Chansky's Notebook: The Iffy Climate

Art Chansky’s Sports Notebook is presented by The Casual Pint. YOUR place for delicious pub food paired with local beer. Choose among 35 rotating taps and 200+ beers in the cooler.

How much has Hubert Davis’ life changed? A lot.

The second-year UNC basketball coach is a personification of the old saying, “If you don’t like the weather, wait a minute.” It is a 100-year-old expression and mostly about Chicago, Kansas, New England or any place with an iffy climate. It has never really been said about Chapel Hill until recently.

Davis began his first two seasons at the helm with short winning streaks against lesser opponents, then shocked back to reality when Power 5 foes came along. Bubble talk has followed him for more than a year with a heat wave of positivity in between. His beloved family has endured the weather change, as well.

It began with finishing 11-2 last season, including two wins over Duke that neither program will ever forget and a second-half loss to Kansas in the national championship game. On face value, Carolina’s anointment as preseason No. 1 was an absurd projection based on one month of hot shooting and lucky bounces.

Most astute UNC fans worried about a team without its most consequential player (Brady Manek) being picked over nine teams that had finished first or second in their leagues. After all, the Tar Heels had been in the middle of the ACC race until the late run carried them to the Final Four. And we knew that.

Davis had to know that, too. He talked early and often about turning off the noise of such hype, social media buzz and NIL opportunities for his players.

It’s no secret why Armando Bacot has been less dominant over the second half of the season, when teams figured out the Heels could no longer open the floor like they had with the bearded dude spotting up at the 3-point line. So it was up to the other returning shooters to up their games, and they instead have regressed.

As with most coaches being paid seven figures, the heat eventually settles on their head. And for the popular Davis, the honeymoon is clearly over. In that regard, his rookie season was both unforgettable and regrettable.

Despite college stardom under Dean Smith, 12 years in the NBA, 9 seasons under Roy Williams and four years with ESPN, Davis is on a learning curve. No matter how much basketball he already knew, every day is a weather change of some kind, both on and off the court. Now he presides over a program that both predated him and includes him in suffering four straight 10-loss seasons for the first time since before Smith arrived at UNC, albeit in the days of shorter schedules.

Undoubtedly, Hubert Davis will become a better head coach than he is on these “cloudy and sunny days,” as he likes to analogize. Will it be with another torrid run to the finish line this season or not until he has a roster of his own recruits?

We don’t know. If you can’t take that reality, move to Hawaii.

Featured image via Associated Press/Chris Seward

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Chansky’s Notebook: The Iffy Climate

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