Larry Brown Sees Something Special in UNC's Davis Despite Scrutiny

Brown believes that Davis accomplished a lot this season, despite the circumstances, proving to be a great head coach for the university.

• “One, he’s a hell of a representative of our school, and everybody that knows him knows that,” Brown said. “Two, we went undefeated at home. We beat Kansas, we beat Duke, beat Ohio State on the road, beat Kentucky, beat Virginia on the road, lost our very best player [Caleb Wilson]."

• "And if you saw our very best player on the bench, you’d know how much he cared about Carolina basketball, and that must have a lot to do with Hubert and his relationship.”

Additionally, Brown feels that it is important to stay within the program's history as head coach, as Davis was a former player and assistant coach under Roy Williams.

• “I’ve always felt that way, because I know what it meant to Coach [Dean] Smith,” Brown explained. “Having a Carolina guy. You know everything about the program, the tradition and what it’s all about. It’s not only the wins and losses, but it’s how you deal with people, how you care about the university and the community. We all learned that from Coach [Dean] Smith, and I’d just hate to see anything change.”

Brown Thinks Davis Has Potential

Davis has been the head coach at North Carolina for five years and has advanced past the first round only twice during that span. However, Brown points to a legendary coach struggling out of the gates early in his career.

• “If you looked at Coach Smith’s first number of years, it wasn’t the greatest, but Chancellor [Bill] Aycock saw something in him,” Brown said. “And I kind of feel the same way about Hubert.”

Despite the struggles in the postseason, Brown thinks that Davis' is trending in the right direction.

• “I think Hubert’s going in the right direction,” Brown said. “I know the kids in the program love him. That means a lot. “I care deeply about our program. And I know Coach Smith would love to have someone like Hubert running the program. I know Roy endorses him, so it can’t get any better than that.”