Duke Legend Calls Out UNC Tournament Exit as Hubert Davis Decision Looms…
Another early exit for the North Carolina Tar Heels from the NCAA Tournament quickly led to buzz that head coach Hubert Davis was on the hot seat, with many fans calling for his firing. Davis, a former Tar Heel player, became head coach in 2021 and had a successful tournament run all the way to the National Championship Game. Unfortunately, his team lost to Kansas after a thrilling comeback from the Jayhawks, but that early success had many believing Davis could guide them to another championship. His next four seasons have featured a declined NIT invitation, loss in the Sweet 16, and back-to-back exits from March Madness in the first round. Last week’s loss to VCU occurred in a surprising fashion, as the Rams overcame UNC’s 19-point lead, sent the game to overtime, and won, 82-78
That second-round exit stung deeply, and Duke legend Jay Williams didn’t hesitate to call out how poorly the Tar Heels have performed. During his appearance on “First Take,” he slammed UNC after their early NCAA Tournament exit.
“If North Carolina didn’t have that logo, I’m not sure we’d be talking about them as a blue blood, over the last five years, since COVID. Relevancy is currency, and I can make a case that they’re not a top-five current, relevant team in college basketball right now,” Williams said. He mentioned the program “brand” has produced some of basketball’s “elite” players, including Michael Jordan, Vince Carter, and Jerry Stackhouse, each of whom had either legendary or All-Star careers in the NBA. Williams also pointed to UNC not having many big lottery picks in the NBA over the past five years. He mentioned that it will change when Caleb Wilson goes pro after the season.
He went on to indicate that the Tar Heels aren’t one of the top-five brands in college basketball recently. Instead, he gave nods to UConn, Duke, Kansas, Houston, and Kentucky. A big story for North Carolina as they went into the NCAA Tournament involved their one-and-done freshman player, Wilson, who participated in 24 games and averaged 19.8 points, 9.4 rebounds, and 2.6 assists per game. However, season-ending thumb surgery took him out before his team’s appearance in the ACC Tournament and March Madness.
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