By AARON BEARD AP Basketball Writer
Hubert Davis appeared to be the right coach to be North Carolina’s bridge from Dean Smith to Roy Williams and into the future. Instead, that run lasted just five years.
North Carolina has parted ways with Davis, announcing Tuesday night that it had made “a leadership change” to end Davis’ tenure as successor to retired Hall of Fame coach Williams. Davis’ time featured multiple high points, but also wild swings of results, an inconsistency that runs contrary to the Tar Heels’ status as a tradition-rich blueblood with a hallmark of sustained top-tier success.
In its announcement, the school said athletic director Bubba Cunningham and executive associate AD Steve Newmark — who will take over as Cunningham’s successor in July — made the recommendation ultimately accepted by chancellor Lee Roberts.
“We appreciate all that Hubert has done for Carolina as a player, assistant coach, head coach and community leader — he has helped make special memories we will never forget,” Cunningham said in a statement. “This was not an easy decision because of Hubert’s tremendous character and all he has given to the program, but we must move forward in a way that allows our team to compete more consistently at an elite level.”
In his own statement posted on social media, Davis said he had been “let go” by the school and that he hopes to continue coaching.
“My desire was to continue to coach here,” Davis said. “This opportunity has truly been such a blessing. I thank Jesus literally every day for giving me the opportunity, relationships and experiences with the kids and my staff.
“I am very proud of what we were able to accomplish together. My goal is to coach again in the very near future.”
The program with six NCAA titles and a national-record 21 Final Fours now has just three March Madness wins in the four seasons since an unexpected run to the 2022 national title game in Davis’ debut season. The Tar Heels reached the Sweet 16 as a No. 1 seed in 2024 before being upset by Alabama, but otherwise haven’t reached the round of 32 in that span, and even missed the NCAAs entirely in 2023.
The final blow was Thursday’s overtime loss to VCU in the NCAA Tournament in which the Rams rallied from 19 down for the biggest comeback in first-round history, changing the tenor of conversations about Davis’ future. And by Saturday, Cunningham said the school was evaluating “all facets” of the program.
Ultimately, that led to moving forward without the 55-year-old Davis, a popular former UNC player under Smith who went on to play 12 years in the NBA, work in broadcasting at ESPN, then join Williams’ staff as an assistant in 2012.
Now, one of the most coveted jobs in college basketball is open for only the fourth time since Smith’s retirement after 36 seasons in October 1997.
The school said it will honor terms of Davis’ contract. He signed a two-year extension last season running through 2029-30. The school would owe Davis roughly $5.3 million for the remaining future years of his deal, plus remaining payments for the 2025-26 fiscal year that ends June 30.
Davis, who played at UNC from 1988-92, finished with a 125-54 record with the Tar Heels for a 69.8% win percentage.
Davis’ tenure
The high point of Davis’ tenure came early, with a wild late-season ride to the 2022 NCAA championship game that seemed to validate Williams’ backing of his former assistant. That included two of UNC’s biggest wins against famed rival Duke, the first in spoiling Hall of Famer Mike Krzyzewski’s home finale at Cameron Indoor Stadium and the second a month later to end Coach K’s career in the first-ever tournament meeting at the Final Four.
Davis also won an Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season title in 2024, while he would become the first coach in ACC history to win at least 20 games in each of his first five seasons.
Yet the low points were problematic for a program that measures itself by marquee wins and banners. They were hardly on the level of the 8-20 crashout under Matt Doherty in 2002 or even Williams’ lone losing season (14-19) in 2020. Yet the stumbles under Davis that would’ve qualified as successes elsewhere struck at the core identity of a program with national brand-name relevance and ties to some of the sport’s biggest names like Smith, Williams, James Worthy, Michael Jordan and Vince Carter.
Davis’ 2023 team had the ignominy of becoming the first team ranked No. 1 in the preseason AP Top 25 to miss the NCAA Tournament.
After the 2024 surge came on a pitch-perfect dip into the transfer portal, the Tar Heels followed by going just 1-12 in Quadrant 1 games that top a postseason resume, then squeaked into the First Four to beat San Diego State before falling in the first round to Ole Miss.
A course-altering injury
The Tar Heels appeared ready for a leap this year with top recruit and high-end NBA prospect Caleb Wilson proving to be an immediate star. The Tar Heels beat Kansas and won at Kentucky, made a huge comeback to win at Virginia. Then they gave No. 1 overall NCAA Tournament seed Duke one of its two losses all year on Seth Trimble’s last-second 3-pointer to sit at 19-4.
But Wilson broke his left hand days later at Miami. Then, when he was on the verge of returning in early March, Wilson — later chosen an AP second-team All-American — broke his right thumb during a non-contact drill and was lost for the season.
The Tar Heels didn’t win again.
They lost at Duke and fell behind by 18 before falling short in a frantic comeback against Clemson in the ACC Tournament. Then they faded against VCU after leading 56-37 on Trimble’s layup with 14:58 left. That only increased existing scrutiny of Davis’ coaching decisions — such as shortening his second-half rotation to have four players play all 20 second-half minutes — as well as his terse and awkward responses afterward.
Davis was asked at one point what had gone wrong in that game.
“What do you mean?” he responded in what turned out to be his final news conference as coach.