Hubert Ira Davis Jr. (born May 17, 1970) is an American

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

coach and former professional player who is the head coach of the North Carolina Tar Heels men's team. Before his coaching career, Davis played for North Carolina from 1988–1992 and in the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...

(NBA) for the

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the National Basketball Associat ...

, Toronto Raptors,

Dallas Mavericks The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference (NBA), Western Conferenc ...

Washington Wizards The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference Southeast D ...

, Detroit Pistons, and New Jersey Nets from 1992 to 2004. He holds the franchise single-season and career three-point field goal shooting percentage records for both the Knicks and the Mavericks. He is the nephew of Walter Davis, another former Tar Heel and NBA player. Davis served as an assistant coach for the Tar Heels from 2012 until his elevation to head coach in 2021 following the retirement of Roy Williams.

Early life and education

Davis attended Lake Braddock Secondary School in Burke, Virginia, averaging 28.0 points per game his senior year. He attended the same high school as future Tar Heel women's soccer great and

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...

medalist Mia Hamm. He went on to the University of North Carolina, where he holds the record for the highest career three-point percentage in school history. In his junior year, he helped lead the team to its first Final Four appearance since winning the national championship in 1982. Davis graduated in 1992 with a degree in Criminal Justice, after averaging 21.4 points per game in his senior season.

NBA career

The

selected Davis with the 20th overall pick in the

1992 NBA draft The 1992 NBA draft took place on June 24, 1992, at Memorial Coliseum in Portland, Oregon. The draft is considered to be one of the deepest in NBA history. The top three picks (Shaquille O'Neal, Alonzo Mourning, Christian Laettner) were considere ...

. He made the winning free throws after

Hue Hollins Hue Spencer Hollins, Sr. (November 28, 1940 – July 4, 2013was an American professional basketball referee for the National Basketball Association (NBA). During his 27-year career in the NBA, Hollins officiated 19 NBA Finals games and five NBA All ...

called a disputed foul against

Scottie Pippen Scotty Maurice Pippen Sr. (born September 25, 1965), usually spelled Scottie Pippen, is an American former professional basketball player. He played 17 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), winning six NBA championships with the ...

in Game 5 of the 1994 Eastern Conference semifinals against the Chicago Bulls, giving the Knicks an 87–86 win (the Knicks went on to win the series in seven games). Davis established the Knicks franchise records for single-season (.476, 1995–96) and career (.449) three-point shooting percentages. Davis remained with New York for four years, and was traded to the Toronto Raptors before the 1996–97 season. After Toronto, Davis spent time with the

, Detroit Pistons, and New Jersey Nets. Davis established the Mavericks franchise records for single-season (.491, 1999–2000) and career (.454) three-point shooting percentages. Davis played his final NBA game in 2004, finishing with career averages of 8.2 points, 1.5 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game. Davis's 44.09% NBA career three-point shot percentage ranks him second behind

Steve Kerr Stephen Douglas Kerr (born September 27, 1965) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach of the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is a nine-time NBA champion, havi ...

(45.40%).

Sports analyst

Following his playing career, Davis began working for

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

as a college basketball analyst in the 2007–2008 season. During his time at ESPN, he served as a studio analyst for the network's coverage of college basketball and was a panelist on '' College Gameday''. He left ESPN to return to Chapel Hill as an assistant coach following the 2011–2012 season.

Coaching career

North Carolina assistant coach

Prior to the 2012–2013 season, UNC head coach Roy Williams hired Davis as an assistant. Davis also served as head coach of UNC's junior varsity basketball team, one of the only junior varsity teams remaining in college basketball. UNC's junior varsity program is a long-standing program tradition, and several former JV players have gone on to be walk-ons for the varsity team. Davis was on the bench for the Tar Heels 2017 NCAA Men's Basketball tournament run that concluded with a 71–65 win over Gonzaga in the

National Championship A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or competition, contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the be ...

game.

North Carolina head coach

Following the retirement of longtime Tar Heel head coach Roy Williams, Davis was named the 19th head coach in program history, and became the first

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

to lead the program. The move was initially met with some criticism, as Davis had never been a head coach at any level. Despite this, Williams had been grooming him for a head coaching job much in the same way that

Dean Smith Dean Edwards Smith (February 28, 1931 – February 7, 2015) was an American men's college basketball head coach. Called a "coaching legend" by the Basketball Hall of Fame, he coached for 36 years at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hi ...

had mentored Williams during Williams' time as a Tar Heel assistant coach from 1978 to 1988. Davis recorded his first career win in his first game as head coach. The Tar Heels beat Loyola (MD) 83–67 at home in the Dean Smith Center to open the season. On February 21, 2022, Davis's Tar Heels defeated Louisville to give the first-year head coach his 20th victory of the year. Davis became the fourth ACC head coach to win twenty games in his debut season in the past twenty-five years with the victory. Previous Tar Heel coaches Matt Doherty ( 2000–01), and

Bill Guthridge William Wallace Guthridge (July 27, 1937 – May 12, 2015) was an American college basketball coach. Guthridge initially gained recognition after serving for thirty years as Dean Smith's assistant at the University of North Carolina and summing ...

( 1997–98) are two of the other three coaches to reach the twenty-win mark in their debut seasons, winning 26 and 34 games respectively. Davis's Tar Heels capped off a 23–8 regular season with a 94–81 victory over Duke in Mike Krzyzewski's final home game at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Davis's Tar Heels went 1–1 in his first ACC tournament as head coach, and earned an Eastern regional 8th seed in the 2022 NCAA tournament. After cruising to a 95–63 win over 9-seed Marquette in the first round, the Tar Heels upset the East's number one seed, the

Baylor Bears The Baylor Bears are the athletic teams that represent Baylor University. The teams participate in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) as one of only two private school members of the Big 12 Conference. Prior to j ...

, in the second round. The Tar Heels hung on and won the game 93–86 in overtime after losing a 25-point second-half lead. The victory secured Davis's first sweet sixteen berth as head coach and the school's 30th overall, the most by any program in Division I history. After a 73–66 victory over 4th seed UCLA Bruins in the Sweet Sixteen, Davis and his Tar Heels advanced to the Elite Eight where they defeated the St. Peter’s Peacocks 69–49 to earn a trip to the Final Four. In the national semifinal game, the Tar Heels matched up against arch rivals Duke for the first time in NCAA tournament history. The Tar Heels defeated the Blue Devils 81-77 in what was Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski's final game. However, in the national championship game, Davis' Tar Heels were defeated by

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

, 72-69. Due to the Tar Heels' success in his first year as head coach, Davis became one of the few college basketball figures to have gone to a Final Four as a player (1991), an assistant coach (2016 and 2017), and as a head coach (2022).

Personal life

Davis and his wife Leslie have three children: Elijah, Bobbie Grace and Micah. As of the 2021–22 season, Elijah plays college basketball for the

University of Lynchburg The University of Lynchburg, formerly Lynchburg College, is a private university associated with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and located in Lynchburg, Virginia. It has approximately 2,800 undergraduate and graduate students. T ...

. At the press conference announcing his hiring as the UNC basketball coach, when asked about being the first black UNC head coach, Davis caused public debate by stating he's proud to be African-American but also proud that his wife is white. Davis is a devout

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

, - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, 50 , , 2 , , 16.8 , , .438 , , .316 , , .796 , , 1.1 , , 1.7 , , .4 , , .1 , , 5.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 56 , , 27 , , 23.8 , , .471 , , .402 , , .825 , , 1.2 , , 2.9 , , .7 , , .1 , , 11.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, style="background:#CFECEC; width:1em", 82* , , 4 , , 20.7 , , .480 , , .455 , , .808 , , 1.3 , , 1.8 , , .4 , , .1 , , 10.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 74 , , 14 , , 24.0 , , .486 , , .476 , , .868 , , 1.7 , , 1.4 , , .4 , , .1 , , 10.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

, 36 , , 0 , , 17.3 , , .402 , , .229 , , .739 , , 1.1 , , .9 , , .3 , , .1 , , 5.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

, 81 , , 30 , , 29.4 , , .456 , , .439 , , .836 , , 2.1 , , 1.9 , , .5 , , .1 , , 11.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, style="background:#CFECEC; width:1em", 50* , , 21 , , 27.6 , , .438 , , .451 , , .880 , , 1.7 , , 1.8 , , .4 , , .1 , , 9.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 79 , , 15 , , 23.0 , , .468 , , style="background:#CFECEC; width:1em", .491* , , .870 , , 1.7 , , 1.8 , , .3 , , .0 , , 7.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 51 , , 7 , , 24.7 , , .443 , , .436 , , .854 , , 2.1 , , 1.2 , , .6 , , .0 , , 7.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

, 15 , , 11 , , 28.7 , , .479 , , .526 , , .905 , , 2.0 , , 3.3 , , .4 , , .0 , , 10.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 51 , , 17 , , 24.2 , , .448 , , .452 , , .762 , , 1.5 , , 2.1 , , .5 , , .1 , , 7.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

, 43 , , 1 , , 7.6 , , .392 , , .333 , , .833 , , .8 , , .7 , , .1 , , .0 , , 1.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 3 , , 0 , , 7.7 , , .000 , , .000 , , – , , .0 , , .3 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

, 14 , , 0 , , 3.9 , , .111 , , – , , 1.000 , , .6 , , .2 , , .1 , , .0 , , .3 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 685 , , 149 , , 22.1 , , .458 , , .441 , , .837 , , 1.5 , , 1.7 , , .4 , , .1 , , 8.2

Playoffs

, - , style="text-align:left;",

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 7 , , 0 , , 13.7 , , .560 , , .500 , , .667 , , .9 , , .7 , , .9 , , .0 , , 4.4 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 23 , , 7 , , 17.2 , , .364 , , .286 , , .719 , , .9 , , 1.1 , , .2 , , .1 , , 5.3 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 11 , , 0 , , 16.7 , , .357 , , .370 , , 1.000 , , .6 , , .8 , , .1 , , .5 , , 4.2 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 8 , , 0 , , 18.1 , , .548 , , .526 , , .818 , , 1.5 , , .6 , , .0 , , .0 , , 6.6 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 49 , , 7 , , 16.8 , , .409 , , .373 , , .750 , , .9 , , .9 , , .2 , , .2 , , 5.1

College

, - , style="text-align:left;", 1988–89 , style="text-align:left;",

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

, 35 , , 0 , , 7.1 , , .512 , , .308 , , .774 , , .8 , , .3 , , .1 , , .0 , , 3.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1989–90 , style="text-align:left;",

, 34 , , 6 , , 21.3 , , .446 , , .396 , , .797 , , 1.8 , , 1.5 , , 1.0 , , .2 , , 9.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1990–91 , style="text-align:left;",

, 35 , , 20 , , 24.3 , , .521 , , .489 , , .835 , , 2.4 , , 1.9 , , .9 , , .3 , , 13.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1991–92 , style="text-align:left;",

, 33 , , 30 , , 33.2 , , .508 , , .429 , , .828 , , 2.3 , , 1.6 , , 1.3 , , .2 , , 21.4 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 137 , , 56 , , 21.3 , , .498 , , .435 , , .819 , , 1.8 , , 1.3 , , .8 , , .2 , , 11.8

Records

*New York Knicks single-season 3-point field goal percentage (.476, 1995–96) *Dallas Mavericks single-season 3-point field goal percentage (.491, 1999–2000) *New York Knicks career 3-point field goal percentage (.449) *Dallas Mavericks career 3-point field goal percentage (.454)

Head coaching record

References

External links

NBA.com profileNorth Carolina Tar Heels profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Hubert 1970 births Living people 20th-century African-American sportspeople 21st-century African-American sportspeople African-American basketball players American expatriate basketball people in Canada American men's basketball players Basketball coaches from North Carolina Basketball players from Winston-Salem, North Carolina College basketball announcers in the United States College men's basketball head coaches in the United States Dallas Mavericks players Detroit Pistons players New Jersey Nets players New York Knicks draft picks New York Knicks players North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball coaches North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball players Shooting guards Toronto Raptors players FISU World University Games gold medalists for the United States Universiade medalists in basketball Washington Wizards players