Hubert Davis hot seat: Jon Rothstein believes Caleb Wilson’s injury should play role in decision

North Carolina blowing a second-half lead to VCU in the NCAA Tournament has brought on uncomfortable conversations in Chapel Hill. Speculation over the future of head coach Hubert Davis immediately began. As of Monday evening, no decision has been made quite yet. However, Davis certainly finds himself on the hot seat.

 

Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports gave his opinion on the topic, believing the talk of Davis being fired is lacking a little bit of context. Specifically with Caleb Wilson, who missed the back end of the regular season due to an injury.

“North Carolina was 24-6 before Caleb Wilson was lost for the season,” Rothstein said. “Now, I understand that sometimes, injuries cost people jobs. I get that, I understand that. But I am in a scenario where the full context is given when things are put out on the table…

“I am not somebody who is going to get into a lot of NBA Draft talk during the college basketball season. But I was listening to Charles Barkley during the First Four and he firmly said, ‘I would look at taking Caleb Wilson as the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA Draft.’ That’s the type of player that North Carolina lost. One of the top five or six players in college basketball. And nobody seems to want to talk about that.”

Wilson came to UNC with a heavy weight of expectations as a Five-Star Plus+ prospect. He delivered when on the court and healthy. In 24 games played, Wilson averaged 19.8 points while shooting 57.8% from the field, adding 9.4 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game. One of the last times we saw Wilson out there came against Duke, where he played all 40 minutes and produced 23 points in a legendary North Carolina rivalry win.

Once injured, the Tar Heels played in nine games without Wilson. Four of them resulted in losses. Two came in the regular season to NC State and Duke, followed by one-and-done performances in the ACC and NCAA Tournaments. Clemson knocked them out in Charlotte, followed by the VCU upset. Not the type of results we saw from a Wilson-led Tar Heel bunch.

 

“I understand there might be an appetitie for change,” Rothstein said. “But if you’re going to say ‘It’s time to move on,’ you also have to be in a situation where you have to acknowledge Carolina was 24-6 before Caleb Wilson went down.”