When old Coach Dean Smith announced the end of the meeting, Qin Zayne stood up and stretched.
He was still filled with confusion until Bill Guthridge patted him on the shoulder.
"Do you have any plans for the evening, Swann?"
Looking at Bill Guthridge, whose face carried a faint smile mixed with a touch of worry, Qin Zayne felt as if he had grasped something.
"No."
"Then let's go. I'll treat you to the best Carolina BBQ in Chapel Hill."
As the saying goes, "He who offers gifts without reason has a hidden agenda." Qin Zayne was increasingly convinced that Jimmy Black's sudden aggression and Dean Smith's ambiguous attitude must have something to do with Bill Guthridge.
The two left the meeting room one after the other. Before leaving, Qin Zayne even crossed paths with Jimmy Black.
What chilled him was that Jimmy Black, who had mocked him just minutes ago, actually smiled at Qin Zayne.
"What the hell… is this for real?"
The University of North Carolina where Qin Zayne worked should, strictly speaking, be called the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Although it is sometimes referred to as a branch campus, it is actually the flagship and birthplace of the UNC system.
Therefore, most of the buildings at this university, founded in 1789, exuded an ancient, historic atmosphere.
The office building used by the school's basketball team was a very old building called Fetzer Hall.
Because future parking needs had not been considered when the campus was first built, Qin Zayne's old AMC car could only be parked in a designated spot in the residential area.
He went downstairs with Bill Guthridge and saw the old coach pushing a bicycle out of a nearby bicycle shed.
"Do you know how to ride? You ride, and I'll sit in the back."
Qin Zayne naturally couldn't let a man in his fifties ride while carrying him. He took the handlebars and said,
"Get on, but you'll have to give me directions. I have no idea where the best Carolina BBQ in Chapel Hill is."
Qin Zayne wobbled as he carried old Guthridge off. Along the way, various passersby kept greeting the coach.
Old Guthridge smiled and replied, saying to Qin Zayne, "By the way, you need to get yourself a bicycle. The campus at Chapel Hill is too crowded. You can't drive that car of yours; you'll have to rely on a bicycle for your daily commute."
Qin Zayne replied, "Okay."
Once there were fewer pedestrians, Qin Zayne finally couldn't hold back: "I think today's coaching staff meeting was very strange."
He was riding in front and couldn't see the expression on old Guthridge's face in the back seat. What he didn't know was that Guthridge was already smiling bitterly at that moment.
"We'll talk when we get there."
Old Guthridge took Qin Zayne to a barbecue restaurant not far from the campus. He asked for a private room, and after sitting down, he began:
"Carolina BBQ is different from other American barbecues. It's mainly pork shoulder, served with white vinegar and apple cider vinegar…"
However, Qin Zayne didn't care about any of that.
"All right, let me tell you exactly what's going on…"
After ordering, old Guthridge noticed that Qin Zayne was still distracted, so he stopped stalling.
It turned out there were factional disputes within the UNC coaching staff. The root of everything was that Dean Smith was aging and his health was not very good. Although he was a legendary head coach, his retirement plans were already on the agenda.
Therefore, the question of Dean Smith's successor had been discussed within UNC.
For a traditional NCAA powerhouse like this, they generally wouldn't hire someone from outside; lineage was very important.
Thus, UNC's next head coach had to be selected from within.
The internal discussions resulted in two options. One was for lead assistant coach Bill Guthridge to take over.
Originally, this option should have been the consensus, but the problem was that old Guthridge was not young either. This choice couldn't solve the problem permanently; it might only last two, three, four, or five years.
Thus, a second option appeared.
That was to select a young, rising star from the current UNC coaching staff to succeed Dean Smith. And Jimmy Black, a member of the 1982 championship team, was the obvious choice.
Dean Smith had always remained neutral and impartial regarding the struggle between Bill Guthridge and Jimmy Black.
Qin Zayne finally understood the ambiguous attitude Dean Smith had shown at today's meeting…
But he still didn't quite understand: "Why does Jimmy Black want to fight for the recruiting power?"
"Because I am the lead assistant coach, my authority is higher than his. But in the past, he controlled the team's recruiting power, which just barely allowed him to be on par with me in terms of authority."
Old Guthridge explained: "You took away the recruiting power, so he is just an ordinary post-development coach. Naturally, he isn't willing to accept that."
"I see."
No wonder, Qin Zayne thought, when he was leaving, why Jimmy Black smiled at him—it was creepy.
Now, everything made sense.
Jimmy Black wasn't targeting him, Qin Zayne; the essence of it was just a struggle for power.
As a newcomer, Qin Zayne naturally had to ponder and recall: who exactly succeeded Dean Smith in his previous life?
But he really had no memory of it. He only knew that after the 21st century, someone with UNC lineage, who was currently coaching at the University of Kansas and already had one NCAA championship—Roy Williams—returned to UNC. He took charge of UNC until the moment Qin Zayne transmigrated.
But he truly didn't know who the head coach of UNC was between Roy Williams and Dean Smith.
"Forget it, forget it. This matter has nothing to do with me for now."
Old Guthridge didn't know what Qin Zayne was thinking at that moment. He just kept smiling bitterly:
"Originally, I hoped you could land Damon Stoudamire, so that you could completely suppress his Donald Williams, but I still underestimated the difficulty of recruiting Damon Stoudamire…"
He shook his head: "Now it looks like he will inevitably take back the recruiting power."
This guy was acting very pessimistic, but Qin Zayne laughed at this moment:
"To be honest, Bill, I actually don't want to help you. Your struggle with Jimmy Black has nothing to do with me."
Old Guthridge nodded, acknowledging this point.
"Even if you wanted to help me now, you couldn't beat Donald Williams…"
Qin Zayne, however, slanted his eyes: "Who said that?"
Old Guthridge chuckled: "It looks like you have a lot of confidence in the Eric Snow you recruited?"
"Of course."
The barbecue old Guthridge ordered arrived. Qin Zayne picked up a piece, took a big bite, and mumbled:
"You just wait and see!"
"But don't get me wrong. I want to take down Jimmy Black entirely for my own sake. I don't want to hold the title of Recruiting Coach without having the power to recruit."
Old Guthridge shook his head and laughed: "Then you are wrong. Actually, Jimmy Black taking back the recruiting power might not be a bad thing for you."
"Oh? How so?"
"Do you still remember why Dean kept you on?"
"Because of my defensive tactics?"
"That's right. Dean thinks you are a tactical genius. If your recruiting power is taken away, Dean will most likely train you as a lead assistant coach. You will be like me—able to do a bit of everything, just like me, and like a real head coach."
"That would really be a good thing…"
Qin Zayne narrowed his eyes. Compared to being a Recruiting Coach, he was actually a bit eager to become an all-around assistant coach.
"If you want to read the chapter in advance.
Please visit: https://www.patreon.com/c/Dinos2_0"