Truth is, Hubert Davis inherited a program in decline.
Recently, I watched a replay of the 2017 Duke-Carolina game from the Smith Center, a battle between teams with pros and great college players.
Duke had Jayson Tatum, Luke Kennard, Grayson Allen and Frank Jackson, who all got guaranteed NBA contracts after the season. UNC had first-rounders Justin Jackson and Tony Bradley and ensuing free agents Luke Maye, Joel Berry, Kennedy Meeks, Isaiah Hicks and Theo Pinson. It was a classic blueblood battle.
The Tar Heels won and went on to a second straight (and fifth) Final Four under Roy Williams, winning his third national championship in 13 years during which Duke reached two Final Fours and won two NCAA titles.
The next four years, neither team got to the final weekend of the season, although the Blue Devils went to last possessions of the Elite Eight twice before COVID canceled the Big Dance in 2020 and Duke was not invited in ’21.
If you remember, UNC also trended downward those four years. Bradley turned pro as a freshman and the undersized 2018 Heels lost an NCAA 2nd-round game to Texas A&M at their de facto home court in Charlotte. The next year, with Coby White, they got blown out by Auburn in the Sweet 16. Back in the tourney a year ago, Roy’s last team lost badly in the first-round.
Obviously, Carolina wasn’t great in 2021 despite sweeping Duke. And losing three of its top four big men left gaping holes for Hubert to fill. Brady Manek has been the key to opening the floor. Dawson Garcia has terrific potential if and when he returns. Caleb Love and R.J. Davis are good, not great, and the team’s depth has dwindled with average subs and unready freshmen.
So, it’s always about the players — who comes, who develops, who stays and who leaves. Successor Jon Scheyer has signed the No. 1 recruiting class, and obviously Mike Krzyzewski’s fingerprints are all over those incoming five-stars. Coach K will retire, but Duke’s one-and-done story will go on.
Clearly, the Tar Heels need more good players than they’ve had the last few years, and whether they get them will write Hubert’s story more than any record they achieve on the court. Their best incoming freshman is pure point guard Seth Trimble, the half-brother of J.P. Tokoto and considered near the top prospect at his position. We’ll see what the rest of the class does, and it will decide the immediate future of Carolina basketball, good or not so.
Photo via AP Photo/Jessica Hill.
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