In his first press conference as UNC coach, Hubert Davis made the following declaration:
“In terms of the staff, you can’t do this job unless you’re a Carolina guy. It’s impossible. You can’t coach here. You can’t recruit here. You can’t work here unless you have been here. You’ve experienced it. You have lived it. And so in terms of the staff, it’s all guys that have experienced this place and believe it and have the passion and the desire that all of us have for this university and this program and these kids in this community.”
Davis made sure that his staff had assistants who had played for Dean Smith (Jeff Lebo), Bill Guthridge (Brad Frederick) and Roy Williams (Sean May) “connecting the generations” as he termed it in that introductory press conference.
Five years later, North Carolina faces a future where the coach leading the legendary program is not a Carolina guy.
UNC announced that it had made a “leadership change” on the basketball team, parting ways with Davis.
The Tar Heels blew a 19-point lead to VCU to lose in the NCAA Tournament round of 64 for the second straight year. It ended a half decade under Davis where the Tar Heels went from stratospheric highs—beating Duke in the first-ever Final Four game between the two rivals in 2022—to stunning lows for the blue blood program, including blown leads, upset losses and questionable coaching moves and motivation.
UNC officials spent five days evaluating the program and trying to decide what to do next. A chorus of UNC fans online called for Davis to be replaced, while former players, including Hall of Famer Larry Brown and national champion Justin Jackson, argued to keep him. At times, the tea leaves seemed to indicate that a change was forthcoming—possibly with Davis resigning, but a social media post from Davis made it clear that he wanted to continue coaching the team.
The consensus is that the school will now go “outside the family” for its next coach, ending more than six decades with Dean Smith or a member of his coaching tree heading up the Tar Heel program.
Davis had felt the hot seat on occasion over his tenure. The Tar Heels became the first team to open the season ranked No. 1 and then miss the NCAA Tournament in 2022-23. Last year’s team barely made the NCAA field, going to the First Four in Dayton to play their way into the round of 64.
This season, whispers increased when UNC lost back-to-back games at Stanford and Cal and were trounced by NC State in Raleigh. The Tar Heels closed the season with three straight high-profile losses: the regular season finale to Duke, UNC’s first game in the ACC Tournament, and the NCAA opener.
In the VCU loss, Davis earned criticism for his management of the game down the stretch.
Carolina appeared to run out of gas, going the final 2:44 of regulation and all five minutes of overtime without making a shot, as Davis used just one sub for nearly 25 minutes of game time after the half.
Davis gave five-word answers to questions from the media about his substitution pattern, at one point, saying, “Because that was my decision.”
Before a decision on Davis has even been announced, speculation had Alabama coach Nate Oats, Vanderbilt’s Mark Byington, Florida’s Todd Golden, Iowa State’s T.J. Otzelberger and the Chicago Bulls’ Billy Donovan as front runners. Gonzaga’s Mark Few, Baylor’s Scott Drew and retired Villanova coach Jay Wright have also been mentioned.
Not one of them has played or coached for Smith or Williams. Regardless of who is chosen, this move would mark the first significant change of direction for the program since 1952—a year before the birth of the ACC—when Frank McGuire was hired away from St. John’s. When McGuire left after nine seasons, Smith, one of his assistant coaches, was promoted to replace him.
Even if the school wanted to continue to lineage, there is a distinct lack of obvious canidadtes rooted in the program. Wes Miller was fired earlier this month at Cincinnati and was just hired by Charlotte. Jerry Stackhouse is an NBA assistant who was fired by Vanderbilt two seasons ago. King Rice is probably the most stable coach currently employed, and he has a sub-.500 record in 15 seasons at Monmouth. The school could conceivably bring back Williams, at age 75 and retired for five years. It could also promote someone from the current staff, although Lebo is the only assistant with head coaching experience, and he was fired at ECU a sub-.500 record over eight seasons.
No, it appears that the unbroken 74-year long line will be broken after producing three Hall of Fame coaches and six national titles.
It’s a tragic irony that Davis, who has professed his love for the program since the outset of his tenure, is the last one in the lineage.
At his introductory press conference, he said. “The last nine years coaching under Coach Williams, it hasn’t been a job at all. It’s been missionary work. It’s been an act of service. And I’ve been so honored and privileged and appreciative of being able to be in this role.”
In the final answer of what may be his last press conference as coach, he said, “Just really sad that we’re not continuing to play and to move forward, because I have loved and enjoyed this team. I enjoy and love all of them, but I’ve just really enjoyed coaching this team.”
