Hubert Davis is still new to his role as UNC’s head coach, but he’s already making all the right moves.
It wasn’t a surprise when UNC hired Davis to be Roy Williams’ replacement and it shouldn’t be a surprise that the new head coach is quickly embracing his new role.
Davis enters at the dawn of a new age in college basketball with the introduction of the transfer portal and the promise of name, image, and likeness deals on the horizon. College athletics as a whole are also just starting to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic as well.
Whereas some coaches have expressed concerns over the transfer portal, Davis has quickly utilized it to his advantage — reaching into the portal for Oklahoma transfer Brady Manek and Virginia transfer Justin McKoy.
Despite returning players like Caleb Love and Armando Bacot, Davis emphasized the need to get better this offseason. He told 97.9 The Hill’s Art Chansky in an interview that last year’s team failed to reach any of its goals.
“We didn’t reach any of our team goals. Last year, we didn’t win the ACC regular season or ACC tournament. We didn’t get to a final four and we didn’t win a national championship. So since we didn’t reach any of those goals, that means we need to get better.”
UNC also had its share of heartbreak through the portal — losing five-star recruit Walker Kessler to Auburn and longtime starter Garrison Brooks to Mississippi State. But with the amount of players entering the transfer portal every year, it should become commonplace for programs to lose at least a few players every season.
The one aspect we don’t have a lot of clarity on is how Davis will approach the age of name, image and likeness deals. UNC has signed an agreement with marketing and licensing agency The Brandr Group to allow athletes to profit off of apparel after they leave school — but it’s still unclear how UNC as a whole will deal with current students trying to profit from their image.
Perhaps Davis’ best move of the offseason is making sure Williams still has a place within the program. Here’s what he told Art Chansky about having Williams in the Dean Smith Center offices.
“[Williams] was in office earlier this week and having him in the office and being able to see him is just absolutely awesome. I love it and it’s exactly what I wanted. They have an office for him right here in a basketball offices. I wanted him to have a place that he could call home and I wanted to his children and his grandchildren to feel comfortable and to feel like this place was home as well.”
While Davis’ tenure at UNC will be decided by his wins and loses, he’s making all the right moved to be a successful coach of the men’s basketball program.
