Tar Heel Firsts: UNC’s first ever basketball coach Posted Jul 10, 2019 Long before Dean Smith coached a game or Michael Jordan ever stepped on a court, there was already a history of basketball at the University of North Carolina. It just so happens that the history starts with an Olympic track star. Nat Cartmell was a sprinter who had won two silver medals in the 100 and 200 meters in the 1904 Olympics in St. Louis. (Tar Heel Blog)