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Randy Wiel was once first in line to be Carolina’s head coach.
The former Tar Heel player and assistant coach died this week at 74 after a gallant fight against cancer. There was so much about his life and career, I hardly know where to start.
Rest in peace ? A Tar Heel forever pic.twitter.com/KQKMwSdaWt
— Carolina Basketball (@UNC_Basketball) October 15, 2025
For example, he was a basketball player and policeman in Curaçao in the summer of 1975 when former Duke star Dick DeVenzio met him while giving a clinic on the Netherland Antilles Island. DeVenzio learned Randy spoke five languages and was a serious musician as well as maybe being good enough in basketball to benefit a worthy program.
DeVenzio loved that Wiel was a swimmer in the 1967 Pan American Games and a sprinter in the 1968 Olympics, where he watched UNC star Charlie Scott start for the gold medal-winning team in Mexico City before going home to join the local police force.
Having been recruited by Dean Smith in the late 1960s, DeVenzio knew a lot about the iconic Carolina program while Duke was struggling under coach Bill Foster. When he told Smith about Wiel, assistant coach Bill Guthridge hopped on a plane to go meet him and see him play.
Guthridge told Smith he did not know whether Wiel could earn a lot of playing time with the Tar Heels but said his influence as a mature international student would have a great effect on their roster, where Smith always liked to have some foreign culture.
Wiel was an instant hit at UNC and soon in the town of Chapel Hill. He was a better musician than a hooper and sang with his guitar for fellow students and their girlfriends at Granville Towers. Of course, Wiel starred on the team’s intramural softball squad that won the campus championship. After graduating, he went home to play for the Dutch National Team and was the third leading scorer in the Dutch Federation with 765 points in 1980-81.
He joined Smith’s staff in 1986 and stayed for seven years, including winning the 1993 NCAA championship with former teammates Phil Ford and Dave Hanners on the bench. Next, he was head coach at UNC-Asheville and at Middle Tennessee from 1996-2002.
That included the crazy summer of 2000 when Roy Williams decided not to return to Carolina after Guthridge retired. Matt Doherty, who had just finished his first year as head coach at Notre Dame, was invited for an interview and eventually got the job.
UNC wasn’t sure about Doherty’s lack of head-coaching experience, so Smith had Hanners find Wiel and bring him in for an interview, too. Randy had to jump on a plane from Europe while Hanners was at the Hub in downtown Chapel Hill buying him a suit.
If Doherty had not been hired, Wiel would have been the next head coach of the Tar Heels. And his experience and personality would have made him a damn good choice.
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Featured image via Todd Melet
Art Chansky is a veteran journalist who has written ten books, including best-sellers “Game Changers,” “Blue Bloods,” and “The Dean’s List.” He has contributed to WCHL for decades, having made his first appearance as a student in 1971. His “Sports Notebook” commentary airs daily on the 97.9 The Hill WCHL and his “Art’s Angle” opinion column runs weekly on Chapelboro.Chapelboro.com does not charge subscription fees, and you can directly support our efforts in local journalism here. Want more of what you see on Chapelboro? Let us bring free local news and community information to you by signing up for our newsletter.
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