Hubert Davis
Davis with North Carolina in 2021
North Carolina Tar Heels
PositionHead coach
LeagueAtlantic Coast Conference
Personal information
Born (1970-05-17) May 17, 1970 (age 53)
Winston-Salem, North Carolina, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Listed weight183 lb (83 kg)
Career information
High schoolLake Braddock Secondary
(Burke, Virginia)
CollegeNorth Carolina (1988–1992)
NBA draft1992: 1st round, 20th overall pick
Selected by the New York Knicks
Playing career1992–2004
PositionShooting guard
Number44, 24
Coaching career2012–present
Career history
As player:
1992–1996New York Knicks
1996–1997Toronto Raptors
1997–2001Dallas Mavericks
2001–2002Washington Wizards
2002–2004Detroit Pistons
2004New Jersey Nets
As coach:
2012–2021North Carolina (assistant)
2021–presentNorth Carolina
Career highlights and awards
As player:

As assistant coach:

As head coach:

Career NBA statistics
Points5,583 (8.2 ppg)
Rebounds1,045 (1.5 rpg)
Assists1,172 (1.7 apg)
Stats Edit this at Wikidata at NBA.com
Stats Edit this at Wikidata at Basketball-Reference.com
Medals
Men's Basketball
Representing  United States
Summer Universiade
Gold medal – first place 1991 Sheffield National team

Hubert Ira Davis Jr. (born May 17, 1970) is an American college basketball coach and former professional player who is the head coach of the North Carolina Tar Heels men's team. Before his coaching career, Davis played for North Carolina from 1988–1992 and in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the New York Knicks, Toronto Raptors, Dallas Mavericks, Washington Wizards, Detroit Pistons, and New Jersey Nets from 1992 to 2004. He holds the franchise single-season and career three-point field goal shooting percentage records for both the Knicks and the Mavericks. He is the nephew of Walter Davis, another former Tar Heel and NBA player.

Davis served as an assistant coach for the Tar Heels from 2012 until his elevation to head coach in 2021 following the retirement of Roy Williams.[1]

Early life and education

Davis attended Lake Braddock Secondary School in Burke, Virginia, averaging 28.0 points per game his senior year. He attended the same high school as future Tar Heel women's soccer great and Olympic medalist Mia Hamm. He went on to the University of North Carolina, where he holds the record for the highest career three-point percentage in school history. In his junior year, he helped lead the team to its first Final Four appearance since winning the national championship in 1982. Davis graduated in 1992 with a degree in Criminal Justice, after averaging 21.4 points per game in his senior season.[2]

NBA career

The New York Knicks selected Davis with the 20th overall pick in the 1992 NBA draft. He made the winning free throws after Hue Hollins called a disputed foul against Scottie Pippen in Game 5 of the 1994 Eastern Conference semifinals against the Chicago Bulls, giving the Knicks an 87–86 win (the Knicks went on to win the series in seven games).[3] Davis established the Knicks franchise records for single-season (.476, 1995–96)[4] and career (.449)[5][6] three-point shooting percentages.

Davis remained with New York for four years, and was traded to the Toronto Raptors before the 1996–97 season. After Toronto, Davis spent time with the Dallas Mavericks, Washington Wizards, Detroit Pistons, and New Jersey Nets. Davis established the Mavericks franchise records for single-season (.491, 1999–2000)[7] and career (.454)[8][9] three-point shooting percentages. Davis played his final NBA game in 2004, finishing with career averages of 8.2 points, 1.5 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game. Davis's 44.09% NBA career three-point shot percentage ranks him second behind Steve Kerr (45.40%).[10]

Sports analyst

Davis on an ESPN College GameDay broadcast in 2008

Following his playing career, Davis began working for ESPN as a college basketball analyst in the 2007–2008 season. During his time at ESPN, he served as a studio analyst for the network's coverage of college basketball and was a panelist on College Gameday. He left ESPN to return to Chapel Hill as an assistant coach following the 2011–2012 season.

Coaching career

North Carolina assistant coach

Prior to the 2012–2013 season, UNC head coach Roy Williams hired Davis as an assistant.[11] Davis also served as head coach of UNC's junior varsity basketball team, one of the only junior varsity teams remaining in college basketball. UNC's junior varsity program is a long-standing program tradition, and several former JV players have gone on to be walk-ons for the varsity team.

Davis was on the bench for the Tar Heels 2017 NCAA Men's Basketball tournament run that concluded with a 71–65 win over Gonzaga in the National Championship game.

North Carolina head coach

Following the retirement of Williams, Davis was named the 19th head coach in program history, and became the first African-American to lead the program. The move was initially met with some criticism, as Davis had never been a head coach at any level. Despite this, Williams had been grooming him for a head coaching job much in the same way that Dean Smith had mentored Williams during Williams' time as a Tar Heel assistant coach from 1978 to 1988.

Davis recorded his first career win in his first game as head coach. The Tar Heels beat Loyola (MD) 83–67 at home in the Dean Smith Center to open the season.[12] On February 21, 2022, Davis's Tar Heels defeated Louisville to give the first-year head coach his 20th victory of the year. Davis became the fourth ACC head coach to win twenty games in his debut season in the past twenty-five years with the victory.[13] Previous Tar Heel coaches Matt Doherty (2000–01), and Bill Guthridge (1997–98) are two of the other three coaches to reach the twenty-win mark in their debut seasons, winning 26 and 34 games respectively. Davis's Tar Heels capped off a 23–8 regular season with a 94–81 victory over Duke in Mike Krzyzewski's final home game at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Davis's Tar Heels went 1–1 in his first ACC tournament as head coach, and earned an Eastern regional 8th seed in the 2022 NCAA tournament. After cruising to a 95–63 win over 9-seed Marquette in the first round, the Tar Heels upset the East's number one seed, the Baylor Bears, in the second round. The Tar Heels hung on and won the game 93–86 in overtime after losing a 25-point second-half lead.[14] The victory secured Davis's first sweet sixteen berth as head coach and the school's 30th overall, the most by any program in Division I history. After a 73–66 victory over 4th seed UCLA Bruins in the Sweet Sixteen, Davis and his Tar Heels advanced to the Elite Eight where they defeated the St. Peter’s Peacocks 69–49 to earn a trip to the Final Four. In the national semifinal game, the Tar Heels matched up against arch rivals Duke for the first time in NCAA tournament history. The Tar Heels defeated the Blue Devils 81-77 in what was Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski's final game. However, in the national championship game, Davis' Tar Heels were defeated by Kansas, 72-69.

Due to the Tar Heels' success in his first year as head coach, Davis became one of the few college basketball figures to have gone to a Final Four as a player (1991), an assistant coach (2016 and 2017), and as a head coach (2022).

Personal life

Davis and his wife Leslie have three children: Elijah, Bobbie Grace and Micah. As of the 2021–22 season, Elijah plays college basketball for the University of Lynchburg.[15] At the press conference announcing his hiring as the UNC basketball coach, when asked about being the first black UNC head coach, Davis caused public debate by stating he's proud to be African-American but also proud that his wife is white.[16] Davis is a devout Christian.[17][18]

Career playing statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high
* Led the league

NBA

Regular season

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1992–93 New York 50 2 16.8 .438 .316 .796 1.1 1.7 .4 .1 5.4
1993–94 New York 56 27 23.8 .471 .402 .825 1.2 2.9 .7 .1 11.0
1994–95 New York 82* 4 20.7 .480 .455 .808 1.3 1.8 .4 .1 10.0
1995–96 New York 74 14 24.0 .486 .476 .868 1.7 1.4 .4 .1 10.7
1996–97 Toronto 36 0 17.3 .402 .229 .739 1.1 .9 .3 .1 5.0
1997–98 Dallas 81 30 29.4 .456 .439 .836 2.1 1.9 .5 .1 11.1
1998–99 Dallas 50* 21 27.6 .438 .451 .880 1.7 1.8 .4 .1 9.1
1999–2000 Dallas 79 15 23.0 .468 .491* .870 1.7 1.8 .3 .0 7.4
2000–01 Dallas 51 7 24.7 .443 .436 .854 2.1 1.2 .6 .0 7.3
2000–01 Washington 15 11 28.7 .479 .526 .905 2.0 3.3 .4 .0 10.2
2001–02 Washington 51 17 24.2 .448 .452 .762 1.5 2.1 .5 .1 7.2
2002–03 Detroit 43 1 7.6 .392 .333 .833 .8 .7 .1 .0 1.8
2003–04 Detroit 3 0 7.7 .000 .000 – .0 .3 .0 .0 .0
2003–04 New Jersey 14 0 3.9 .111 – 1.000 .6 .2 .1 .0 .3
Career 685 149 22.1 .458 .441 .837 1.5 1.7 .4 .1 8.2

Playoffs

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1993 New York 7 0 13.7 .560 .500 .667 .9 .7 .9 .0 4.4
1994 New York 23 7 17.2 .364 .286 .719 .9 1.1 .2 .1 5.3
1995 New York 11 0 16.7 .357 .370 1.000 .6 .8 .1 .5 4.2
1996 New York 8 0 18.1 .548 .526 .818 1.5 .6 .0 .0 6.6
Career 49 7 16.8 .409 .373 .750 .9 .9 .2 .2 5.1

College

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1988–89 North Carolina 35 0 7.1 .512 .308 .774 .8 .3 .1 .0 3.3
1989–90 North Carolina 34 6 21.3 .446 .396 .797 1.8 1.5 1.0 .2 9.6
1990–91 North Carolina 35 20 24.3 .521 .489 .835 2.4 1.9 .9 .3 13.3
1991–92 North Carolina 33 30 33.2 .508 .429 .828 2.3 1.6 1.3 .2 21.4
Career[19] 137 56 21.3 .498 .435 .819 1.8 1.3 .8 .2 11.8

Records

Head coaching record

Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
North Carolina Tar Heels (Atlantic Coast Conference) (2021–present)
2021–22 North Carolina 29–10 15–5 T–2nd NCAA Division I Runner-up
2022–23 North Carolina 20–13 11–9 7th
2023–24 North Carolina 27–7 17–3 1st
North Carolina: 76–30 (.717) 43–17 (.717)
Total: 76–30 (.717)

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

See also

References

  1. ^ C. L. Brown (April 5, 2021). "UNC to hire Hubert Davis as its next basketball coach". The Charlotte Observer. The News & Observer.
  2. ^ "Hubert Davis – Head Coach". GoHeels.com. Retrieved April 27, 2021.
  3. ^ Adande, J.A. (May 29, 2009). "Hollins' call still resonates after 15 years". ESPN. Retrieved January 24, 2022.
  4. ^ a b "New York Knicks Season Leaders". Sports Reference. Retrieved May 20, 2023.
  5. ^ a b "New York Knicks: Franchise Leaders". NBA.com. Retrieved May 20, 2023.
  6. ^ a b "New York Knicks Career Leaders". Sports Reference. Retrieved May 20, 2023.
  7. ^ a b "Dallas Mavericks Season Leaders". Sports Reference. Retrieved May 20, 2023.
  8. ^ a b "Dallas Mavericks: Franchise Leaders". NBA.com. Retrieved May 20, 2023.
  9. ^ a b "Dallas Mavericks Career Leaders". Sports Reference. Retrieved May 20, 2023.
  10. ^ "NBA & ABA Career Leaders and Records for 3-Pt Field Goal Pct". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved 23 November 2021.
  11. ^ Jackson, Aaron (May 2, 2012). "Hubert Davis: New Assistant Coach Makes Sense for North Carolina Tar Heels". Bleacher Report. Retrieved January 24, 2022.
  12. ^ "Loyola (MD) vs. North Carolina – Box Score – November 9, 2021 – ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved November 12, 2021.
  13. ^ ESPN Stats & Info [@ESPNStatsInfo] (February 22, 2022). "Hubert Davis is the 4th ACC coach to win 20 games in their first season as head coach in the last 25 seasons" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  14. ^ Flaherty, Kevin (March 19, 2022). "North Carolina vs. Baylor score: UNC overcomes historic 25-point collapse to oust No. 1 seed Bears in OT". CBS Sports. Retrieved March 19, 2022.
  15. ^ "Elijah Davis". lynchburgsports.com. Retrieved March 27, 2022.
  16. ^ Adams, Biba (7 April 2021). "1st Black UNC head coach Hubert Davis says he's 'proud wife is white'". Yahoo News. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
  17. ^ Brown, Clifton (1993-11-26). "BASKETBALL; Knicks' Davis: The Choir Boy With the Killer Shot". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-04-05.
  18. ^ "College Basketball's Elite Talk Faith at The Final Four". CBN.com – The Christian Broadcasting Network. 2016-04-04. Retrieved 2021-04-05.
  19. ^ "Tim Duncan College Stats". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved 25 April 2022.

External links

Men's basketball head coaches of the Atlantic Coast Conference
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