Sylvia Hatchell steps back coaching to battle leukemia

Only a month removed from her induction into the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame, North Carolina women’s basketball coach Sylvia Hatchell announced she will take a temporary leave from her court side coaching duties after a recent leukemia diagnosis.

The 61-year-old coach will be treated by a team of doctors from the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center led by oncologist Dr. Pete Voorhees.

“I will remain very much involved with my team and day-to-day operations here at UNC and expect to return to my sideline responsibilities as soon as possible,” Hatchell said in a statement released Monday.

“My veteran staff and team will be well-prepared and meet any challenges until my return. Don’t forget I am a Tar Heel woman!”

Associate head coach Andrew Calder, who like Hatchell is entering his 28th season with UNC, will fill in for Hatchell as she temporarily steps away from her on-court duties.

Earlier this year Hatchell, who owns a 636-241 record in 27 seasons at UNC, became the third head coach in women’s basketball to reach 900 career wins, defeating Boston College 80-52 on Feb. 7 to capture the milestone.

Now at 908 career wins, Hatchell is the second winningest among all women’s basketball coaches, and first among active coaches.

In her 38 seasons as a head coach, Hatchell has achieved every level of success, capturing AIAW, NAIA and NCAA national championships — including the 1994 NCAA title with UNC — and eight ACC Tournament titles.

But to her players, Hatchell is more than a coach, she’s a role model and a nurturing mentor.

“I’m about to be a head coach at a middle school, on the side,” former UNC point guard Cetera Degraffenreid said. “Every time I think about the plan or thoughts, I’d go to her and what she did. The way she coached and her philosophy of coaching was absolutely wonderful. I’m just glad that she passed that knowledge on to me.

“She was a mother figure to us. If we needed her, we could go to her and she would have that warm feeling. You could approach her at any time. She would give you the best advice and she would think of you as a human being first and not just as her player.”

Degraffenreid, who played at UNC from 2007 to 2011, said Monday evening she hadn’t yet talked with her former coach but had spoken with assistant coach Tracy Williams-Johnson.

“(Williams-Johnson) said that they caught it early and coach Hatchell is in good spirits and everything and she’s going to fight it the best way that she can because she’s a fighter,” Degraffenreid said.

North Carolina men’s basketball coach Roy Williams, who had a cancer scare of his own before last year’s season, echoed Degraffenreid’s faith in Hatchell’s resilience.

“I know how much Sylvia loves to coach and compete with her team so any time that she misses will be difficult,” Williams said. “She’s tough and she will fight this with everything she has.

“All of us at Carolina and all of her friends in the coaching community will support her 100 percent in this fight.”

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