All articles tagged with #unc
North Carolina has hired Chuck Martin, a longtime recruiter and Malone’s former colleague, as Associate Head Coach, a high-profile staff addition expected to boost the Tar Heels’ recruiting and transfer-portal push.
UNC is finalizing Chuck Martin as associate head coach on Michael Malone’s staff, adding a veteran assistant with more than 25 years of college coaching who helped Arkansas and Kentucky recruit top classes and has previously worked with Malone at Manhattan; the hire, reported by Inside Carolina and Jon Rothstein, underscores Malone’s plan to strengthen UNC’s coaching and recruiting reach for the coming seasons.
UNC is conducting its first national men’s basketball coaching search since 1952, pressed to hire quickly as the transfer portal opens April 7 and staff planning becomes essential, with Final Four coaches Tommy Lloyd and Dusty May among early targets; pursuing an NBA head coach could complicate timing since the NBA season runs past April 12, a dynamic that underscores how the transfer era reshapes the Tar Heels’ hiring timetable and fuels fan anticipation while other Carolina programs post victories.
North Carolina is suspending discussions about the future of the Dean E. Smith Center while it focuses on hiring a new men’s basketball head coach after parting ways with Hubert Davis; the arena study had outlined several options—from new builds to major renovations—with projected costs up to about $800 million, and discussions will resume after the new coach has time to acclimate.
North Carolina fired Hubert Davis after five seasons and is weighing a marquee hire to restore national-title contention, with Jay Wright reportedly considering coming out of retirement as a top option and earlier chatter about pursuing Brad Stevens illustrating UNC’s willingness to chase a proven winner.
UNC is weighing three prominent candidates—Arizona's Tommy Lloyd, Michigan's Dusty May, and Chicago Bulls coach Billy Donovan—for its next men’s basketball head coach. Lloyd offers a proven winning track record and UNC ties but comes with a multimillion-dollar buyout and cross-country relocation; May has star-turn credentials from FAU and a Michigan revival, plus a potential UNC connection via Sean May, but his tenure at Michigan is brief and he may seek stability elsewhere; Donovan brings elite college coaching pedigree from Florida, but his NBA tenure hasn’t repeated that success, he’s the oldest option, and timing could clash with UNC’s post-season schedule and the transfer portal window.
Bruce Pearl said on national TV that there’s no loyalty left in coaching, using Hubert Davis’s UNC firing as context; the next day he blamed media for reporting those comments, even threatening a blacklist of reporters, highlighting tensions in the NIL era and coach–program loyalty while recounting his own Auburn/Tennessee history.
Kenny Smith reacted to Hubert Davis’s firing, pushed back on rumors he’d be the next UNC coach, praised Davis’s tenure and the program’s Tar Heel lineage, and argued the next hire should retire a Tar Heel rather than come from outside the family, underscoring UNC’s deep connections and staff alumni.
North Carolina’s hunt for a new men’s basketball coach is underway after Hubert Davis’s departure, with top targets T.J. Otzelberger and Tommy Lloyd publicly signaling commitment to their current programs, though neither has ruled out UNC once their seasons conclude, keeping the coaching carousel alive as the NCAA Tournament continues.
Incoming UNC athletic director Steve Newmark detailed a careful, multi-day process that led to Hubert Davis's firing after the NCAA Tournament loss to VCU. The timeline included discussions with Bubba Cunningham, the chancellor, and Davis, with the goal of evaluating the season beyond one game while avoiding rash decisions, all framed by a season derailed by Caleb Wilson’s injury, a Duke loss, and an early ACC Tournament exit as UNC pursues an elite-level hire.
North Carolina fired Hubert Davis and launched a high-stakes coaching search, with betting favorites including Billy Donovan, T.J. Otzelberger, and Nate Oats, among others. The report notes UNC is likely to look outside the basketball family, Brad Stevens is out of the running, and the buyout to part ways with Davis exceeds $5 million.
UNC fired Hubert Davis after five seasons and is seeking a new men’s basketball coach, but a 2025 governance change requires written approval from the UNC System president for any coach contract, sidelining the board of trustees from negotiations. Athletics directors Bubba Cunningham and Steve Newmark lead the search with Turnkey ZRG, aided by an advisory group of former players and coaches, as the program aims high in the replacement process.
ESPN analyst Seth Greenberg floated Billy Donovan and Iowa State’s TJ Otzelberger as top UNC options after firing Hubert Davis, with Mark Byington also named; he suggested UNC must offer a strong package to attract a top coach, and noted some coaches like Todd Golden and Nate Oats may stay put. Davis went 125-54 in five seasons; after missing the NCAA Tournament in 2023, UNC went 29-8 and reached the Sweet Sixteen in 2024.
The article notes there is little new information about Hubert Davis’s future as UNC’s head coach and reports that the weekly Hubert Davis Live radio show was postponed, signaling a likely upcoming formal announcement and possible end to his tenure.
UNC blew a 19-point second-half lead and fell 82-78 in overtime to 11-seed VCU in the NCAA Tournament, ending a season marked by poor free-throw shooting, late-game collapses, and questions about Hubert Davis's rotation and decision-making as UNC missed the Round of 32 in three of the last four years.