The Hubert Davis era in Chapel Hill has begun. He had his first formal press conference Tuesday to announce him as as North Carolina’s new men’s basketball coach.
Davis is the 19th coach in the program’s history. Asked about building his staff, he said that one thing is nonnegotiable.
“You can’t do this job unless you’re a Carolina guy," Davis said. "It’s impossible. You can't coach here, you can’t recruit here, you can’t work here unless you’ve been here, you’ve experienced it, you’ve lived it.”
Davis’ roots at Chapel Hill go back to the 1970s. His uncle Walter Davis was a four-year player at North Carolina. Davis, himself, played under legendary coach Dean Smith and then came back to the program in 2012 when Roy Williams asked him to take an assistant coaching position.
Davis takes over a program that went 32-30 in the last two seasons with one NCAA tournament appearance.
Asked how his tenure will be different, Davis says his philosophy is simple.
Good morning, Tar Heels ☀️#GoHeels x #CarolinaFamily pic.twitter.com/8YOJ7qyzRk
— UNC Tar Heels (@GoHeels) April 6, 2021
“We’re gonna show up," he said. "We’re gonna show up to shootaround, we’re gonna show up to practice. North Carolina is going to show up. Every game. Every day. Every possession. North Carolina will be there.”
Davis has some work to do in building his roster for next season. Freshman forward Day’Ron Sharpe has already declared for the NBA Draft and fellow freshman center Walker Kessler intends to transfer. However, Davis said he planned to call Kessler after the press conference to try to convince him to come back to Chapel Hill.