1923–24 North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball team

The Tar Heels had played the previous two seasons without a coach.[2] The Tar Heel wrote that "If Carolina continues to lead the South in this branch of athletics, a capable coach will have to be employed."[3] On January 16, 1923, it was announced that Graduate Manager of Athletics Charles T. Woollen tapped current law student and Freshman football and basketball coach Norman Shepard to become head coach of the varsity basketball team.[4] Shepard had turned down the opportunity to coach the varsity team prior to their previous season because he felt he was busy coaching the Freshman teams already and was completing his Bachelor of Sciences in Commerce degree.[5][6] Shepard had played Freshman football and basketball at Carolina in 1919 then left the school for Davidson College where he was an athlete there as well.[4] Shepard had a brief stint in minor league baseball and attended the University of Illinois' coaching school led by football coach Robert Zuppke.[4] After taking the position, Shepard stated: "I hadn't intended to stay in coaching."[7] Prior to the season beginning, practice was being held three times a week.[8] The latter portion of the schedule was revised and announced on January 8, 1924.[9] The alterations mainly involved date changes with games like the Mercer game being moved from January 9 to the 8th, the Washington & Lee and Virginia games swapped dates, and the Durham Elks game that was scheduled for January 4 was pushed back to January 22nd.[9] In addition, there were five open dates revealed.[9] The schedule, as in years past, features a northern tour that will go through the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia.[9]

Winton Green was named captain for the team for the 1923-24 season.[10][8] Guard Carl Mahler who played in the previous season, did not return to school and thus was not a part of the team.[10][8][11] Sam McDonald was announced to be returning in early December and thought to be the one to replace Mahler's guard spot,[8] but later did not participate.[N 2] Monk McDonald did not participate in practices in early December due to schoolwork and was not expected to be on the court until after Christmas.[8] Jack Cobb and Billy Devin got promoted to varsity from the previous season's Freshman team.[8] Cobb quickly became known as "Mr. Basketball" on campus.[7] Cobb was versatile on the court and able to shoot, rebound, and pass effectively.[7] Bill Dodderer, who was a star of the 1921 Freshman team, returned to school and got placed on varsity.[8] The only reserve not expected to return was Thomas Graham.[8]

The Tar Heel published a pre-season article where an author wrote: "Carolina has without a doubt the chance of her life to set fire to this neck of the woods during the coming season."[8] The writer cited the return of Seniors Carmichael, M. McDonald, and Green as being among the best players in the South.[8] Expectations were also high due to the performance of the team the previous two years, winning the Southern Conference Tournament in 1922 and going undefeated in the 1922–23 regular season, only to lose in the tournament due to fatigue and illness.[12][8] The Charlotte Observer wrote that Green, Cobb, and Jimmy Poole were the best looking forwards on the team in their season preview.[11] The writer elaborated on Poole saying that he weighed 120 pounds but is fast and can pass well.[11] The writer expressed belief that the bench for this team was much deeper than that of the 1921–22 conference tournament champions.[11] The Charlotte Observer felt Carolina's schedule was "exceptionally hard" and pointed to the Mercer game being a tough one after Christmas break since they were runner's up in the conference the year before.[11]

On March 4, The Tar Heel reported that Coach Shepard would be leaving in March for China to work as a representative for the Liggett and Myers Tobacco Company.[6] His departure caused "a great deal of regret" for the student body.[6] In 1943, after spending six months researching material, the Helms Athletic Foundation named the team retroactive national champions.[15][16][17] Carmichael and Cobb were named an All-Americans at the Forward position for 1924.[15][16] In 2009, the Premo-Porretta Power Poll added rankings for the 1895–96 through 1947–48 seasons, which also deemed the Tar Heels national champions for the 1923–24 season.[18]

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