Hubert Davis offers high praise to North Carolina freshmen

First-year North Carolina basketball coach Hubert Davis has transformed the roster into his image in his first offseason. The longtime assistant and former player took over the Tar Heels on Apr. 5, just four days after the retirement as his former boss Roy Williams. Davis became the first African-American head coach in school history.

The first step in Davis’ plan to overhaul the roster was to add depth and versatility. The Tar Heels had lost multiple key players from 2020-21 to the transfer portal since the end of the season. As the lead recruiter on the North Carolina staff, Davis was able to retain 2021 four-star freshmen Dontrez Styles and D’Marco Dunn.

“Those guys have been extremely impressive. They’ve been fantastic,” Davis told reporters during a Tuesday press conference. “By the time that they leave Carolina, they’re going to be two of the best players ever to play in Carolina history. I really believe that. I am so happy that Dontrez and D’Marco are here at North Carolina.”

Davis also added transfers Justin McKoy, Brady Manek and Dawson Garcia to the North Carolina roster.

COVID-19 impact on recruiting

Hubert Davis also dove into the impact of COVID-19 on the recruiting trail, detailing the unique ways he got to know this recruiting class.

“It’s interesting, with D’Marco Dunn,” said Davis. “Because of COVID, the first time that I actually got to meet him in person and see him play in person was when he got here in the summer, in the second session of summer school. I’ve seen tons of tape and talked to him and his family a number of times on the phone, Zoom calls, different stuff like that, but the first time actually in person was this summer. And for Dontrez, I hadn’t seen him play in person in two years.”

The lack of game film and in-person scouting made the 2021 recruiting class one of the most difficult to manage. However, Hubert Davis is confident he brought the right freshmen to North Carolina.

“Having the ability to be on the floor with them, go through individual workouts, the practices that we’ve had, and see how they respond to the level of play here at Carolina, they’ve been off the chart,” said Davis. “They really have. Their attitude, their effort, their attention to detail, their work ethic. They’re always in the gym, they’re always working hard. They listen, they want to be a part of this program and part of this team.”