Hubert Davis to make history as UNC’s first Black men’s basketball coach

North Carolina’s search to find Roy Williams’ successor as the head men’s basketball coach didn’t last too long or venture too far outside of the Dean E. Smith Center.

UNC hired former guard Hubert Davis, who just five days ago was still an assistant coach under Williams, to lead the storied program.

Davis, 50, who played for legendary coach Dean Smith from 1988-92, will be the first Black head coach in the history of the program. He has spent the past nine seasons as an assistant coach under outgoing head coach Roy Williams, who announced his retirement Thursday.

“I am honored and humbled to be given the opportunity to lead this program,’’ Davis said in a statement released by UNC. “I would not be here without Coach Dean Smith, Coach Bill Guthridge and Coach Roy Williams; they taught me so much – and I’m eager to walk their path in my shoes and with my personality.”

The News & Observer was first to report the news Monday, and the school confirmed the promotion after the UNC Chapel Hill Board of Trustees voted to approve Davis’ employment agreement at an emergency meeting Monday afternoon. Terms of his contract will be released at a later date, UNC said.

A press conference has been called for Tuesday afternoon to formally introduce Davis as coach.

Williams retired after 18 seasons at Carolina and 33 seasons total as a head coach. Williams leaves behind, arguably, as big a shadow as Smith did. He led the Tar Heels to national titles in 2005, 2009 and 2017 before revealing at his retirement press conference that he no longer felt he was “the right man for the job.”

Davis’ UNC roots run deep. His uncle, Walter Davis, played for the Tar Heels from 1973-77, which inspired him to want to play for Smith. Walter Davis told the N&O Monday he had not yet spoken with his nephew on Monday, but he had congratulated his brother, Hubert Davis Sr., to share in the family’s joy.

“We’ve got a Davis in there, I’m very excited about that,” said Walter Davis, from his home in Denver. “I’m happy for him and happy for the school. They did the right thing, choosing Hubert. He’s going to do a great job. “

Hubert Davis, a native of Burke, Va., played for the Tar Heels from 1988 to 1992 in 137 games, the university said. The teams won the 1989 and 1991 Atlantic Coast Conference Tournaments and advanced to the 1991 Final Four. There, while Davis scored 25 points in the national semifinals against Kansas — a team coached by Williams — the Tar Heels lost.

Davis played in the NBA for 12 seasons and got his first taste of coaching in 2004 as a Dallas Mavericks player development coach.

Davis also worked for ESPN for seven years as a college basketball analyst. But when Williams had a position to fill, he handpicked Davis to join his staff, despite never coaching in college.

“He was a pre-law major, and I always thought he was going to be an attorney,” Walter Davis said. “And then when he got that job with ESPN, he did an excellent job commentating. Then when Roy Williams hired him, I was shocked that he wanted to be a coach. So, being the head coach at the University of North Carolina is big time.”

‘A tenacious, burning desire’

Davis does not have any prior head coaching experience on the Division I level. However, he was essentially groomed in a similar way that Williams once learned as an assistant under Smith. Williams tapped Davis to coach UNC’s junior varsity team as a way to get used to making decisions as a head coach in real time.

“Hubert Davis is the best leader we can possibly have for our men’s basketball program,” UNC athletic director Bubba Cunningham said in a statement. “He teaches student-athletes on and off the court. He inspires his fellow staff members. He is strongly committed to family. He has a tenacious, burning desire to be the best he can possibly be; we witnessed that when he was a player, a broadcaster and an assistant coach – and I have no doubt he will ensure than our student-athletes and program will be the best they can be, as well.”

Bubba Cunningham and Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz interviewed at least eight candidates over the weekend, including two who did not play at Carolina. That includes current assistant coach Steve Robinson, who worked on Williams’ staff at Kansas and UNC for a combined 26 years. He also spent seven years as a head coach at Tulsa and Florida State. Cunningham also interviewed Stanford coach Jerod Haase, who played for Williams at KU, served as an assistant coach at UNC from 2003-09.

According to the university, Cunningham and Guskiewicz sought input from “dozens of men’s basketball alumni and senior Department of Athletics officials.”

“Hubert Davis connects our storied past with our exciting future and has a deep passion for putting our student-athletes in the best position to succeed on and off the court,” Guskiewicz tweeted. “I can’t wait to see him on campus as the face of UNC basketball.”

To ensure Davis has the support he needs as a new coach, there will be an emphasis on constructing his new staff. Cunningham has asked some of the former players with coaching experience about their interest in serving a supporting role.

Others like George Lynch, Davis’ former teammate and a member of the 1993 national championship team, have reached out expressing their interest. Lynch was the head coach at Division II Clark-Atlanta University and also served two stints on the staff at SMU during the tenures of former Tar Heels Matt Doherty and later Larry Brown.

As Davis begins his tenure, he shares several traits with Williams with both revering their time spent at UNC.

“I played here, I earned my degree here, I fell in love with my wife here, I got married here,” Davis said in a statement Monday. “I moved here after I retired from the NBA and I have raised my family here. I am proud to lead this team, and I can’t wait for all that comes next.”