The North Carolina Tar Heels have fired Hubert Davis. He was the handpicked successor to Roy Williams. He went 125-54 in five seasons, making a national championship and a Sweet 16 while also failing to make it into the tournament or out of the first round in the other three seasons.
What happened to Hubert Davis?
Now, in Hubert Davis’ defense, he did lose Caleb Wilson for the season. The team managed to win five of the next six, but when a second hand injury meant he wouldn’t return for the tournament, things took a turn for the worse.
They got blown out at Duke, botched an 18-point comeback in the ACC Tournament against Clemson, and blew a 19-point second-half lead against VCU in the Round of 64, and lost that game despite leading with 30 seconds left in overtime and having two free throws to tie it.
The Heels surged to 11 in the AP Poll after beating Duke at home, which was the last game Wilson finished healthy. He broke his hand in the next contest. Had he stayed healthy, it’s very plausible that UNC would’ve landed a three seed or even better in the tournament and that they’d still be dancing.
Fair or foul?
So, is it fair to fire Hubert Davis for losing a tournament game after losing the fourth-best player in college basketball? Well, it comes down to more than just the VCU loss, but blowing a 19-point lead after not calling a timeout to avoid a five-second turnover that would’ve essentially clinched the win is rough, Wilson or not.
Additionally, Davis brought in six players by way of the transfer portal, and only Henri Veesar was good. The others were largely misses, so Davis had some talent that he couldn’t get to work. Plus, his five-year tenure has been wildly up and down.
Year-by-year results varied
In his first year, the Tar Heels were pretty awful until a late win over Duke woke them up, sent them on a run to the tournament (as an eight seed) where they made an improbable run to a 16-point lead midway through the national championship game.
Had they won that game, things would undoubtedly be different, but they blew it. The next year, as preseason number one, they missed the tournament entirely. The next year, they ended up as a one seed but lost in crushing fashion in the Sweet 16.
Davis followed that up by barely sneaking into the Tournament as an 11-seed First Four (and plenty believed they weren’t worthy of that bid) despite being AP Preseason number nine. Then, this year happened.
It hasn’t been all bad for Davis, but it’s not supposed to be this bad at all for the Tar Heels. They’re a proud program that has a ton of historical success, and Davis did not appear consistently capable of bringing that, especially in comparison to Duke, which also brought in a former player to replace a legendary coach. They haven’t seen much of a dropoff at all.
Failed recruiting
Aside from Caleb Wilson, the recruiting has not been great for Hubert Davis. The Tar Heels coach had his most success with Armando Bacot, RJ Davis, and Caleb Love, all players recruited by Roy Williams who just stuck around through the transition.
He recruited some top athletes, but they didn’t pan out (except Wilson). Ian Jackson was a highly-touted recruit, and he transferred after one solid season. The same is true of former five-star Elliot Cadeau. Drake Powell was pretty good, but he left to be a late-first-round NBA draft pick.
And had it not been for Wilson in 2025-26, the recruiting for the Tar Heels would’ve turned up nothing. Davis did also recruit Dylan Mingo, another five-star, but he’s getting a couple of top recruits every so often. Again, when compared to Duke, it’s clear that more can be done.
Who’s next?
UNC has long hired within the Carolina family, but that tree is drying up. There aren’t a lot of viable coaches who played or had anything to do with the university, so it’s time to branch out. Despite the recent lull, this is still a destination for potential coaches. It’s still Carolina.
ESPN’s Jeff Borzello listed a few potential candidates:
- Chicago Bulls head coach Billy Donovan
- Boston Celtics president Brad Stevens
- Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd
- Michigan coach Dusty May
- Iowa State coach TJ. Otzelberger
- Florida coach Todd Golden
- Alabama coach Nate Oats
In general, those college coaches are at good programs, so it’s not likely that Carolina would be able to poach them to replace Hubert Davis. Ultimately, it’s just that UNC is clearly going to try to get some of the best options.
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