North Carolina Hires Hubert Davis as Roy Williams's Head Coach Replacement
North Carolina has hired Hubert Davis as its next men's basketball head coach, with the longtime assistant to Roy Williams replacing the retired coaching great.
The UNC Chapel Hill Board of Trustees met to approve Davis's new contract on Monday afternoon before the school announced the hiring.
Davis recently completed his ninth season as a member of Williams's coaching staff at North Carolina. As part of his assistant coach capacity, Davis has also served as the head coach of the UNC junior varsity team.
The new Tar Heels head coach played at North Carolina from 1988-92 under legendary head coach Dean Smith. He still holds the UNC record for career three-point percentage, at .435.
"I am honored and humbled to be given the opportunity to lead this program,'' Davis said in a statement. "I would not be here without Coach Dean Smith, Coach Bill Guthridge and Coach Roy Williams; they taught me so much—and I'm eager to walk their path in my shoes and with my personality.
"I love this University. I played here, I earned my degree here, I fell in love with my wife here, I got married here, I moved here after I retired from the NBA and I have raised my family here. I am proud to lead this team, and I can't wait for all that comes next."
According to the Raleigh News & Observer, UNC athletic director Bubba Cunningham interviewed at least eight candidates over the weekend, including two who did not play at Carolina.
"Hubert Davis is the best leader we can possibly have for our men's basketball program," Cunningham said in a statement. "He teaches student-athletes on and off the court. He inspires his fellow staff members. He is strongly committed to family. He has a tenacious, burning desire to be the best he can possibly be; we witnessed that when he was a player, a broadcaster and an assistant coach—and I have no doubt he will ensure than our student-athletes and program will be the best they can be, as well."
Williams retired last Thursday after 18 seasons and three national titles at Carolina. Regarding his successor, he previously said that he would "would like for it to be a Carolina guy." According to Stadium's Jeff Goodman, Davis was Williams's choice to be his replacement.
He will be the first Black head coach of Carolina's men's basketball program.
Following his stint with the Tar Heels, Davis was the 20th pick of the 1992 NBA draft by the Knicks. He played 12 seasons in the NBA and averaged 8.2 points per game.
Davis also worked for ESPN as a college basketball analyst.
Davis will inherit a UNC program that went 18-11 last year and finished the year with a loss to Wisconsin in the first round of men's NCAA tournament. This year marked the first time in Williams's career that he lost in the first round of the men's NCAA tournament.
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