“Carolina’s gonna be Carolina.” Really?

Hubert Davis has been kind of coy with his words since taking over the Carolina basketball program. But his actions are speaking louder than what he says.

He certainly wants to respect the heritage of the Dean Smith and Roy Williams eras. He played for the Dean and coached under Ol’ Roy, so his basketball is founded on those experiences.

But while understated, Hubert is very much his own man with additional knowledge he got from his 12 seasons in the NBA and visiting with other coaches and teams while an ESPN broadcaster.

So Davis’ version of doing it his way is by saying he wants to follow the tradition at UNC by walking in his own shoes, which are also made for talking.

He began by filling his roster with the guys who will play a more contemporary style of offense. Big men who can shoot from outside and spread the court and create driving lanes for his talented guards who must improve to make Carolina better than it has been the last few years.

He completed his coaching staff with all former Tar Heels, those who have had experience as a head coach elsewhere and an NBA assistant long-hauler, plus keeping two younger guys who have been in the program but not as coaches and may already have closer relationships with kids of today.

He will not attach his name to the Late Night festivities that formally introduce his first team to a packed house at the Smith Center. And he has scrapped the dances and skits for more basketball NBA All-Star-type activities; the host is less of a national celebrity but more of a contemporary entertainer of the players ilk and in tune with the kind of music that blasts before and after practice these days.

For sure, Hubert will have an adjustment moving from the good cop confidante of the players to the bad cop tough guy when he needs more than he’s getting from his team.

So when he says “Carolina’s gonna be Carolina,” it means that the Tar Heels plan to continue their winning ways. But to ensure that, he obviously believes there must also be a new day in many areas.

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