UNC Men’s Basketball 2025-2026

[donbosco]

This addresses a point I tried to make pages back - Coach Davis sees UNC as a university - a place to be educated - the vast majority of coach’s in CBB do not. I’d be curious to know how many players think that way. A gauge of that sentiment over time would be interesting?

Did Doug Moe want an education? Larry Miller? Rusty Clark? Steve Previs? Robert McAdoo? Bobby Jones? Brad Daugherty? Phil Ford? Hubert Davis?

 

[farce©]

This addresses a point I tried to make pages back - Coach Davis sees UNC as a university - a place to be educated - the vast majority of coach’s in CBB do not. I’d be curious to know how many players think that way. A gauge of that sentiment over time would be interesting?

Did Doug Moe want an education? Larry Miller? Rusty Clark? Steve Previs? Robert McAdoo? Bobby Jones? Brad Daugherty? Phil Ford? Hubert Davis?

The Bill Belichick hire tells me the University doesn't see it that way. It appears to me that they see college sports primarily as a revenue source, and as a PR tool secondarily. Educating the players seems to be an afterthought.

 

[Peppers49]

The Bill Belichick hire tells me the University doesn't see it that way. It appears to me that they see college sports primarily as a revenue source, and as a PR tool secondarily. Educating the players seems to be an afterthought.

This will ruffle some feathers but the Af-Am scandal should have made it clear that UNC isn’t any different than most other big universities when it comes to how they view sports at the administrative level. In that respect we are closer to UGA or UT than we are to Vandy or Notre Dame.

 

[finesse]

This will ruffle some feathers but the Af-Am scandal should have made it clear that UNC isn’t any different than most other big universities when it comes to how they view sports at the administrative level. In that respect we are closer to UGA or UT than we are to Vandy or Notre Dame.

I do wish people would understand that , with FOIA and its ramifications, comparing the reputations of private and public institutions are a little unfair. There's not the same level of access for the press and public.

 

[donbosco]

This will ruffle some feathers but the Af-Am scandal should have made it clear that UNC isn’t any different than most other big universities when it comes to how they view sports at the administrative level. In that respect we are closer to UGA or UT than we are to Vandy or Notre Dame.

I'm trying to remember but did that fall on all sports?

 

[PTOHeel]

This will ruffle some feathers but the Af-Am scandal should have made it clear that UNC isn’t any different than most other big universities when it comes to how they view sports at the administrative level. In that respect we are closer to UGA or UT than we are to Vandy or Notre Dame.

I agree with the overall sentiment that football and basketball primarily exist as a source of revenue and PR and that predates the Belichick hire. I wouldn't use the improperly administered independent study scandal as particularly revealing though. I'm also not exactly sure why you separate Vandy and Notre Dame. They participate in this big money business just as much as UGA, UT, and UNC.

 

[TarSpiel]

My wife teaches middle school. Many of the parents routinely drop f-bombs in meetings with her, in front of their kids.

I'm sure that's true, but I don't think UNC has traditionally recruited those sorts of kids and their parents.

 

[PTOHeel]

I'm sure that's true, but I don't think UNC has traditionally recruited those sorts of kids and their parents.

I'm sure you don't mean it but that comes across as so incredibly pretentious. And it's not true.

 

[4thgenheel]

I agree with the overall sentiment that football and basketball primarily exist as a source of revenue and PR and that predates the Belichick hire. I wouldn't use the improperly administered independent study scandal as particularly revealing though. I'm also not exactly sure why you separate Vandy and Notre Dame. They participate in this big money business just as much as UGA, UT, and UNC.

agreed.

ivy league schools are the only ones really not participating. they opted out of most NIL and they don't award athletic scholarships.

 

[Peppers49]

I do wish people would understand that , with FOIA and its ramifications, comparing the reputations of private and public institutions are a little unfair. There's not the same level of access for the press and public.

Following college football and basketball recruiting over the years I’ve gleaned that there are a handful of schools in the power conferences that legitimately don’t relax their academic standards all that much for their athletes. Notre Dame and Stanford are the two that stand out. Vandy used to be in that conversation but they might actually not be the best example these days. I think they’ve loosened up to be more competitive in the football transfer portal. To your point though it’s not an exact science, this is just what I’ve picked up on over the years listening and reading the people who follow this stuff closely.

Dook is a good example of a private school using the FOIA stuff to their advantage though and it always gives me a laugh when their fans try to make fun of us for fake classes. As a university they are on the Notre Dame level, but they absolutely bend admissions requirements all the time to make sure they get the best athletes. All of their one and done basketball players take the bare minimum credit hours of the easiest classes possible in the fall, show up just enough for the first month or two of the spring semester to stay eligible for basketball season, then drop off the map. To me that’s just as much of a farce as our players taking no show classes.

 

[doctor_octopus]

I'm sure that's true, but I don't think UNC has traditionally recruited those sorts of kids and their parents.

I dunno. I got three degrees from UNC, and I think I f-bombed all of my interviewers for dental school and residency.

 

[rodoheel]

Didn’t know there were consequences for cussing today, but it’s not surprising since Coach is from the old school. It’s his way or the Highway I guess. We’ve all played for coaches like that. (I guess you guys all played, right?)

Ever since cable TV - and cussing was happening all the time on the tube, coupled with the music of the times - colorful language has been a part of the everyday lexicon for decades. When I lived in Europe in the 1980’s, and hung out with Brits and Irish folk, I had no idea that the word fuck could be used as most every part of speech there is in the English language (for fuck’s sake!). When I returned Stateside talking like a sailor I didn’t bat an eye… but I had enough sense not to speak like that in front of my grandmother. I had more respect.

If Hubert commands and demands respect like that, so be it. It’s his show. I notice Theo, Joel Berry, etc. - tons of guys who played for Roy and asst. coach Davis - didn’t and don’t seem to have a problem with that type of discipline. Did Roy tolerate cussing? Or did he make them run too? Do you know? Is that why Kessler transferred? He wanted to play for a coach who would let him cuss freely? (JK )

I think it's important to have discipline and accountability on your team. It's important to have rules and enforce them. But it's also important that those rules seem meaningful and not arbitrary. To me, the "no cursing" thing probably is going to seem pretty arbitrary to most kids.

I think it's important that we try to maintain some sense that there's something special or different about playing for Carolina, compared to other places. I think it's important that we create and maintain an identifiable culture too. Just not sure this particular rule is something that really makes sense as part of that.

 

[Centerpiece]

The problem with allowing or even condoning cussing Willy nilly in practice, in the locker room, on the bench is it becomes normalized. If a player misses a wide open 3 during a scrimmage in practice and yells out “FUCK!” And that sort of thing becomes commonplace, then he’s also likely to do it in a game. He lets one of those fly off in the wrong direction, and Mr. Ref takes it the wrong way… Tech. Not good. Not good at all.

Making the whole team run sprints because one guy lets a 4 letter word slip might be a bit harsh though. I agree. I think a fine line of discouraging foul language on the court can be OK.

But I don’t think Hubert not getting certain recruits or having trouble winning quad 1 games is because of a strict no cussing policy. But maybe it is… maybe we missed out on some guys, and Kessler did transfer because of that strict rule. Maybe we lost in OT to Alabama or whoever because the guys couldn’t let a 4 letter word fly when they felt like it.

 

[farce©]

The problem with allowing or even condoning cussing Willy nilly in practice, in the locker room, on the bench is it becomes normalized. If a player misses a wide open 3 during a scrimmage in practice and yells out “FUCK!” And that sort of thing becomes commonplace, then he’s also likely to do it in a game. He lets one of those fly off in the wrong direction, and Mr. Ref takes it the wrong way… Tech. Not good. Not good at all.

Making the whole team run sprints because one guy lets a 4 letter word slip might be a bit harsh though. I agree. I think a fine line of discouraging foul language on the court can be OK.

But I don’t think Hubert not getting certain recruits or having trouble winning quad 1 games is because of a strict no cussing policy. But maybe it is… maybe we missed out on some guys, and Kessler did transfer because of that strict rule. Maybe we lost in OT to Alabama or whoever because the guys couldn’t let a 4 letter word fly when they felt like it.

This is disingenuous. Nobody is claiming we lose games because players can’t cuss.

 

[Enigma94]

Following college football and basketball recruiting over the years I’ve gleaned that there are a handful of schools in the power conferences that legitimately don’t relax their academic standards all that much for their athletes. Notre Dame and Stanford are the two that stand out. Vandy used to be in that conversation but they might actually not be the best example these days. I think they’ve loosened up to be more competitive in the football transfer portal. To your point though it’s not an exact science, this is just what I’ve picked up on over the years listening and reading the people who follow this stuff closely.

Dook is a good example of a private school using the FOIA stuff to their advantage though and it always gives me a laugh when their fans try to make fun of us for fake classes. As a university they are on the Notre Dame level, but they absolutely bend admissions requirements all the time to make sure they get the best athletes. All of their one and done basketball players take the bare minimum credit hours of the easiest classes possible in the fall, show up just enough for the first month or two of the spring semester to stay eligible for basketball season, then drop off the map. To me that’s just as much of a farce as our players taking no show classes.

Just an fyi - Stanford got busted handing out an "easy class" list for athletes around the same time UNC was going through our mess. I don't think any of the power conference schools are treating their athletes like the regular students who got in on their own merit.

 

[UNCatTech]

This article I linked in my comment addresses that. Roy did not punish kids for cussing, because he was know to use colorful language himself. Hubert went back to the old Dean Smith approach from a long gone era when he took over for Roy.

This is ridiculous in our current age.

It's not the taboo it once was and, in my opinion, isn't relevant.

Honestly, if I were a recruit I would see this as a fucking red flag.

 

[UNCatTech]

The problem with allowing or even condoning cussing Willy nilly in practice, in the locker room, on the bench is it becomes normalized. If a player misses a wide open 3 during a scrimmage in practice and yells out “FUCK!” And that sort of thing becomes commonplace, then he’s also likely to do it in a game. He lets one of those fly off in the wrong direction, and Mr. Ref takes it the wrong way… Tech. Not good. Not good at all.

Making the whole team run sprints because one guy lets a 4 letter word slip might be a bit harsh though. I agree. I think a fine line of discouraging foul language on the court can be OK.

But I don’t think Hubert not getting certain recruits or having trouble winning quad 1 games is because of a strict no cussing policy. But maybe it is… maybe we missed out on some guys, and Kessler did transfer because of that strict rule. Maybe we lost in OT to Alabama or whoever because the guys couldn’t let a 4 letter word fly when they felt like it.

Every game i watch i see the players cursing, i don't believe it impacts the game and is common place.

I could see a kid not wanting to play for someone focused on something that trivial.

 

[Gmonet]

Just an fyi - Stanford got busted handing out an "easy class" list for athletes around the same time UNC was going through our mess. I don't think any of the power conference schools are treating their athletes like the regular students who got in on their own merit.

Yep. And ND absolutely bends things for football.

 

[Bobfripp]

If Ricky can't smoke and swear, he's fucked ...

 

[Calheel]

Every game i watch i see the players cursing, i don't believe it impacts the game and is common place.

I could see a kid not wanting to play for someone focused on something that trivial.

It is not about the cursing itself. It is about learning discipline. The same way that Dean punished anyone who was five seconds late to practice (If you are not early, you are late). The most successful athletes (Jordan, Lebron, Brady, etc) are incredibly disciplined.

I am pretty neutral on the no cursing rule. But it is important for a coach to instill rules for a team to follow. That is an important part of building a winning culture.