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The North Carolina men’s basketball program parted ways with head coach Hubert Davis earlier this week following a surprise loss to VCU in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
UNC has not released details about Davis’ departure, instead describing the move as a change in direction. The former Tar Heels coach later confirmed on social media that he had been “let go” despite wanting to continue coaching in Chapel Hill.
Since Davis’ departure, 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 with Armando Bacot (5) during a game against the UC Riverside Highlanders on November 17, 2023 at the Dean Smith Center in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. (Peyton Williams/UNC/Getty Images)
After praising Hubert Davis, who played and then coached at North Carolina, Kenny Smith shut down all interest in the vacancy, calling speculation linking him to the opening “disrespectful.”
“Yes, 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 this vacancy — I thought it was honestly disrespectful. But first of all, Coach Hubert Davis, thank you. Your service and what you’ve done for North Carolina basketball as a player and as a coach, you’ve moved it forward. I think people forget that because of a game here and there.”
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Smith emphasized the importance of preserving North Carolina’s coaching lineage.
“But I also think it’s a precarious position for North Carolina and for us as Tar Heels. Because what makes us special, when you fire one person, is 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 it is is you have a lineage from every era of basketball, including Carolina, that was on that team, including Hubert Davis. Each 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 October 23, 2015 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. (Grant Halverson/Getty Images)
“That’s what makes us special. Forget all that ‘blue blood.’ What makes the Carolina family is the connection of all those eras in one building at once. That’s what makes people care and feel animosity or love for us.”
It’s not yet clear how widely UNC will cast its net, but hiring outside the program would break with a tradition closely tied to Dean Smith. Still, Smith hopes the next coach commits to Chapel Hill for the long term, just like Davis.
TNT basketball analyst Kenny Smith on air before the NCAA men’s basketball tournament 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 it was, he must want to retire a Tar Heel,” Smith said. “I don’t care what that means. You don’t want to look for, ‘Oh, [what] JJ Redick did it in Los Angeles. I want to be a Laker. You take out a Tar Heel, the next person. “
Davis took over from 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.
