UNC Basketball: Roy Williams’ touching sentiments about Hubert Davis

Roy Williams spoke highly of Hubert Davis after the UNC basketball program punched its ticket to the 2022 Final Four.

It’s been less than a year since Roy Williams retired and walked away from the game of basketball, leaving behind a team that went 18-11 and lost in the NCAA Tournament’s Round of 64. Now, with virtually the same team that lost by 23 points to a middling Wisconsin Badgers squad to end the season, first-year head coach Hubert Davis has the Tar Heels in their first Final Four since 2017.

In typical Hubert Davis fashion, and similar to those that came before him, he took no credit for the win and instead suggested that it all be directed toward his players. Also among the people that Davis gives credit to for his success is Williams, whom he pointed to and lipped the words “thank you” following the conclusion of the game.

And Roy Williams, being the man that he is, was quick to give all of the credit back to Davis. Williams even went so far as to say that his successor has already been better than he ever was — a sentiment that Davis, an assistant coach at UNC for nine seasons before taking the big chair, would never agree with.

"“It’s perhaps, for me, the greatest moment in my basketball career,” an emotional Williams told Luke DeCock of the News & Observer. “I’ve never had any more faith and love for one man and to think that he’s just won it — he’s been better than I ever was, right now.”"

Williams has the wins, the conference titles, the Final Four appearances, a trio of national championships, and a thousand other accolades to his name. Hubert Davis has but a mere fraction of that, but what he does have is the trust and admiration of his mentor and friend, Roy Williams.

Davis is also quickly gaining the approval of a passionate fan base that adored Williams and had a difficult time letting him go. Now, it appears as if most of them are ready to roll with Davis, embracing him fully following one of the most unexpected turnarounds we’ve seen in a long, long time.

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