Could North Carolina Fire Hubert Davis?

Hubert Davis led North Carolina to the national championship in his first year as head coach. However, following a rough start to this season, many have questioned Davis’s coaching future. North Carolina missed the ACC tournament in 2023 and would need a miracle to reach it this year following yet another Quad One (Q1) loss to Clemson on Monday. They have been unable to win any big games this season, putting them in a difficult spot moving forward. Despite two strong seasons, Davis certainly has not lived up to the program’s expectations and could be fired.

Could North Carolina Fire Hubert Davis?

Few Adjustments For Weeks

Excessive guard play has plagued North Carolina. Teams with size, namely Clemson and Duke, exposed the Tar heels recently in dominating wins. North Carolina was too undersized to play such tall and athletic teams with four guards on the floor. The results were never in doubt. The Tar Heels couldn’t get any good shots with the size. They couldn’t defend down low or on the outside as taller players shot right over them. They couldn’t rebound. Their defense was porous at best, with constant mental lapses. From early on in each game, it was apparent that North Carolina stood no chance doing what they were doing.

Stanford beat them. Wake Forest beat them. Pitt beat them even though the Panthers struggle with the same problems. In their recent game, Pitt even outrebounded North Carolina, but the Tar Heels survived at home to tie the critical season series. If North Carolina fires Davis at the end of the season, he won’t be able to argue that he made drastic moves to improve this team. Ian Jackson played more while Seth Trimble was out and ascended in the role. However, he has struggled to find his spot on the team with Trimble on the floor. The lineup combinations and play styles are too similar to the start of the season to believe that Davis made enough changes.

Failed Recruiting

Let’s see if you remember these names: Brady Manek and Cormac Ryan. Their shooting helped lead North Carolina to successful seasons and NCAA Tournament runs. Following their run to the national championships, North Carolina missed the tournament. The Tar Heels missed the size and shooting of Manek, leading to a dysfunctional offense to go with subpar defense. Davis recognized that and recruited the former Notre Dame star Ryan to fill the void. He stepped in beautifully and combined with RJ Davis and Armando Bacot to give North Carolina elite players in three major roles.  They earned the first seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Bacot and Ryan graduated. Davis didn’t recruit a single sharpshooter to replace Ryan, and he hoped two freshmen could replace one of the best centers in North Carolina history. North Carolina could fire Davis at the end of the season because of the results on the floor. But he could get virtually any recruit he wanted. He could have looked for a recruit like Pitt’s Cameron Corhen, a highly sought-after center. Jaeden Zackery went to Clemson in the transfer portal. He’s shot 39.2% from three in his career before the game against North Carolina on Monday. Countless other players could fill that same void. Jae’lyn Withers was another option, but they never play him because of defensive issues. He also isn’t a great shooter or rebounder.

Will North Carolina Fire Hubert Davis?

North Carolina has reason to fire Davis for both of the above reasons. This program wants nothing other than championships. With such drastic changes between each year and only a 50% contention rate, Davis hasn’t earned the benefit of the doubt. However, North Carolina could hang onto him. He has shown a tremendous upside as a coach. The only question will be whether they give him another shot to improve what he failed to do for the second time in three seasons. Don’t be surprised if Davis is back next year, especially if they finish strong this season. However, he likely won’t get another opportunity. If there is another season like this, the Tar Heels will search for a new head coach.