ATLANTA – Hubert Davis was strolling on Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia, last April with his wife Leslie when they came upon a sight he had never encountered: a swimming pool connected to the ocean. “It was just an outdoor spot where you can lay out and swim,” Davis said. “They had all kinds of food on the side. We swam at the swim hole and then had lunch right there. It was the most unique, unbelievable experience I’ve ever had.”
The dip-and-dine was part of a two-week excursion Down Under the Davises took to visit their daughter Gracie, who was studying abroad there. It was not lost on Davis that the experience was available to him only because he had just suffered through the most traumatic moment of his career.
That moment arrived on Mar. 24, when North Carolina fired Davis as its head coach following a 24-9 season that ended with the Tar Heels’ first-round NCAA Tournament loss to VCU. The Heels had led by 19 points with 14 minutes to play but ended up falling 82-78 in overtime. Blowing a huge lead in a first-round game is never a good look, but it’s not a stretch to say things would likely have been different if North Carolina’s best player, freshman forward Caleb Wilson, had not missed the final nine games due to hand and thumb injuries.
Davis’ job security had been the subject of speculation in the weeks beforehand, but his firing was still surprising considering he is a true blue member of the hallowed North Carolina family. He played for Dean Smith from 1988-92. Following a 12-year NBA career and five-year stint at ESPN, Davis returned home to join Roy Williams’ staff as an assistant coach. He moved into the head chair when Williams retired in 2021. A year later, Davis ushered the Tar Heels through a Cinderella run in the NCAA Tournament that ended with a loss to Kansas in the championship game.
The trajectory of the program trended steadily downward from there. Over his final four seasons, North Carolina won just two NCAA Tournament games, and the Heels missed the tournament altogether in 2023. Davis’ divorce from UNC was public and undoubtedly painful, but during a recent interview with Hoops HQ in a hotel lobby, Davis showed no desire to rehash the past or express ill will toward his alma mater.
“I really enjoyed my time in coaching,” he said. “For me to say that I grew up wanting to go to North Carolina and I ended up going there, playing there, assistant coach, head coach. That’s where I became a Christian. That’s where I fell in love with my wife. That’s where we raised our three kids. So I find in joy, happiness and thankfulness in all circumstances.”
Asked if there will ever be a time when he’d be willing to publicly discuss what happened in detail, Davis replied, “I don’t think so. I’m just here now and in the present. Honestly, I think it’s a waste of time. … I can’t tell you how many times I’ve told my players about how to react and how to respond. I want them to believe that Coach not only was telling us, he’s actually doing it. That’s really important to me.”
In the months since his dismissal, Davis has been lying low and having fun. He resurfaced this month when he started working for TNT Sports as a panelist for the company’s truTV college basketball studio coverage. (Note: I am working as one of Davis’ studio partners this season.) Davis will also call games exclusively for TNT Sports this season. “It gives me a chance to stay connected and have fun covering a game that I’ve loved an been a part of for the last 21 years,” he said. “And it’s a chance to be surrounded by good people. You want to work hard, but you want to be around people that are going to put a smile on your face so you can have fun.”
Davis’ faith was especially important to him in those first few days following his firing. “I really felt like Jesus was telling me to be still,” he said. “I think there is a reason for all seasons. Unfortunately, I’ve had the experience of losing my mom at 16. So at a young age I realized that there are times an situations in life that things don’t particularly go the way that you thought it would go.”
A few weeks after he left the job, he and Leslie took that trip to Australia. Later in the summer Davis traveled with his son Micah, a sophomore on the men’s soccer team at the University of Mary Washington, to New York to watch the World Cup. The additional free hours have allowed Davis to play golf and do yard work, but he is not one to stay idle for long. “I like to relax, but I like to be busy,” he said.
Davis has returned to New York City several times to make appearances and conduct coaching clinics for the Knicks. He has also visited the Indiana Pacers, Washington Wizards and Atlanta Hawks and spent time with college colleagues like Scott Drew at Baylor, John Calipari at Arkansas and Ed Cooley at Georgetown. “It was great to be in a position just to listen and learn,” he said. “It also gave me confirmation that we’re all talking about the same things.”
In late June, Davis traveled again to New York to be at the NBA Draft, where Wilson was selected fourth overall by the Chicago Bulls. It was the first time Davis had ever attended the draft —including in 1992, when he was selected by the Knicks with the 20th pick. Davis spent that night alone at a Best Western in Chapel Hill. It wasn’t until Knicks coach Pat Riley reached him in his room that he knew he had been picked. “I was just nervous,” he said. “I’d seen some of my friends have draft parties, and it didn’t go well. I didn’t want that to happen to me. I really felt confident that I was going to get picked in the first round, but you just never know.”
Davis also attended the NBA’s Summer League for the first time. That allowed him to watch several of his former players in action. That trip was followed by another family vacation, this time to Turks and Caicos. In August, Davis helped his older son Elijah move into his new abode at Furman University, where Elijah took a job as the Video Coordinator for the basketball team. Elijah played three years at Lynchburg before spending his senior season playing for his dad.
Despite the unhappy ending in Chapel Hill, Davis is overjoyed that his son decided to go into coaching. “I’m glad because he’s always had a passion to be around basketball,” Davis said. “You can say, it could get ugly. What thing can you do that doesn’t get a little ugly? Not every day is sunny. There’s rainy, cloudy, windy days. That’s life. The only thing that you have control over is how you react and how you respond. So do something that you love.”
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Davis has followed Furman’s progress closely during the Paladins’ 4-0 start. “It’s so funny being on this side. I’m so nervous when they play,” he said. He has also attended every one of Micah’s home soccer games this fall. Like most coaches, Davis wasn’t able to attend many of his children’s games and events. Being a head coach gave him the authority to adjust his schedule, but he fell into the habit of devoting his time and energy to everyone but himself. “What got sacrificed in the job was me,” he said. “Getting the right rest, eating the right way, finding a rhythm and a routine to exercise, carving out time away from the job, which you have to do to be at your best. I would say that’s the one mistake that I made. Given the right opportunity to get back into it, that won’t ever happen again.”
As for what that opportunity might be, Davis said he would love to coach again, but for the time being it’s not something he’s avidly pursuing. He added that he is open to all possibilities, including the NBA should a position become available. “It’s the first time in my life that I can go any direction I want to,” Davis said. “It’s a pretty cool place to be.”
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