All About UNC Commit Dylan Mingo with Munch Williams

Who is UNC commitment Dylan Mingo? To better answer that question, Sherrell McMillan and Joey Powell talked to someone who knows him well: Terrence “Munch” Williams, the executive director of Mingo’s travel program, ProScholars Athletics.

Williams discusses his new book, “Here Are the Answers: A Roadmap for Navigating Success in the Business of Youth Basketball,” and breaks down the business, mentorship, and infrastructure behind elite grassroots basketball.

Through that lens, he examines how those principles shaped Mingo and what UNC fans should understand about the ecosystem that prepared him for Chapel Hill. This conversation goes beyond rankings and highlights to explore the structure, decision-making, and character development that often dovetail with long-term success at Carolina.

Watch the full interview above and scroll down for excerpts…

Who is Dylan Mingo?

Terrance “Munch” Williams: “Dylan is one of those guys where I knew he was going to make it and continue to make whatever it is on and off the court, just because of his roots, his foundation, his process, his deliverance and staying steady, not wavering too high, not getting too low. You can coach him extremely hard, but you also could correct him as a man, right?

“I’ll give you a story. We have a (rule) about wearing the same stuff in the airport. Same sweatsuit, same backback, even if you are a USA Basketball guy, it doesn’t matter. He had on a different jacket and I lost it. ‘You’ve been in this program three, four years, and I jumped his bones, as they say, and he kind of let me do it. And this is in front of his teammates, right? 17 years old, first thing in the morning, 7 a.m. and he never wavered. 

“He waited to the end (and asked to speak to me). He said the reason he didn’t have his jacket is he gave it to his brother. We had three or four sweatsuits in rotation – spoil your kids – but he was humble enough to know where I was coming from. We’re trying to do things in a certain way. That’s going to prepare you for going to Carolina. They’re not just wearing anything, right? So he’s going to be prepared in so many different forms and fashion. So I knew from day one he was a killer. He’s a killer on the court, and he’s disciplined off the court, and those are my type of guys.”

Mentorship

“If you listen to Dylan’s announcement… ‘this coach, this coach and this coach, I want to thank you for your mentorship.’ He didn’t say, ‘I want to thank you for helping me make learn how to box out’. He said, ‘I want to thank you for your mentorship’. And he has multiple stable parents, but to have other mentors in different spaces is so important for these young men and women. Can I go to this person and talk about my love life? Can I go to this person and talk about my academics? If you have a committee of people, then you can become a versatile human.

“You’re creating this versatility. The difference between the handler and the mentor is the handler is consistently looking out for what the handler needs and a lot of times it’s materialistic objects or something financial. The mentorship is mostly the mind, right? How do I help your mind grow? And how do I help you your stamina for this world of adversity and to be strong. So I think it’s so important that you have the right people around you, especially at a young, tender age.”

The UNC Decision

Williams: “What I will say about Dylan that I thought was special, is that his family never wavered from the decision being about Dylan, led by Dylan, for Dylan. And at the end, Dylan made the decision. Now you’re going to do pros and cons to every stop. Dylan’s family was special in making sure that he understands how to be a man of his word. So as the process might have taken a little bit longer than people on the outside believe it should be, he ran his race in a way that’s been the same for both brothers. If you tell someone you’re going to visit, you’re going to visit, and you’re going to get the information before you make this decision.

“They were unique in making sure that every university that recruited them when they cut the list down…they consistently updated those schools. They did the Zooms, they did the phone calls, they welcomed them into the house. Everything you can do to get to an answer for Dylan. They didn’t allow someone’s opinion to sink in, whether it was a grassroots coach, a high school coach, a trainer, whoever … let’s make sure that Dylan is safe to make this decision, and we’re going to ride out and do this right? And Dylan did a great job of going through the highs and lows of the emotions and at 17 years old, with Hall of Fame-type coaches calling your phone, telling (you things) and everyone says the same, similar things of how they can make your life better.

“And for Dylan, he made a decision that Dylan believed in, and everyone else supports that decision, and it’s consistent with making the best of the situation with Dylan, right? And I think that’s important.”

New York Guards

Williams: “(I’ve had guys that played for me) so understanding who those guys are, and I think it starts and ends with mentality of you just do not believe that anyone else is better than you. You can go wherever you want on the court. With your ball handling skills, you can make everyone around you better. Your confidence doesn’t waver. You’re built for big stages. The New York City limelight, and in a sense, the street ball, the school ball, it gives you so many different classrooms to dance and to learn from at a young age.

“They’re not afraid from day one. They’re coming in and expecting to play, expecting to win, and expecting to be a viable piece to the championship, and in their minds, they are already primed for what big time looks like. These guys are playing in front of super duper big crowds in high school, they’ve been to all the top camps. They’ve been to championships in high school. They’ve been to Big Time runs in grassroots. So you’re getting a kid that’s not afraid. 

“Now, you have got to make sure that the discipline off the court matches that on the court. You have got to figure out how to make sure that happens. But they are battle tested. These kids are playing a lot of basketball, and it’s not (an age thing). They do not care. Put me on the court. Let’s play.”

Mingo’s Gift

Williams: “I think he’s everything you think of when (you say you) want a point guard. The shot is going to continue to get better because he works and it’s gotten better from his freshman year to his senior year. So his work ethic is going to get him everything he deserves, and he’s going to earn it, and he’s not going to stop if he has a bad game. So I have zero worries about Dylan Mingo. Barring injury, knock on wood, the dude will be in the NBA soon and playing a ton of basketball and winning. And his freshman year at North Carolina is going to be filled by winning and making people proud.”