College Basketball

UNC Tar Heels to promote assistant Hubert Davis to head basketball coach

Updated Apr. 5, 2021 5:44 p.m. ET

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North Carolina is reportedly promoting assistant coach Hubert Davis to be its next men’s basketball coach, making him the first Black head coach in a major revenue sport at the university.

Davis will fill the shoes of legend Roy Williams, who retired five days ago after 18 seasons at UNC, a stretch that included national titles in 2005, 2009 and 2017.

Williams handpicked Davis to join his staff, despite his never having coached at the college level, and Davis spent the past nine seasons with the Tar Heels. He currently manages the program’s charity efforts and previously coached the junior varsity team.

The 50-year-old Davis played for legendary UNC coach Dean Smith from 1988 to '92 and still holds the program record for career 3-point percentage, at 43.5%. Davis played 12 seasons in the NBA and spent seven years as a basketball analyst for ESPN.

Davis began his coaching career in 2004 as a Dallas Mavericks player development coach.

The UNC-Chapel Hill Board of Trustees is expected to meet Monday afternoon to approve Davis' contract. The hire was met with praise from multiple former Tar Heels.

There was additional social media reaction from around sports media and the college basketball community.

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