Former University of North Carolina head coach Bill Guthridge, who also served 30 years as an assistant to Dean Smith, died Tuesday night at age 77, university officials confirmed on Wednesday.
The family told team spokesman Steve Kirschner that Guthridge died of heart failure and that the coach had lived with a heart condition the past seven years. He had recently been in an assisted living facility in Chapel Hill.
Guthridge took over when Smith retired after 36 seasons in October 1997. He led his first team to the 1998 Final Four and had two players, Vince Carter and Antawn Jamison, selected in the top five picks of the NBA draft.
Guthridge also took a less talented team to the Final Four in 2000. Guthridge went 80-28 from 1997 to 2000 before retiring in June 2000.