North Carolina officially announced the hire of Tandem Sports + Entertainment president and founder Jim Tanner as its men’s basketball executive director and general manager on Tuesday.
Tanner has represented more than 70 NBA players over a 28-year career and the school announced he will help manage roster construction, negotiate contracts, identify and hire new scouting and analytics staff and spearhead player development programs.
“Both of my kids and I went to Carolina, and we owe so much as a family to this university,” a press release statement from Tanner read. “This is such an exciting opportunity, and I couldn’t be more thrilled.
The landscape of college basketball has changed dramatically in a short period of time with NIL, collectives and the transfer portal. It’s a highly-competitive and constantly-evolving environment.
I look forward to using my 28 years of experience recruiting and representing players to help position UNC as strategic, adaptive and innovative in scouting and attracting top domestic and international talent while staying true to the principles and values that have defined Carolina Basketball over the years.
I look forward to working with Coach Davis, the staff, Bubba Cunningham and the Carolina Athletics family.”
Tanner, a 1990 UNC graduate, was Morehead-Cain Scholar at UNC and attended law school at the University of Chicago. He has represented 40 first-round NBA Draft picks, including six inductees in the Naismith Hall of Fame (Vince Carter, Ray Allen, Tamika Catchings, Tim Duncan, Grant Hill and Dominique Wilkins), and negotiated more than a billion dollars in contracts for his clients.
“I am excited and happy to have Jim join our staff and the UNC family,” coach Hubert Davis said. “Jim’s experience and knowledge is needed in helping us navigate contracts, the transfer portal and the advancement of this program. His resumé speaks for itself and his commitment to this university and community make him a great addition to the Carolina men’s basketball program.”
Tanner has represented 17 former Tar Heels in their professional careers, including Carter; Final Four Most Outstanding Players Joel Berry II, Wayne Ellington and Sean May; All-Americas Raymond Felton, Tyler Hansbrough, John Henson, Justin Jackson and Luke Maye; and top-10 first-round draft picks Marvin Williams and Brandan Wright.
Sports Illustrated recognized Tanner twice as one of the “101 Most Influential Minorities in Sports.” He was named to the Washington Business Journal’s list of Minority Business Leaders and was recognized on Washingtonian’s list of “Top Lawyers” for media and sports law.
“We are so pleased and excited to bring on an individual with Jim’s decades-long legal and financial experience in negotiating contracts, in identifying top talent across the country and throughout the international game, who works with the best people in all aspects of the sport,” athletic director Bubba Cunningham said.
“This is a new position at Carolina but it is one that numerous programs, including ours, have identified as essential to continue to compete at the championship level in college basketball.”
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