raymond Felton off the steal from Jackie Manuel.
After a professional career that was marred by injuries, Manuel decided to trade in the high tops for a chalkboard. He started his coaching as an assistant strength and conditioning coach at UNC in 2011 and made stops at UNC-Greensboro, Valparaiso and UNC-Wilmington, before coming back to Chapel Hill. Manuel spent time as an assistant for the women’s team and later as the Director of Player and Team development for a Tar Heels squad that made it to the 2022 NCAA championship game.
Since 2023, Manuel has been an assistant at American University, and it could be his last stop as an assistant before being given the opportunity to run his own program. Manuel told the Palm Beach Post that he always had a love for teaching and sharing knowledge.
Jackie Manuel returns to Chapel Hill tonight as an assistant coach with the American Eagles!!
A captain on the 2005 National Championship team, Manuel was electric in transition for the Heels, including a huge dunk in the epic win over Duke.
