UNC’s West Coast swing last week truly could not have gone worse. Coming into it after suffering its first ACC loss of the year to SMU at the start of the month, the Tar Heels managed to fall to 2-3 in conference play with consecutive losses to Stanford and Cal.
North Carolina was punished by falling to No. 22 in the AP Poll, falling eight spots, and if Hubert Davis doesn’t turn things around quickly, that won’t be the low point for his Tar Heels. His weekly radio hit with Jones Angell on 97.9 FM for his coach’s show didn’t exactly inspire much confidence that a swift turnaround is coming.
After detailing the blown lead against Stanford and a trip to see the Golden State Warriors play the New York Knicks at the Chase Center, Davis had an alarming assessment of his team’s play against Cal on Saturday. “I really believe against Cal we were, from the first half, shook from the game against Stanford. By the time that we woke up, we were down 18 or 20, and we started to play better and started to play the way that I know we can play.”
Only, it shouldn’t take that long for the team to be engaged, especially coming off an embarrassing loss to Stanford and allowing freshman guard Ebuka Okorie to torch them for 36 points. The head coach’s job is to have his team ready to respond from the tip-off, but Davis, seemingly, wasn’t up to the task.
Hubert Davis isn’t inspiring much faith in a Tar Heels turnaround
Davis has a national championship game appearance on his resume and is two years removed from North Carolina finishing with a 29-8 record and grabbing a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, but the Tar Heels barely snuck into the field a year ago, and could be heading for a collapse after a hot start to the year. That’s unacceptable for an athletic department pouring as many resources into basketball as North Carolina is.
Davis has to right the ship, and fast. He has a $14 million roster, and Caleb Wilson, his five-star, is having one of the best freshman seasons in program history. His team can’t be playing “shook,” and he certainly shouldn’t admit that because it reflects poorly on his coaching.
Yet, he reiterated the point later in the show. “I really believe that (in) the first half, we were still shook from what happened against Stanford,” Davis said. “I really feel like that first half, we weren't awake."
Well whose fault is that?!
Davis’s seat isn’t necessarily hot, but it’s warming, just as it was last season, as the Tar Heels disappointed the fanbase. He’ll need to rip off a few wins in a row, especially on Saturday against No. 14 Virginia, to ease the pressure after a frustrating trip out West.
His first opportunity to get UNC back in the win column will come on Wednesday night in Chapel Hill as the Tar Heels host Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish are 1-8 (1-4), and 81st in the Net Rankings.