For as long as anyone can remember the two dominant teams in the ACC were Duke and North Carolina. It didn’t necessarily mean that the programs would finish at the top of the conference, but each team was the standard that everyone tried to match.
However, while the Blue Devils have thrived in the new landscape of college basketball while navigating NIL and the transfer portal in addition to still landing impact high school recruits, the Tar Heels have struggled to adjust.
North Carolina only hired a general manager for its program this offseason and despite landing a 5-star recruit in Caleb Wilson, Hubert Davis’ team had a relatively quiet offseason as others in the ACC made major moves.
No program sent more shockwaves through the league than NC State and the Wolfpack have proven that it will not be long before it is consistently battling for ACC championships after hiring head coach Will Wade.
The same can be said for Louisville, who returned to the NCAA Tournament in the first season under head coach Pat Kelsey after a miserable short tenure with Kenny Payne at the helm.
It begs the question that if Duke stays as a contender in the ACC, which is has shown no signs of dropping off anytime soon, can North Carolina still compete at the top of a conference that has not been generating much success over the last two seasons.
Many believed that the Tar Heels should not have made the NCAA Tournament this season, squeezing in as a Last Four In, which would have made two missed postseasons in the last three years.
Now, despite a contract extension there is massive pressure on the shoulders of Hubert Davis to succeed this season and get North Carolina back in the conversation with Duke or risk being passed by Louisville, NC State, and others.