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UNC Basketball: Poll Sees Hubert Davis on Hot Seat
With an anonymous account, relatively new college basketball mystery insider "Trilly Donovan" isn't shy about asking tough questions or presenting an honest look at a situation. Case in point, the account posted a poll on Thursday exploring the security of Hubert Davis' job entering his third year as UNC basketball head coach.
Like the account the poll came from, the voters get to remain incognito, so the results may speak to a sincere concern about Davis' chances of excelling for years to come. On the other hand, it's conceivable that a fair share of Duke basketball fans has cast unfavorable ballots to help sew discord inside the UNC basketball family.
Either way, at the time of this article's publishing, there were roughly 4,000 votes. Of those, almost 3,000, or 71 percent, are not in favor of Davis receiving a fourth season running the show should his Tar Heels again miss the NCAA Tournament next season:
In a Burner Ball article preceding the poll on Thursday, "Trilly Donovan" outlined why the 53-year-old North Carolina native and former backcourt star in Chapel Hill should be considered one of three ACC coaches currently on the "hot seat" (along with Clemson's Brad Brownell and Louisville's Kenny Payne):
"North Carolina became the first preseason No. 1 to miss the NCAA Tournament since the field expanded in 1985. Hubert Davis finds himself in a 'prove it' year just two seasons removed from making the national championship game. The Carolina faithful know the Heels have played approximately four weeks of good basketball in the Davis era, and they won't tolerate another season of mediocrity. UNC revamped the roster this offseason, and they look like a tournament team on paper. If the Tar Heels miss the dance again, it could lead to a massive overhaul in Chapel Hill."
Those "four weeks of good basketball" center around the Tar Heels' last two wins over their archival Blue Devils: first in now-retired Duke basketball legend Mike Krzyzewski's final home game on March 5, 2022, and again four weeks later at the Final Four in New Orleans to end his career.
But UNC is 0-2 against Duke since Jon Scheyer assumed the reins in Durham. And Davis is now 2-3 overall in the series (Coach K won his last game in the Dean E. Smith Center in the programs' first meeting of the 2021-22 regular season).
The last time the Tar Heels came up short of the NCAA Tournament two years in a row was 2003, marking the end of Matt Doherty's three-year stint at the helm. Before that, UNC hadn't missed the Big Dance since 1974, when only the conference champions earned invites.
In other words, the UNC basketball program isn't comfortable being on the outside looking in when it comes time for March Madness each year.
As for this go-round, the Tar Heels return two of their top three scorers from last season in RJ Davis and Armando Bacot. They add a handful of formidable transfers and two top-100 recruits, including five-star point guard Elliot Cadeau. ESPN's Jeff Borzello projects them to begin the season at No. 15 in the country.
It's also worth noting that Davis and his assistants boast the nation's top-ranked recruiting haul on the 2024 trail, at least for now.
Then again, the undeniable talent and depth at UNC, which only raises expectations, is not the issue.
Stay tuned to All Tar Heels on SI.com for more UNC basketball news.
