Hubert Davis fired as North Carolina head coach
Published by RawNews1st
The decision came to a head Tuesday night, five days after the sixth-seeded Tar Heels blew a 19-point lead with 14 minutes remaining against No. 11 VCU in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The collapse was the largest by any team in the first round in the history of March Madness and was also a third straight loss to end UNC’s season. Notably and crucially, the Tar Heels were without their best player, Caleb Wilson, who missed the final nine games due to separate hand and thumb injuries.
Davis met with outgoing UNC athletic director Bubba Cunningham, incoming AD Steve Newmark and chancellor Lee H. Roberts, sources said, with that meeting taking place Tuesday evening.
Davis met with outgoing UNC athletic director Bubba Cunningham, incoming AD Steve Newmark and chancellor Lee H. Roberts, sources said, with that meeting taking place Tuesday evening. The school was not keen to outright fire an alumnus on negative terms, especially the person picked by Hall-of-Famer Roy Williams to take the job five years ago.
The school will pay out all the remaining money on Davis’ contract, per a source.
The split with Davis means profound change is underway: For the first time in 74 years, the program will almost definitely go outside of the Carolina family to find its next men’s basketball coach.
Despite the rough patches (missing the 2024 NCAA Tournament after being preseason No. 1 and losing in the first round of the NCAAs in back-to-back seasons), Davis did have high marks as head coach. In Year 1, he led UNC to a win at Duke in Mike Krzyzewski’s final home game, etching an epic victory in the most storied rivalry in college basketball — and then one-upped it when his Tar Heels upset No. 1 Duke in the 2022 Final Four in New Orleans, the only meeting ever between the Tobacco Road foes on an NCAA Tournament stage.
