Hubert Davis Becomes UNC’s First Black Head Basketball Coach

The University of North Carolina has hired Hubert Davis as its new men’s basketball coach, making him the school’s first African American in the role and 19th in program history, according to 247Sports.com.

Davis, 50, is no stranger to the Tar Heels’ program. He played guard for UNC coach Dean Smith as part of its 1991 Final Four team and helped win wo ACC Tournament championships in 1989 and 1991. In his 137-game college career he had 1,616 points, averaging 11.8 per game and at .435, still holds the UNC record for career 3-point shooting percentage.

He was 20th overall pick in the 1992 NBA Draft and started his pro career with the New York Knicks and played for several teams including the Toronto Raptors, New Jersey Nets and Detroit Pistons. In 685 career NBA games he had a 44.1 three-point percentage.

Davis replaces retiring coach Roy Williams who led the Tar Heels to three national championships. He spent the past nine years on Williams staff as an assistant coach helping with scouting, recruiting and coaching form the bench.

“Carolina has been a part of my life—case closed,” Davis said, according to 247Sports.com. “I have been on this campus since I was four, hanging out with Uncle Walt (former UNC and later Phoenix Suns guard Walter Davis). There is a love for this university, this program, this community that has been a part of my entire life. To be able to come back to a program that has been my life, and to come and be a part of it again, from a different view was overwhelming.”