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Whether he deserves it or not, Hubert Davis will catch holy hell for Friday’s result. And this one will be debated until, at least, the start of next season — because it followed a seasonal pattern that, frankly, makes Tar Heel fans sick.
How can Carolina come off such an impressive blowout of San Diego State Tuesday night and then — with two full days to rest, prep and practice — lay such an egg against a higher-seeded underdog opponent that seemed a perfect matchup on paper? How the players could not be ready for this golden opportunity will give Carolina nation something to moan about all summer.
For starters, the Tar Heels were out-rebounded by an Ole Miss team that came into the NCAA first-round game with the 337th worst rebounding margin in the country. To lose the backboard battle 40-34 is an effort statistic more than anything else.
The 18-point deficit at the half still looked possible for a team used to staging dramatic comebacks all season long, the 11th time they had a 15-plus hill to climb. So we hoped, if not expected, to win.
Despite cutting the Ole Miss lead to two in the final 60 seconds, the frigid Heels could not make one more shot as the ball rolled off the rim all afternoon; or stop from a defense that left the Rebels wide open in the first half; or pull down one more rebound that indeed might have completed their greatest and most important rally of an inconsistent season.
Hubert, who seems to have a tight relationship with all his players, will be hard-pressed to explain how the group could begin so flat and look so unready for what they knew was coming. Did the Rebels play harder, as well as smarter and better? If so, the uber-positive Davis must take the rap for that and — for once — admit it.
How many times did we hear Roy Williams say, “They coached better than we did?” Have we ever heard Hubert say that after a game?
Aside from X’s and O’s, isn’t the job of a big-time basketball coach to make sure his team is fully prepared to play from the jump? The way the Tar Heels rebounded and executed so poorly on both ends of the floor, especially in the first 24 minutes, will beg that question.
It will stoke the great debate as just one ACC team remains in the 2025 NCAA tournament. The league’s overall weakness makes UNC’s erratic play more puzzling and needs to land in the lap of the head coach, whose recent contract extension through 2030 remains a point of contention.
Facing a team not any bigger, the Tar Heels were manhandled on the glass (21-12) and didn’t get many decent shots in the first half, hitting 35 percent of their field goals, 27 percent of their 3-point attempts and 50 percent of their free throws – all below season averages in any half. They wound up missing 39 from the floor, including 19 from the arc, and 5 foul shots. And yet, Carolina had enough talent and determination to make it a game in the second half.
Carolina men’s basketball never found its footing in the first half against Ole Miss, and the Rebels capitalized – taking a 44-26 lead into halftime. (Photo by Todd Melet/Chapel Hill Media Group.)
Ole Miss was a microcosm of the roller coaster ride we’ve been on since November. Coming back from 20 down at Kansas, only to lose. Pulling off an overtime win over Dayton in Maui followed two days later by squandering an overtime loss to Michigan State. Not finishing a strong comeback against Florida in Charlotte. Plucky (and lucky) last-second wins over UCLA and at Notre Dame. Losing costly one-pointers to Stanford and Wake Forest, the start of dropping five out of seven games to fall off the NCAA tournament bubble. And after two wins at the ACC tournament, not completing a late, great rally against Duke that was there for the taking.
Like the one-time Dukie Jaylen Blakes helped Stanford seal the damaging upset at the Smith Center, three more ex-ACC players who carried forward an Anyone-But-Carolina animus were the stars of the Tar Heels’ last game. Sean Pedulla — the all-conference shooter at Virginia Tech before earning All-SEC honors at Ole Miss — led the Rebels with 20 points, including his poorly defended three-point dagger after Carolina had cut their lead to two points. Dre Davis, who transferred from Louisville, scored 15 points in the first half on 5-of-5 shooting that included three long balls. And Jaemyn Brakefield, at Duke for one season, was the third Ole Miss player in double figures with 12 points, plus 3 rebounds and 4 assists.
There are other reasons that coaching one of the most enduring brands in college basketball can be so treacherous, from tip-off to final buzzer. Other blue blood programs are also facing issues amid the sport’s shifting landscape, but appear more willing or prepared to navigate the waters of the transfer portal. The hiring of General Manager Jim Tanner will likely create a new dynamic for UNC, and one welcomed by the fan base.
Critics claim Davis tinkered too much with his lineup, and the last iteration came at the expense of Ian Jackson, who has fallen so far down the mock NBA draft board that he is more likely to portal than return to UNC. Some say Hubert doesn’t change defenses enough and use other strategies (call a timeout!) that could stop an opponent’s momentum. Still others blame running ineffective offensive “sets” and going to guards freelancing too early or too late in possessions. Social media and the blogosphere constantly chirp on it amid Carolina’s positive highlights.
From left to right: R.J. Davis, Jalen Washington and Ian Jackson stand in front of UNC’s bench in the final minutes of the Tar Heels’ loss to Ole Miss in Milwaukee. (Photo by Todd Melet/Chapel Hill Media Group.)
With R.J. Davis and Jae’Lyn Withers out of eligibility, another roster rebuild could leave the Tar Heels without Jackson, Elliot Cadeau, Cade Tyson and others, who could seek fresh starts somewhere else. Hopefully, Seth Trimble, Ven-Allen Lubin, Drake Powell and Jalen Washington stay with the program after having solid seasons. With newly available money expected from an upcoming NCAA court settlement, can Carolina become more competitive in the portal and with pay-for-play, home and abroad?
“I think that’s a great question,” Hubert said at his last post-game press conference of the season. “That’s something I have not thought about at all. My anticipation was for us to play extremely well today, and win and play Iowa State on Sunday. So, it being less than half an hour or 45 minutes from a loss, that’s something that I will have to think about. But I haven’t thought about it now and I’m not gonna think about it today.”
None of those three anticipated things happened — and now Davis’ staff will have the offseason to do plenty of thinking.
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Featured image via Associated Press/Charles Krupa
Art Chansky is a veteran journalist who has written ten books, including best-sellers “Game Changers,” “Blue Bloods,” and “The Dean’s List.” He has contributed to WCHL for decades, having made his first appearance as a student in 1971. His “Sports Notebook” commentary airs daily on the 97.9 The Hill WCHL and his “Art’s Angle” opinion column runs weekly on Chapelboro.Chapelboro.com does not charge subscription fees, and you can directly support our efforts in local journalism here. Want more of what you see on Chapelboro? Let us bring free local news and community information to you by signing up for our newsletter.
Excellent article. Having a tight relationship with his players is fine but being an encouraging big brother isn’t the same as being a coach that challenges you to be better than you think you can be. Which is Hubert Davis? Sometimes I think the “keep it in the UNC coaching family” has become an albatross around UNC’s neck. The priority for the transfer portal is to correct the failures of last off season. Lubin has done well but UNC must get bigger, stronger, deeper and above all tougher to compete on a national level again. If most every underclassman comes back along with a great freshman class it could be a great season. IF the coaching staff is up to the task.
Greg Barnes reports that Hubert has only won 34 percent of his games against top 25 teams and ONLY 40 percent against top 50 teams.
Is that because UNC doesn’t have enough NIL money? Wonder if Mississippi has more than UNC?
Is it because we didn’t have a General Manager? Wonder how many teams that beat us this year have a GM? Not many!
And as far as beating the crap out of San Diego State, they were DEFINITELY not even on our level. We made shots and the basket looked huge so we made more shots, and it just got worse for them. All the UNC fans that were crowing about beating them looked kinda ridiculous at the time and even more so now.
I truly hope that our GM and all the other folks we’re hiring make a HUGE difference. But other than a bunch of cash and playing for a historically great basketball program, why would the best and brightest want to come here? None of our transfers the past 4 years were really developed and made more ready for the NBA; and someone like Ian Jackson, Tyler Nichols, etc certainly didn’t help their draft prospect.
But as long as we keep it in the family, our head coach and his assistants are here to stay!
Good luck, Mr. Tanner! We’re all rooting for you!
Time to move on from Hubert Davis. Great alum, Great player college and pro, Great man but just not a good coach. Blaming NIL has nothing to do with having your team ready to play. Our talent was sufficient for a deep run in the tournament but sadly our coaching isn’t. When is enough to make a change?
Hubert has to understand he is the coach and not to be scared to speak up if they go somewhere else they didn’t want to be at Carolina,be a coach not a friend that doesn’t listen. Ian Jackson should have been a bench warmer till he knew what to do,Cadeua should have been benched you got others that can contribute but you don’t play them. Got five that can rest the starters but you don’t play them, pressure defense not when u are done but start out pressure u got guards that miss and are vulnerable to layups so get points early.do what is necessary to win.He doesn’t adjust during the game waits till halftime and gets another plan of action,all that are there will evidently leave with the same mindset of going somewhere and not playing ,who wants that on their resume.