Hubert Davis To Make History As UNC’s First Black Men’s Basketball Coach

North Carolina’s search to find Roy Williams’ successor as the head men’s basketball coach didn’t last too long or venture too far outside of the Dean E. Smith Center.

UNC hired former guard Hubert Davis, who just five days ago was still an assistant coach under Williams, to lead the storied program.

Davis, 50, who played for legendary coach Dean Smith from 1988-92, will be the first Black head coach in the history of the program. He has spent the past nine seasons as an assistant coach under outgoing head coach Roy Williams, who announced his retirement Thursday.

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“I am honored and humbled to be given the opportunity to lead this program,’’ Davis said in a statement released by UNC. “I would not be here without Coach Dean Smith, Coach Bill Guthridge and Coach Roy Williams; they taught me so much – and I’m eager to walk their path in my shoes and with my personality.”

The News & Observer was first to report the news Monday, and the school confirmed the promotion after the UNC Chapel Hill Board of Trustees voted to approve Davis’ employment agreement at an emergency meeting Monday afternoon. Terms of his contract will be released at a later date, UNC said.

Williams retired after 18 seasons at Carolina and 33 seasons total as a head coach. Williams leaves behind, arguably, as big a shadow as Smith did. He led the Tar Heels to national titles in 2005, 2009 and 2017 before revealing at his retirement press conference that he no longer felt he was “the right man for the job.”

Davis’ UNC roots run deep. His uncle, Walter Davis, played for the Tar Heels from 1973-77, which inspired him to want to play for Smith. Walter Davis told the N&O Monday he had not yet spoken with his nephew on Monday, but he had congratulated his brother, Hubert Davis Sr., to share in the family’s joy.

“We’ve got a Davis in there, I’m very excited about that,” said Walter Davis, from his home in Denver. “I’m happy for him and happy for the school. They did the right thing, choosing Hubert. He’s going to do a great job. “

Hubert Davis, a native of Burke, Va., played for the Tar Heels from 1988 to 1992 in 137 games, the university said. The teams won the 1989 and 1991 Atlantic Coast Conference Tournaments and advanced to the 1991 Final Four. There, while Davis scored 25 points in the national semifinals against Kansas — a team coached by Williams — the Tar Heels lost.

Davis played in the NBA for 12 seasons and got his first taste of coaching in 2004 as a Dallas Mavericks player development coach.

Davis also worked for ESPN for seven years as a college basketball analyst. But when Williams had a position to fill, he handpicked Davis to join his staff, despite never coaching in college.

“He was a pre-law major, and I always thought he was going to be an attorney,” Walter Davis said. “And then when he got that job with ESPN, he did an excellent job commentating. Then when Roy Williams hired him, I was shocked that he wanted to be a coach. So, being the head coach at the University of North Carolina is big time.”