![]() In the ACC hunt: UNC basketball picked to be in thick of league race in new coach Hubert Davis’s first seasonīig Four and More: Ready to read more on the ACC and college sports? Join our ‘Big Four and More’ newsletter that’s delivered right to your emailĪt the Late Night event on Oct. 'No question I was coming back': Caleb Love says he never doubted whether to stay at UNC All in the Carolina family, reinforced all over again. The nephew of Walter Davis, the former Tar Heels standout and NBA All-Star, Hubert Davis played under Smith, worked under Williams as an assistant coach, and has been entrusted to lead the program his mentors have built and maintained. North Carolina stayed in the proverbial family tree rooted in Smith’s teachings throughout the last six decades. Now, it’s Davis’s job, the start of a new era and the continuance of an enduring tradition all at once. He’s been the best coach for this team, the best coach for this university, and the best coach for this community.” He’s the greatest coach that I’ve ever been around. Everything was going to be OK, because Coach Williams was there. ![]() “He doesn’t know this,” Davis said of Williams, “but every time that he walked through the office, I took a deep breath, because I just felt settled. ![]() After all, as a young assistant under Smith, Williams coached the JV team for the Tar Heels, a developmental role he considered invaluable to his growth. Williams made Davis the coach of North Carolina’s junior varsity team, an indicator that Davis likely was being groomed for significant responsibilities down the line. And Davis followed Williams’ lead during his apprenticeship across the last nine seasons. Williams said he believed Davis possessed the qualities of an eventual head coach, despite Davis having no previous experience in the college coaching ranks. Mix of old and new: UNC’s Late Night event showcases holdovers Armando Bacot, Caleb Love with transfer additionsīig boxes to check off: New UNC basketball coach Hubert Davis takes aim on NCAA title, NBA careers for players Record-breaking ride: Sam Howell’s journey to stardom at UNC proves meaningful for teammate Jordan Tucker “Those were tears of joy and happiness, and knowing this is exactly the direction we needed to go and exactly what we needed to do.” “We cried not because we were leaving ESPN or not because we didn’t know what we were getting into,” he said. That surprising offer to join the North Carolina coaching staff left Davis and his wife, Leslie, in tears at their kitchen table. He joked then that he might’ve been subject to stalking charges as often as he drove by Davis’s home in the Chapel Hill area, attempting to catch Davis for a one-on-one conversation and hire him away from ESPN. Davis later put together a 12-year NBA career.īy 2012, Williams had claimed two of his three NCAA championships at the helm of the Tar Heels. Davis went on to become an All-ACC guard and record-setting 3-point shooter as North Carolina compiled a record of 102-37 from 1988-92 and met Kansas - then coached by Williams - in the 1991 Final Four. He called and Davis committed immediately. I want them to go home, and I don’t want that to change.ĭavis’s unflinching resolve helped Smith change course two days later. Williams, I want all of his children and I want his grandchildren, when they come to games, I want them to go into his office. “And I told him this for two reasons,” Davis said, recounting the moment. Then five days into his retirement decision, Williams, in the office where he worked for 18 seasons as the headman of the Tar Heels, was looking over photos and keepsakes, the memories accumulated throughout his Hall of Fame career. He got word Williams had made an arrival there in the part of the building that houses the coaching staff’s offices. CHAPEL HILL - On his first full day officially in charge as North Carolina’s new men’s basketball coach, Hubert Davis found himself dispensing orders to Roy Williams of all people, the legend he just had been chosen to replace.ĭavis was tending to a number of different duties on that Tuesday in early April, before he was to walk the baby blue stretch of carpet leading to the arena floor at the Smith Center for his formal introduction.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |