Hubert Davis discusses road to the Final Four in first season

First-year North Carolina basketball head coach Hubert Davis sat down with ESPN’s Rece Davis ahead of a historic Final Four game against Duke. The journey from the beginning to the season to now has not been conventional, but that is part of the joy the Tar Heels have found.

During the interview with Rece Davis, Hubert Davis discussed the starting point he found at North Carolina and how he guided the ship into a Final Four in year one.

“Not only them, but I was tired of the narrative of this team and this program,” said Davis. “Over the last two or three years, I felt like this North Carolina wasn’t relevant and wasn’t talked about. One of the things that we needed to do was draw the line in the sand and develop a level of toughness and perseverance and resiliency that will translate out there on the floor.”

When he took over, Davis had a vision. He shared that vision with his players and it has already paid off by provided them tangible goals on the way to New Orleans all year.

“At the first day of practice, I put a picture of the Superdome in their locker. I said, ‘in order to get to some place, you’ve got to know where you’re going.’ I said, ‘I’m a visual learner, and I wanted you to have a visual idea of where we’re going and why we’re working so hard.

“We put ourselves in a position to be able to experience that. So all that noise is to be embraced and be filled with thankfulness. It shouldn’t take you away from being the best you can be out there on the floor.”

Hubert Davis on Final Four

As Hubert Davis shares the need to bounces back from down seasons, he also acknowledged the downturn midway through the season and how his team was able to turn things around ahead of the postseason.

“I think after we lost back-to-back games at Miami and Wake Forest,” said Davis. “And they were under the assumption that I was going to come into practice and be very upset at them. I told them I love them, and I said, ‘guys, I’m so proud of you. And I said, ‘all the hopes and dreams that you had at the beginning of the year – I know we didn’t play our best at Miami and at Wake Forest – but we still have a chance to achieve all those goals.’ That next week we beat an unbelievable Virginia Tech team at home, and then a rivalry game with NC State at home and we won that game. I think the success of that week after the disappointment of the previous week put ourselves in the position where we are now, playing in the Final Four.

In the way of a national championship game appearance is rival Duke, but Davis just views the historic meeting as another roadblock on the way to his ultimate goal.

“As much as people want to talk about the magnitude and the noise and the significance, it’s just a basketball game between North Carolina and Duke,” said Davis. “Five guys on their team, five guys on our team, and the person that makes the most baskets wins. That’s it. Everything else is just noise.”