So it finally happened. The North Carolina Tar Heels moved on from one of their own in Hubert Davis. The former UNC star replaced Roy Williams only half a decade ago on the sidelines in Chapel Hill. While he did lead the Tar Heels to a national championship game appearance, that was in year one at the helm of the operation with Williams' players. All the while, Jon Scheyer has thrived over at Duke...
With UNC bowing out in embarrassing fashion vs. VCU in the Round of 64, this was bound to happen.
Sources: Hubert Davis will not return as North Carolina’s head coach, per me and @jeffborzello. He’s spent the last five years as the head coach of the Tar Heels, compiling a 125-54 record. UNC reached the national title game in his first year there. pic.twitter.com/3l9clDETg9
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) March 25, 2026
While North Carolina may try to land somebody great to replace Davis, this is the same UNC athletic department that hired an over-his-skis Bill Belichick to replace a football program icon in Mack Brown. Trusting North Carolina to make the right decision here is easier said than done. All Duke can do is react accordingly. More importantly, they have bigger fish to fry, like facing St. John's in the Sweet 16.
Now that UNC has ripped the crusty Davis band-aid off, where does that leave Duke moving forward?
Duke Blue Devils should monitor who North Carolina hires next closely
Look. Here is a plausible way to see this from an outsider's perspective. People tend to respond to failure the same way. They hate getting embarrassed. More often than not, they will hunker down, pick themselves up by their bootstraps, and try to make the next one count. North Carolina fans, and maybe the university, feel this way. It is why their next hire could be a tremendous galvanizer for them.
One of the things that has played in so massively to North Carolina's undeniable inferiority complex is the Tar Heels simply do not recruit well enough out of high school. How many tremendously great players are starring in the NBA these days with UNC ties? Exactly... Duke is and has continued to run roughshod over them for the better part of two decades now. Coach K pivoted, while Williams did not.
In this modern age of basketball, it serves North Carolina to hire one of two types of head coaches. They either need a John Calipari star recruiter to get the best players out of the high school ranks, or someone who has developed into a transfer portal maven. The answer probably lies somewhere in between. What is important to know is that being a North Carolina alum is not going to carry weight...
So what does this mean for Duke, in all honesty? Blue Devils fans should expect for North Carolina to make a home-run cut in its next hire. With the Kansas job potentially opening up as well with Bill Self contemplating retirement, two undeniable blue-blood programs may become available. Someone will jump at either opportunity. Scheyer must stay the course and continue to preach what all Duke does.
Duke needs to monitor what North Carolina does with its next hire, but not change everything it does.