CHAPEL HILL, NC – A meeting of the men’s basketball team in North Carolina was scheduled for Monday at 4pm following a meeting of the UNC Board of Trustees to approve the appointment of Hubert Davis as his 19th men’s basketball coach keur, only the fifth in 60 years and his first basketball coach for black men, according to various sources. The decision comes four days after Hall of Fame coach Roy Williams officially retired after 18 years as head coach of the program.
Davis has spent the past nine seasons as an assistant coach in Williams’ staff, with responsibilities such as recruiting, banking coaching and exploring. He also oversaw the charity work and clinics of the group and coached for six seasons by the Tar Heels’ JV group.
The 50-year-old played from 1988 to 92 for Dean Smith, who helped UNC for the Final Four in 1991 and the ACC Tournament in 1989 and 1991. He scored 1,615 points (11.8 per game) in 137 career games. and still holds the UNC record for career three-point shooting percentage (.435). Davis scored 25 points against the Kansas Jayhawks, led by Williams, in the 1991 Final Four and a career-high 35 points at Duke on March 8, 1992. He won the All-ACC award in the second team as a senior in 1991. -92 after having an average mark. 21.4 points per game.
The Burke, Virginia, was selected by the New York Knicks with the 20th overall pick in the first round of the 1992 NBA draft. He played 12 years in the NBA and spent time with the Knicks with the Toronto Raptors, Dallas Mavericks, Washington Wizards, Detroit Pistons and New Jersey Nets. He shot 44.1% of three in 685 NBA games in the NBA Series – currently ranked third all-time – and in nine of his 12 seasons shot better than 40% of the long distance.
Upon retiring from professional basketball in 2004, Davis spent his next seven years working at ESPN as an analyst and co-presenter of College GameDay.
At age 41, Davis had no coaching experience at any level, but Williams helped him recruit him to UNC in 1988 and coached him at the World University Games three years later. When Jerod Haase took over as UAB head coach in March 2012, Williams immediately turned his attention to the former Tar Heel to appoint Haase’s replacement to the coaching staff.
“I knew the day would finally come when I would have to replace staff members as they move on,” Williams said when Davis was officially appointed on May 2, 2012. ‘For the past four or five years, Hubert has always been on my mind. in case a place opens. I did not know if I could get him back, but I knew I wanted the first option. Coaching is about teaching, relationships and passion and I feel Hubert is the perfect choice. Our student-athletes will greatly benefit from what he adds to our staff. ‘
Davis later admitted his surprise at the job offer, suggesting he asked Williams to repeat what he said to make sure he heard right.
“Carolina has been a part of my life – the case is settled,” Davis said. ‘I’ve been on campus since I was four, hanging out with Uncle Walt. I went camping here for nine years, I went to school here, bought my first house here, here I am married. This is where we, after I retired, decided to raise our family here. There is a love for this university, this program, this community that is part of my whole life. Being able to come back from a different point of view to a program that was my life, and to be a part of it again, was overwhelming. ‘
Davis, whose uncle, Walter, played for Dean Smith in the 1970s, spoke on several occasions about the impact Smith had on his life, emphasizing the emphasis of the Tar Heel legend on coaching and teaching players. as people before worrying about victories and losses. . He carried on that example in his own life.
“I want to be on the track,” Davis said in the 2019 Roy Williams Live Radio program. ‘Whether it’s shootaround, practice, games, I want to be on the track. I want to serve. I want to help these kids try to become the best basketball player they can be; help them in their lives. That’s the biggest part … I wish I would have gone straight from playing to working for Coach Williams here. It was, out of the game, the best work I have ever been a part of. ‘
Davis earned a degree in criminal law from the UNC in 1992. He and his wife, Leslie, have three children – Elijah, Bobbie Grace and Micah.