Hubert Davis evaluates how college basketball has changed in recent years

College basketball, let alone college athletics as a whole, isn’t what it used to be. North Carolina’s Hubert Davis recognizes that as much as anyone considering the changes that the sport has seen in just the short time that he has been head coach in Chapel Hill.

Davis addressed the new landscape of college hoops in a press conference last week. He sees what all has shifted in just his pair of seasons leading the Tar Heels and went on to list five that have caused the most movement in what his program has to focus on.

“There’s a number of things that are different in college basketball,” said Davis. “Things have changed, obviously, from when I played. But a lot of things have changed in the two years, two and a half years that I’ve been head coach.”

“I mean the transfer portal is real. I characterize it more as free agency. The extra COVID year? I don’t think it’s been talked about enough in terms of the impact that it’s had on teams and programs. NIL? The growth of NIL plays a huge factor. The involvement of agents. And I think, also, in relation to the players from the developmental standpoint? The timeline of players has sped up dramatically and that’s been a difference,” Davis explained. “Those are just five examples where it’s been changes or drastic tweaks, pivots, alters that allow us to have the college basketball of today.”

It doesn’t take a fanatic to see what all is different in college basketball these days. Players are getting paid, can move where they want, and have more relationships and things on and off the court to juggle than ever before. Some are even older than ever as well due to that extra pandemic year that Davis referenced.

Still, that’s the name of the game now for coaches today. As Davis says, being able to adjust and reinvent your program within this space is just the job description now.

“As a head coach and as a program, you really do have to have the ability to change, to tweak, to pivot, and to alter to be able to put a team together,” Davis said.

James Okonkwo commits to North Carolina

Former West Virginia power forward James Okonkwo has committed to North Carolina, he told On3.

“After being in communication with the UNC coaching staff following my decision to enter the transfer portal, I have decided to commit to UNC to play for Coach Davis in the 2023-2024 season. I can’t wait to compete for a national championship at Chapel Hill and continue to develop my game. Let’s go Tar Heels!”

The 6-foot-9, 240-pound rising junior averaged 2.5 points and 3.2 rebounds last season for the Mountaineers, playing just 11 minutes per game.

Okonkwo entered the transfer portal after Hall-of-Fame coach Bob Huggins resigned after a DUI arrest. Josh Eilert has since been hired as interim head coach.

To keep up with the latest players on the move, check out On3’s Transfer Portal wire.