Hubert Davis Catch-all

[theel4life]

I'm okay with this approach. I'd say top 3 seed and top 3 ACC finish.

But, a top 15 team with a top 4 seed and a 4th place ACC finish makes it another tough call.

I disagree with those who say Hubert is a terrible coach, but now that UNC is fully engaged in the NIL system elite needs to be the bar.

The hard part is finding that guy.

You don’t think Hubert is a terrible coach?

 

[Peppers49]

That is a symptom of Hubert’s decision not to retain Steve Robinson when he took over so he could have a complete staff of UNC alums. 18 years at UNC and damn near 30 sitting next to Roy wasn’t “in the family” enough for Hubert. Or maybe he didn’t want a more experienced assistant with head coaching experience looking over his shoulder. I don’t know.

Robinson was the guy who coached the Tar Heel guards all those years. Ask Raymond Felton or Ty Lawson or Kendall Marshall if Steve Robinson helped them be better guards.

Fully agree with the overall sentiment. His quote when he was originally hired about how you had to play at UNC to coach there or whatever was a major red flag from the jump.

That said, I don’t think he ever had the option to retain Robinson even if he had wanted to. Pretty sure I remember seeing that Robinson was miffed at not getting the head job himself and wasn’t interested in sticking around for a subordinate role under another coach.

 

[finesse]

And you're a narcissistic fool.

It's true that you're much, much better at it allround.

 

[finesse]

What does it matter? They've been fortunate enough that many of those games were at home and they managed to squeak out a win based strictly on being in comfortable surroundings. Over and over again this team has jumped out to leads, gone unfathomably long stretches without being able to stop the other team's momentum with either timely defense or offensive execution, and Hubert shows he is utterly incapable of figuring it out.

And has he EVER ONCE taken the blame for it? Has he ever said, "I need to be better." Roy certainly did. Dean certainly did. With Hubert, you get this interaction with a reporter after the game:

Did you sense that your team got a little tired toward the end of the game?

Hubert Davis: “I did not. I didn’t.”

Why did you choose to go to a six-man rotation in the second half?

“Because that was my decision.”

Generally, what do you think went wrong and why couldn’t UNC score in the final five minutes?

“Well, to go back to what Seth said, just because you miss a shot doesn’t mean something’s wrong. We had open looks. We had shots at the basket. We had executed plays. And we miss eight free throws. Sometimes the ball doesn’t go in.

That's a coach in denial. And he shouldn't be coaching this team if he's incapable of doing even a small bit of self-reflection.

What would he have said if he was just being honest?

 

[uncgriff]

The University of North Carolina deserves a better basketball team than the 2026 version. The University of North Carolina deserves a better basketball program than it has put on the court for the past 5 seasons. The University of North Carolina has dedic a ted ample resources to basketball to be successful over the past 5 seasons and has not found any real measurable success at all outside of a 5 game run in 2022.

The above, to me, seem to be fairly indisputable facts that most observers would agree on. If those are the facts, then the coaching staff (especially the Head Coach) are not up to the job.

 

[Centerpiece]

Saying they were going for 2 games? That's not a big deal. The High Point coach said they were there to win 6 games.

It’s bad form as a coach to say to his players. It’s ok to say, we’re in it might as well win it… but then follow that up with one game at a time, weve got one game to focus on right now. Win one at a time.

The HPU coach was like a mad dog foaming at the mouth and was full of sound and fury… but I hope, behind closed doors, he told his guys “one game at a time boys, let’s focus on the one team ahead of us now… everything else will take care of itself.”

Fwiw, there was some miscommunication there. Before Roy retired, he was considering retiring and plans were in the works unofficially. When Roy decided to retire, Robinson thought he should have at least been given a shot at the job. It ended up with some hurt feelings. I don't know more than that but I'm not sure that the way things happened offered Hubert the option of retaining him.

This sounds correct. Do you think Roy didn’t want to do what Dean did, giving the job to Gut? Because giving the job to Rob would be the same sort of deal…

 

[Ddseddse]

OK, this is a metaphor, so don't take this the wrong way, but...

You work to build a lead on an opponent. After that, what's the first thing you do? You step on thier throat.
After you step on thier thoat, what do you do? You step harder.
After you step harder what do you do? You keep stepping until they stop moving.
After they stop moving what do you do? You keep stepping until the time on the scoreboard says 0.0.

What you don't do is stop and read your press clippings while there's still time on the board.

I mean maybe this isn't just a Hubert problem, becuse I see this in both football and basketball. All I know is that it drives me crazy!

 

[Centerpiece]

I’ve been in Hubert’s corner from day one.
But will admit my confidence has been waning.
I’ve said many times it’s not always the coach and the X’s and O’s… It’s the Jimmys and Joes… but Hubert seems to have an issue with either A) getting the players here B) keeping them here or C) both

Mind you, he has had some good talent at times, but that talent has consistently failed to win enough games against quality opponents. After 5 years, that’s a trend that doesn’t appear to be moving in the right direction.

I do think he - as a coach - has grown some, and shown some improvement, but he displays a stubbornness (not unlike Roy) to a fault.

He had his team looking past last night’s game from the day of selection Sunday. Once the team got that 19 pt lead, his words on Sunday seemed prophetic. But alas, he had committed a Cardinal Sin as a coach, and his players were indeed looking past VCU. It cost them.

Hubert has had his 5 years. He should have shaken up his bench with a couple of coaching changes somewhere along the line (his assistant coaches are part and parcel of the “Jimmys and Joes” )

The buck stops with the head coach. After 5 years, Hubert has been weighed, measured and found wanting.

Although I fear what the PTB might do in the hiring of a new coach - for obvious reasons - I’m officially now on the “it’s time for a change” side of the fence.

Last night, the Jimmys and Joes needed a better coach.

 

[GoHeelsweeeehoooo]

I've mentioned this before but to me one of the biggest issues during the Coach Davis era is that we've had a bunch of games where we just come out flat - sometimes we turn it on enough to still win the game but often times not - I've never coached so I don't know how you fix that but to me that's been one of the biggest problems

 

[finesse]

I've mentioned this before but to me one of the biggest issues during the Coach Davis era is that we've had a bunch of games where we just come out flat - sometimes we turn it on enough to still win the game but often times not - I've never coached so I don't know how you fix that but to me that's been one of the biggest problems

Did last night. We started 1 of 8 and didn't get better fast. I was surprised when they flashed the graphic that we had somehow scored 24 points in 21 possessions. I'm not sure that our Fg % ever reached our season average last night. It was our defense and ballhandling (and some flat out misses by them) that got us the lead..

 

[Bigs23]

You don’t think Hubert is a terrible coach?

No, I don't think he's terrible.

 

[CFordUNC]

Even though I’m now firmly and irrevocably on the side of “it’s time to make a change at the head coaching position” I have no faith whatsoever that the PTBs at UNC will actually make that move yet, so hopefully there is at least an ultimatum that there must be changes on the assistant coaching staff to bring in outside perspective and experience. The obsessively insular nature of this program is going to be its unraveling.

 

[duluoz]

a coach capable of self-reflection and willing to learn and grow would have made some changes to his staff, at the very least, by now.

Gotta say, I was very surprised and not encouraged when the same set of assistant coaches and staff came back this year. Love all those guys but they’re just not young and fresh enough outside of Marcus.

There’s a stubbornness to HD that’s only palatable when you win consistently (like Roy). When you lose, it’s not a good look.

 

[rodoheel]

I'm okay with this approach. I'd say top 3 seed and top 3 ACC finish.

But, a top 15 team with a top 4 seed and a 4th place ACC finish makes it another tough call.

I disagree with those who say Hubert is a terrible coach, but now that UNC is fully engaged in the NIL system elite needs to be the bar.

The hard part is finding that guy.

I don't think "terrible" is the word I would use to describe Hubert as a coach, either. But if UNC fires him, do you think his next job will be as head coach of a major-conference program? I don't.

 

[bassydude77]

I’d give him a pass for the game today. Every year there are 1 or 2 elite teams (3 seed or better) who get worked for 30 minutes by a team that is 6 inches shorter across the board but are cat quick, handle well, pass well, shoot well. Those teams rarely pull out the big win but they make it interesting for a bit.

I know you’re only referring to the tourney, but we had at least 3 of those games this season.

 

[Bigs23]

What does it matter? They've been fortunate enough that many of those games were at home and they managed to squeak out a win based strictly on being in comfortable surroundings. Over and over again this team has jumped out to leads, gone unfathomably long stretches without being able to stop the other team's momentum with either timely defense or offensive execution, and Hubert shows he is utterly incapable of figuring it out.

And has he EVER ONCE taken the blame for it? Has he ever said, "I need to be better." Roy certainly did. Dean certainly did. With Hubert, you get this interaction with a reporter after the game:

Did you sense that your team got a little tired toward the end of the game?

Hubert Davis: “I did not. I didn’t.”

Why did you choose to go to a six-man rotation in the second half?

“Because that was my decision.”

Generally, what do you think went wrong and why couldn’t UNC score in the final five minutes?

“Well, to go back to what Seth said, just because you miss a shot doesn’t mean something’s wrong. We had open looks. We had shots at the basket. We had executed plays. And we miss eight free throws. Sometimes the ball doesn’t go in.

That's a coach in denial. And he shouldn't be coaching this team if he's incapable of doing even a small bit of self-reflection.

It matters because wins and losses are what matter as proven by the results last night.

Hubert has to own that loss. And ultimately he just may.

 

[Bigs23]

I don't think "terrible" is the word I would use to describe Hubert as a coach, either. But if UNC fires him, do you think his next job will be as head coach of a major-conference program? I don't.

I don't think he'll coach again. UNC is where he wanted to be.

 

[UNCatTech]

What I can't figure out is why the coach doesn't get credit for building the 19 point lead in the first place. It's idiotic to say, "the first 30 minutes showed we were a much better team and then HD blew it after." We were a better team as long as VCU wasn't making all those threes. We weren't when they were.

At the end of the day, the team lost a game to a team that was probably inferior overall. When it happens multiple times, coaches usually get fired. It doesn't mean it was definitely the coach's fault. It means that the program needs a change.

My opinion is because the 19 point lead doesn't matter, it's the final score that matters. If a team builds a very large lead and blows it, that large lead wasn't good enough.

And a perfect example, in my opinion, is the Falcons super bowl loss. Coaching clearly played a role there. Yes I understand it's a different sport. But the coach made decisions in the game last night and he didn't put his team in place to defend a 19 point lead. It's not 100% coaching, it never is, but if the coach has no responsibility, why do we have coaches?

 

[duluoz]

In so many ways the team's struggles really came down to getting nothing from Evans. People in the preseason said that was going to be the team's downfall. I did not. I thought Luka would provide playmaking and shooting, and that Evans could be solid as a PG who couldn't be helped off. I was wrong, unfortunately.

Trimble wouldn't have been playing that much if we had a bench guard. We wouldn't be looking to Trimble -- a generally weak offensive player in the half court -- in crunch time. We wouldn't be sending him to the line in late game situations.

Luka sucked and his low IQ was infuriating, but it’s hard to believe just how bad Evans was. Kid had no business being on the court and couldn’t wait to get rid of the ball anytime it found him. The fear was all over his face. What a disaster, and an expensive one.

 

[Bigs23]

The University of North Carolina deserves a better basketball team than the 2026 version. The University of North Carolina deserves a better basketball program than it has put on the court for the past 5 seasons. The University of North Carolina has dedic a ted ample resources to basketball to be successful over the past 5 seasons and has not found any real measurable success at all outside of a 5 game run in 2022.

The above, to me, seem to be fairly indisputable facts that most observers would agree on. If those are the facts, then the coaching staff (especially the Head Coach) are not up to the job.

Do you mean 7 seasons?

I don't think UNC deserves anything though. You have to earn it every time.