UNC Basketball: Hubert Davis throws shade at Duke Blue Devils

New UNC Basketball head coach Hubert Davis has been on the job for roughly two months now as he has big shoes to fill in replacing Roy Williams. But in those two months, Davis has been busy in terms of virtual meetings with recruits as well as making the media rounds.

His latest media appearance was Sunday night on MSG Networks’ MSG PM with Monica McNutt and Kazeem Famuyide as the former New York Knicks standout talked about his new gig as well as the Knick’s playoff appearance.

But in the interview, Davis threw a little shade at North Carolina’s biggest rival, having some fun with a question from Famuyide.

The host asked Davis to give her one word to describe the Duke Blue Devils. Davis instead responded with two words and a little bit of a laugh: “Second place.”

Okay, now before everyone gets all mad, this was all in fun and Davis has been a part of this rivalry for a long time not only as a player but as an assistant coach. He isn’t a fan of Duke but respects the program for what they have achieved.

Plus, there’s no harm in having a little fun with this.

Davis played four years at North Carolina under Dean Smith  and was then selected No. 20 overall in the 1992 NBA Draft by the New York Knicks. He went on to play until 2004, splitting time with the Knicks, Toronto Raptors, Dallas Mavericks, Washington Wizards, Detroit Pistons, and New Jersey Nets.

From there, Davis went on to be an analyst for ESPN before joining the coaching ranks as an assistant under Roy Williams in 2012 until 2021 when he was named the next head coach for the program. As an assistant, Davis was on staff for UNC’s 2017 National Championship.

Davis and the Tar Heels are set to take on Duke twice this season as the best rivalry in all of sports adds two more chapters. UNC was able to sweep the regular season meetings between the two teams in 2020-21.

For more on Davis and the UNC Basketball program, please make sure to check back with Keeping It Heel.