Hubert Davis on how he is using previous experience in NCAA Tournament

Hubert Davis has experienced the NCAA Tournament as a player and now as a coach at North Carolina. The first-year Tar Heels head coach made the NCAA Tournament in each of his four seasons as a player in Chapel Hill, and he has led UNC to the Sweet 16 in his first season since taking over for Roy Williams.

In addition to making the NCAA Tournament four times as a player, Davis also made it to at least the Sweet 16 in each of his four collegiate seasons. The Tar Heels made it to the Sweet 16 in three of the four years with Davis as a player, going to the Final Four in the other year.

Now, as UNC gears up for a Sweet 16 matchup against UCLA, Davis has revealed how he is using his NCAA Tournament experience as a player as a way to aid the current players on the court for the Tar Heels.

“I don’t — well, it doesn’t help because I’m not playing, and if I was out there now, I would really hurt them right now at 51 years old,” Davis said. “The thing that I am enjoying and I just enjoyed with practice today is that with the exception of Leaky, nobody has ever been in this situation before in the Sweet 16. To see not just the determination and the fight and the will and the want-to but also the excitement and enjoyment of being in a stage that they’ve never experienced before brings joy to me.

“That’s what I love. Every day I get a front-row seat to be able to experience things with each one of these players, and to see how happy and excited and motivated they are to be in this position is something that I’ve really enjoyed.”

UNC, Davis have beaten the odds to make it this far in the NCAA Tournament

With a couple of weeks remaining in the regular season, Davis and the Tar Heels weren’t guaranteed a spot in the NCAA Tournament. UNC picked up a big win against Duke to end the regular season, and that was enough to put the Tar Heels firmly in the picture for March.

When the full bracket was revealed, UNC was the eighth seed in the East Region. The Tar Heels have since beaten 9th-seeded Marquette 95-63, and then pulled off a huge upset over top seeded Baylor in the Round of 32.

Now, the Tar Heels are preparing for a matchup against UCLA, the East’s fourth seed, on Friday night. The winner will advance to the Elite Eight and face off against the winner of Purdue vs. Saint Peter’s.