Hubert Davis Catch-all

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Back in the 80s and 90s I loved both college basketball and football. I not only watched all UNC games but on weekends would watch non-UNC basketball games as I was able (especially ACC games on the old Jefferson-Pilot/Raycom network) and enjoyed them. In the 21st Century, with the advent of one-and-done and now easy transfer/paying players my interest just keeps waning. I still watch most UNC games (but not all anymore), but I rarely care to watch any non-UNC basketball games in any conference, including most non-UNC NCAA tourney games.

And mainly it's because, as others have already said, I miss the days of being able to watch players develop over the three or four years they stay at UNC. I still remember watching Warren Martin go from a bench warmer to a significant contributor and seeing that growth over time was one of the main pleasures of the college game. I just get the sense that more and more of it today is just hired guns playing for money and not the team or school, and for bench players they no longer stay in most cases but just transfer out. And I'm well aware that paying players and allowing people like Lubin or Cadeau a chance to shine somewhere else may be more fair, but watching teams of mostly mercenaries that you know will mostly be gone after one season just isn't the same. I know I'm an old fart and that bigs may be right that the college game is as popular as ever, but I don't really care to be honest. For me personally the emotional investment in the team and players just isn't what it was, although to be fair maybe that comes with age and some cynicism about how the world works. I do still hate dook and state with a passion, though. 😁
Sounds like me. I loved seeing them beat dook, but the losses just don't feel as bad emotionally like they used to because therr really isn't any emotional investment in a team with a bunch of new players every year.
 
Short answer: yes—but with real caveats. Hubert Davis is a good coach, just not universally viewed as elite (yet), especially by UNC standards.

Here’s the honest breakdown:

🟢 Why Hubert Davis is a good coach

1. Strong overall record
  • Career record around 120–50 (.700 win%)
  • That’s objectively very good, especially early in a career.
2. Historic early success
  • Took UNC to the 2022 national title game in his first season
  • One of the best first-year coaching runs in college basketball history
3. Proven ability to win big games
  • Beat Duke Blue Devils at Cameron in Coach K’s final home game
  • Beat Duke again in the Final Four (huge legacy moment)
4. ACC success
  • Won ACC regular season title (2024) and Coach of the Year
🔴 Why people question him

1. Inconsistency year-to-year
  • Seasons like: 29–10 → 20–13 → 29–8 → 23–14
  • That’s good… but uneven for a blue-blood program.
2. No national title (yet)
  • At UNC, the bar is Dean Smith / Roy Williams level
  • Getting close isn’t enough long-term.
3. Underperformance stretches
  • Some teams have:
    • Barely made the tournament
    • Been on the bubble
    • Looked disorganized at times (criticized in recent games)
4. Rivalry record scrutiny
  • Around .400 vs Duke as head coach
  • That matters a lot at UNC.
🧠 The real verdict
  • Floor: Clearly a good coach
  • Ceiling: Still trying to prove he’s elite
Think of him like this:
He’s shown flashes of being a great coach, but hasn’t sustained it long enough yet.

🏁 Bottom line
  • If you’re judging him like a normal program → definitely good
  • If you’re judging him by UNC standards → good, but still under pressure
Fuck your AI evaluation. Sorry, the machines don’t get to choose.
 
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