The State of Carolina Basketball: Are They Behind?

It is without a doubt that Carolina is in a bit of a slump. While the Tar Heels were the national runner-up in 2022 and won the ACC regular-season championship in 2024, they missed the NCAA Tournament in 2023 after entering the season ranked No. 1 in the preseason poll and suffered a first-round exit last season.

In any other program, those four seasons would be seen as a success for Davis. However, this is UNC basketball we are talking about.

“Well, it's funny because I always say that the most spoiled fan bases in sports were the Los Angeles Lakers and Carolina basketball,” Jones said. “Because they were never bad, even if not always the best, they were never bad, right? Like before that run for the Lakers, you know, toward the end of Kobe's career and then until LeBron showed up, they've been in L .A. for like 52 years and missed the playoffs four times, right? Like it just always been there. That's Carolina basketball.”

“So what is happening right now or has happened in large part at Carolina actually happens to everybody,” Jones added. It happens everywhere else. It just never happened here.

A True Believer in a Game That’s Leaving Him Behind

Davis is a traditionalist in the sense that program values like family atmosphere and player development are the most important things for a recruit, something that his old coach, Dean Smith, preached while he served as the head coach from 1961 to 1997. 

However, “The Carolina Way” and its philosophies have become less effective in recruiting as the focus shifts heavily toward player compensation. That is something that Davis is not accustomed to when he first took the job and why recruiting strategies have changed, hence the hiring of general manager Jim Tanner.

“I think it’s worth noting about Hubert that, when it comes to amateur basketball, I’d call him a true believer,” Jones said. “He genuinely sees this job as a way to positively influence the lives of young men—along with everything else that comes with it. When you’re recruiting or talking to people, especially parents, the main message is: This is a place where your son will become a man. That’s the thing you’re selling. And if that’s the real reason you got into this game, well… right now, not many people really want to hear about that.”

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