For those that are not in favor of moving on from HD right now, is it because you are pleased with the results to date? That is, if we continue to see what we've seen for these past 4.75 seasons, is that meeting your expectations of the program, or are you expecting better results going forward?
I believe that UNC has been fortunate to have 2 of the 5 greatest coaches who have coached basketball at the collegiate level. I never expected that sustained level for success to last beyond Roy, which is why I was, and continue to be, perplexed that people were ready for him to go, despite all that the program endured during the academic scandal phase. And that was before the rise of the NIL era, which has taken many teams time to figure. Expecting anyone to come in and for things to be "business as usual" was foolish.
Has Hubert lived up to my hopes and expectations? No, but he has been closer to them than he has for many of you all, because I was expecting bumps in the road.
My primary issue with the anti-hubert crowd is that the reason you are anti-hubert seems to change each year. I felt the same way about the sliding "but Roy hasn't won a championship"/"he hasn't won a championship with his own players"/'he has won a championship without an experience core"/"yada yada" crowd (and some of the anti-Hubert crowd here were also whining during Roy's tenure."
I don't think Hubert was ready to take the program on from day one (despite the end of year success his first year). Many people pointed out, and I think were right, that you really need experience at another program before taking on something like UNC. With that in mind, many of you who claim that also claim that coaches don't grow after the first few years. I think that is absurd. Good coaches become great coaches over time, provided they are willing to put in the effort, and learn from their mistakes. Hubert has made a number of mistakes, but he seems to be learning from them. I do believe that Hubert has been working towards building a basketball culture at the school that is uniquely his, and I believe that he is onto something special, but isn't there yet.
I've watched other programs like State go from great to mediocre, largely because they pulled the trigger too quickly on coaches with moderate success. The biggest mistake State made was getting rid of Sendek. Hubert reminds me, in a lot of ways, of Sendek. It's part of why I think we need to give him more of a chance.
My greatest concern about Davis' teams is the consistent slow starts. We have found ourselves down in too many games, but generally, have worked out way back into the game as it continued. I would like to see that improve and, if it doesn't improve in the next two years, I believe that there is a call for a new coach.
At the same time - over the last several years we have beaten the 2-4 tier teams consistently, but struggled against tier one. This year, we are balling out vs. Tier one, and struggling in some of our tier two games. Last year, the complaint was that Hubert wasn't winning big games. He is doing that this year. So the anti-Hubert crowd is finding something else to complain about.
This team, and by its nature, Hubert, is more resilient/able to overcome injuries than in past years. They also believe in each other, and seem to have bought into a team first attitude.
Players such as High have stepped into big roles unexpectedly and succeeded. Players who have been in the program for multiple years have grown.
We live in an era of "win now" at all costs. I don't believe in that philosophy, even as I recognize that it is, somewhat, a necessary evil. We are where we are. But if that is all that we are, then we stop being Carolina. We must thread that needle. Hubert has missed a few stitches, but - again - I'm not convinced that they were stitches that anybody else would have made. He was given a nearly impossible task, at an era where college basketball was going through its biggest transition in my lifetime, and he has earned a passing grade.
So, yes, I believe that the program will continue to work under Hubert's guize. I also believe that, short of winning championships/making final fours at the same place that Roy and Dean did, some of you will not be satisfied. If I'm being honest, then I don't think that any coach will satiate your appetite. You can be perennially unhappy about the state of Carolina Basketball, or you can appreciate the gift that the last fifty years has given us as fans, and celebrate the wins moving forward. We are in better shape than you think, right now, and closer to greatness. I don't believe that there is a magic cure-all coach waiting in the wings who is going to get us there, and I believe that Hubert can. I don't know that he will, but he can. For me, that's enough, provided we see incremental improvements most years.
