Hubert Davis’ career at Carolina spans decades. A timeline of his highs and lows
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Davis went from 1988 Tar Heel guard to NBA player and UNC head coach.
- 2026 season ended with OT NCAA loss, triggering speculation about his future.
- Tenure mixed postseason highs and lows as assistant, head coach.
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UNC basketball coach search
UNC basketball coach Hubert Davis coached the Tar Heels for five seasons but was let go after they were defeated in the first round of the 2026 NCAA Tournament. On April 7, the university hired former NBA coach Michael Malone. Here’s ongoing coverage of North Carolina’s coaching transition.
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Hubert Davis played as a guard at Carolina from 1988 to 1992, helping guide the program to ACC Tournament titles in 1989 and 1991 and a Final Four in 1991.
Davis, playing for coach Dean Smith, scored 25 points in the 1991 national semifinal, against Kansas and future UNC head coach Roy Williams. He then played 12 seasons in the NBA and served as the Dallas Mavericks player development coach in 2004.
The Tar Heel alumnus worked at ESPN for seven years as a college basketball analyst before Williams selected Davis to replace a departing assistant.
Davis’ time at Carolina, which officially ended the night of Tuesday, March 24, featured plenty of highs but also several lows. Here are some of the highlights, presented in chronological order.
Davis’ playing days at UNC
1988-92: After being recruited to UNC by assistant coach Roy Williams, before Williams left to become Kansas’ head coach, Hubert Davis played at guard for the Tar Heels all four seasons of his collegiate career.
He appeared in 137 games and averaged 11.8 points, 1.8 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game. His career included three seasons where he shot at least 50% from the field and at least 39% from 3.
During his senior season, Davis contributed 21.4 points, 2.3 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.3 steals per game. He earned All-ACC second team honors.
Davis went onto play in the NBA and was selected by the New York Knicks as the 20th-overall pick.
Roy Williams hires Davis as an assistant
May 2, 2012: North Carolina announced Williams hired Hubert Davis as an assistant, replacing Jerod Haase, who took the Alabama-Birmingham head coaching job. Davis left his role on ESPN’s College Gameday to enter coaching.
Williams previously worked with Davis, serving as an assistant coach on Dean Smith’s staff while Davis was a player.
Davis wins 2017 national championship as an assistant
April 3, 2017: Davis was a key assistant on Roy Williams’ staff during the 2017 national championship run. He helped the team beat Gonzaga, 71-65, at the University of Phoenix Stadium (now the State Farm Stadium) in Glendale, Arizona, to win the program’s sixth title.
Joel Berry led the team with 22 points and six assists, while Kennedy Meeks added 10 rebounds.
The Tar Heels beat Texas Southern, Arkansas, Butler, Kentucky and Oregon en route to the championship.
A year prior, Davis was also on staff when Villanova beat Carolina in the championship game in Houston on a buzzer-beater.
Carolina hires Hubert Davis as head coach
April 5, 2021: North Carolina hired Hubert Davis as Roy Williams’ successor nine years after Williams hired the alumnus as an assistant. Davis became the team’s 19th head coach and first Black head coach in program history. The university’s Board of Trustees held an emergency meeting to approve Davis’ promotion and employment agreement.
Davis did not have any prior head coaching experience on the Division I level, however, he was groomed to become Williams’ successor — he coached the former junior varsity team to get a feel for the role — in the same way Williams was tabbed to follow Dean Smith.
Williams retired after 18 years at Carolina and 33 seasons as a head coach. He left huge shoes to fill, leading the program to national titles in 2005, 2009 and 2017.
UNC, Davis send Coach K packing … twice
March 5, 2022; April 2, 2022: Two of North Carolina’s greatest points of pride under Hubert Davis came against Duke and former Blue Devils head coach Mike Krzyzewski.
The Tar Heels defeated Duke, 94-81, on the Blue Devils’ senior night and Coach K’s final game at Cameron Indoor Stadium. UNC scored 55 second-half points and had four 20-point performances from RJ Davis, Armando Bacot, Brady Manek and Caleb Love.
Less than a month later, the Tar Heels spoiled Coach K’s farewell tour by pulling off an 81-77 upset in the Final Four. Love scored 28 points — 22 came in the second half — and Bacot pulled down 21 rebounds.
Tar Heels reach 2022 Final Four, fall in title game
April 4, 2022: Davis and the Tar Heels reached the 2022 national championship game behind Caleb Love and Armando Bacot’s hot postseason performances. Carolina ultimately fell to Kansas, 72-69, in the national title game at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Love averaged 18.8 points per game during the tournament run, including a 30-point game against UCLA in the Sweet 16 and 28 against Duke in the national semifinal. Bacot averaged a double-double, scoring 15.3 points and pulling down a monster 16.5 rebounds per game. The forward had back-to-back 20-rebound games against St. Peter’s in the Elite Eight and Duke in the Final Four.
UNC finished the season 29-10 overall and 15-5 in ACC play.
North Carolina misses 2023 NCAA Tournament
March 12, 2023: The Tar Heels finished 20-13 overall and 11-9 in the ACC, its worst finish in the Hubert Davis era, and missed the NCAA Tournament. It declined an NIT bid. That season, Duke and Pittsburgh swept the Tar Heels in the regular season and UNC split its series with N.C. State. Carolina also lost to Alabama, 103-101, in a quadruple overtime matchup during Thanksgiving week.
UNC ended the season ranked No. 44 in the NET and went 2-11 in Quad 1 games.
Davis wins 2024 ACC Coach of the Year, Carolina wins regular season
March 11, 2024: Hubert Davis earned ACC Coach of the Year for the 2023-24 season after guiding the program to a 29-8 record and 17-3 finish in the ACC. Davis was the school’s first ACC Coach of the Year selection since Roy Williams received the honor in 2011.
The Tar Heels won the program’s 22nd regular season title and first under Davis. UNC defeated Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium, 84-79, behind Cormac Ryan’s 31 points to earn the title outright.
UNC loses 2024 ACC Championship game to NC State
March 16, 2024: No. 1 seed Carolina lost to N.C. State, 84-76, in the 2024 ACC Championship game at Capital One Arena in Washington, DC. That was part of the Wolfpack’s five wins in five days and subsequent run to the Final Four.
RJ Davis scored 30 points, while Armando Bacot added an 18-point and 12-rebound double-double. As a team, the Tar Heels shot 37% from the field and only 26% from 3.
Despite the loss, the Tar Heels earned the No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament West Region and advanced to the Sweet 16, where it fell to Alabama, 89-87.
North Carolina squeaks into 2025 tournament field
March 16, 2025: The Tar Heels earned a spot in the NCAA Tournament field and were sent to Dayton, Ohio for the First Four. They defeated San Diego State, 95-68, to earn a spot in the Round of 64. UNC lost to No. 6 seed Ole Miss, 71-64.
UNC’s inclusion in the tournament, even as one of the final teams in the field, was met with controversy due to its resume. Carolina went 23-14 but it only had one Quad 1 victory and a Quad 3 loss to Stanford.
Tar Heels beat Duke in 13-point comeback
Feb. 7, 2026: UNC upset Duke in a 71-68 win at the Dean Smith Center as part of a five-game winning streak. The Tar Heels trailed by as many as 13 points in the second half, but a 42-point explosion put the team back in the game. Seth Trimble hit the game-winning 3-pointer with 0.4 seconds remaining, after his team trailed the entire game.
The Tar Heels’ defensive effort shined in the second half of the matchup, holding the Blue Devils to 27 points after halftime. Meanwhile, Trimble scored 10 of his 16 points after the half. Henri Veesaar also scored all of his 13 points and pulled down nine of his 11 rebounds after the break.
UNC blows lead to VCU in First Round of 2026 NCAA Tournament
March 19, 2026: No. 6 seed North Carolina lost to No. 11 seed VCU, 82-78, in overtime, going one-and-done in the NCAA Tournament.
The Tar Heels led by as many as 19 points, but they gave up 47 points in the second half. The Rams made 15 of their final 19 shots in regulation and forced overtime. VCU outscored the Heels 7-3 to pull off the upset.
UNC was without star freshman Caleb Wilson, who suffered a second hand injury prior to his expected return at the end of the regular season. He sustained injuries to each hand this year.
The loss, however, still set off a maelstrom of criticism and speculation about Hubert Davis’ future at Carolina, which had been in doubt the last two seasons.
This story was originally published March 24, 2026 at 9:13 PM with the headline "Hubert Davis’ career at Carolina spans decades. A timeline of his highs and lows."
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