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North Carolina’s men’s basketball program parted ways with head coach Hubert Davis earlier this week following an upset loss to VCU in the opening round of the NCAA tournament.
UNC did not disclose details about Davis’ departure, instead describing the move as a change in leadership. The now-former Tar Heels coach later confirmed on social media he was “let go” despite wanting to continue coaching at Chapel Hill.
Since Davis’ exit, several possible candidates with ties to UNC have emerged, including Kenny “The Jet” Smith, who was notably mentioned by ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith.
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North Carolina Tar Heels head coach Hubert Davis talks to Armando Bacot (5) during a game against the UC Riverside Highlanders on Nov. 17, 2023 at the Dean Smith Center in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. (Peyton Williams/UNC/Getty Images)
After praising Hubert Davis, who both played and later coached at North Carolina, Kenny Smith shut down any interest in the vacant job, calling speculation linking him to the opening “disrespectful.”
“Yeah, we can talk about North Carolina,” Smith, a basketball analyst, said during halftime of the Texas-Purdue Sweet Sixteen game in the NCAA tournament. “But that vacancy – I thought that was honestly disrespectful. But first of all, Coach Hubert Davis, thank you. Your service and what you did for North Carolina basketball as a player and as a coach, you moved it forward. I think people forget that because of one game here and there.”
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Smith emphasized the importance of preserving North Carolina’s coaching lineage.
“But I also think this is a precarious position for North Carolina and for us as Tar Heels. Because what makes us special, when you fire one person, that’s Hubert Davis. But when you have Coach [Brad] Frederick, you have Sean May, you have Jeff Lebo, you have Marcus Paige, you have Pat Sullivan. What that is, is you have a lineage to every era of basketball that’s Carolina that was on that staff, including Hubert Davis. Every era was connected.”
Former North Carolina Tar Heels basketball player Kenny Smith poses for a selfie with fans as he hosts the annual Late Night with Roy Williams basketball kickoff at the Dean Smith Center on Oct. 23, 2015 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. (Grant Halverson/Getty Images)
“That’s what makes us special. Forget all that ‘blue blood.’ What makes Carolina family is the connection of all of those eras were in one building at one time. That’s what makes people pay attention and have some animosity or some love for us.”
It remains unclear how wide UNC will cast its net, but hiring outside the program would break from a tradition tied closely to Dean Smith. Nevertheless, Smith hopes the next coach will be committed to Chapel Hill for the long haul, much like Davis was.
TNT basketball analyst Kenny Smith on air before the NCAA Mens Basketball Tournament Final Four semifinal game between the Purdue Boilermakers and the North Carolina State Wolfpack at State Farm Stadium on April 6, 2024, in Glendale, Arizona. (Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
“I will say this. Dean Smith retired as a Tar Heel. Roy Williams retired as a Tar Heel. Hubert Davis was going to retire a Tar Heel. Whoever we come in, they have to want to retire a Tar Heel,” Smith said. “I don’t care what that means. You don’t want to look for, ‘Oh, [what] J.J. Redick has done in LA. I want to be a Laker.’ You retire a Tar Heel, the next person.”
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Davis succeeded Roy Williams in 2021 after being elevated from his assistant role. Williams led the Tar Heels to three national titles. North Carolina’s deepest tournament run under Davis was a Sweet 16 appearance.
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