Hubert Davis’ future at UNC relies on a thread woven with dollar signs. As the university contemplates exercising its $1.5 million buyout clause for the Tar Heels’ head coach, he now has a critical juncture to prove himself. The buyout, active till April 2025, is a safety net for Davis and a fire exit for a program used to championship contention.

Davis, a former Tar Heel player himself, took the reins with great fanfare in 2021. Everything was going great after he took over—his Tar Heels made the national championship game in 2022 and he was on the verge of being a great coach. Fast forward to now, with UNC’s team in the ACC floundering (6-5), the Tar Heels are in a tough spot, trying to decide whether to pull the trigger on that expensive buyout clause before it expires in 2025. 

The once mighty in college basketball, Tar Heels, now seem like shadows of their old selves, on the verge of missing the NCAA tournament for the second time in three years. Which means serious questions are on the table for Hubert Davis. Nevertheless, Davis’ fate is far from the only UNC move in question. Aware of the struggling program, the HC wants to divvy up the role. 

“The old model for Carolina basketball just doesn’t work,” he had said on his radio show. “It’s not sustainable. It has to build out because there’s so many things in play with NIL, the transfer portal, agents, international players.”

So now we have Jim Tanner, a high-profile sports agent, currently being discussed for this role of general manager.

This could be a significant shift of how the Tar Heels might find success in college basketball’s changing era. Jim Tanner is no stranger to the world of sports. He has experience working with some of the biggest names in the game. From NBA stars like Tim Duncan, Ray Allen — to WNBA legends, Tamika Catchings in more than 25 years. Tanner’s resume speaks for itself and he’s well known as one of the top agents in the industry.

Tanner’s hiring would bring a new perspective to UNC, and specifically to the recruitment and managing of players. Tanner’s expertise could be exactly what UNC needs to remain competitive in a world of NIL deals and the transfer portal. With that being said, let’s run over what went wrong with Hubert Davis’s UNC.

UNC’s struggles with Hubert Davis, but the coach holds out hopes

Things have not been going well at all for Huber Davis and the Tar Heels. With a 13–10 record and four losses in their last five games, including a tough 87–70 defeat to Duke, UNC is struggling to stay afloat in the ACC. The team is also extremely poor in terms of defensive efficiency (No. 319) and rebounding (No. 278). Not the kind of stats you wish for when you’re competing for the championships.

But Davis hasn’t lost all hopes just yet.

“This team still has a chance to achieve and experience everything that this team wants to achieve and experience,” he says. “We still have an opportunity to turn this season around, and we need to focus on becoming the best team that we can possibly become.” 

UNC is still one of the ACC teams listed in the bubble, but has been listed in ‘Next four out,’ by quite a few projections. Their Saturday’s game with Pittsburgh (14–8, 5–6) and Monday’s against Clemson (18–5, 10–2) will likely determine if UNC can turn its season around. UNC has the talent, but something of a result similar to Duke won’t be making the case for Hubert Davis.