Hubert Davis firing comes at perfect timing for UNC to make a massive splash

Sure, they didn't have Caleb Wilson, but the North Carolina Tar Heels' March Madness defeat was indefensible. They were facing an inferior VCU squad and had a lead as large as 19 points. Their collapse had Hubert Davis' fingerprints all over it, and after five mostly disappointing seasons as the man in charge at Chapel Hill, it comes as little surprise to see UNC make a change.

Now, all attention turns to who will replace Davis. The search figures to be extensive, and given a report from Chicago Sun-Times columnist Joe Crowley, current Chicago Bulls head coach Billy Donovan could be an option to pursue.

Hubert Davis firing gives UNC golden opportunity to hire Billy Donovan

The news of Donovan considering stepping away from the Bulls comes as little surprise. The Bulls are a team going nowhere in 2026 and in the near future, and he's had a ton of success at the college ranks. If a team like UNC came calling, you don't think he'd listen with all of the assets at their disposal?

The fit would be fascinating. Sure, he doesn't have the UNC connection that the program typically seeks when hiring head coaches, but that may be a plus. According to Jon Rothstein, the search will look outside of the Tar Heels' sphere.

Donovan won back-to-back national titles with Florida. He hasn't had that much success in the NBA, but clearly, he can get the most out of college players. It's hard to turn away from someone with that kind of resume.

At this point, UNC is desperate to re-establish itself as a basketball powerhouse. They made the national title game in Davis' debut season, but haven't made it past the Sweet 16 since. They haven't even won a game in the tournament in each of the last two seasons, which, for this program, is just unacceptable and is why Davis was fired.

Odds are, unless Todd Golden is willing to leave Florida (unlikely) or Brad Stevens will leave the Boston Celtics to return to college basketball (virtually impossible), I'm not sure there's a bigger splash they could make than Donovan. Whether Donovan should be their preferred candidate, though, can be debated.

Should Billy Donovan be UNC's No. 1 coaching target?

If Donovan is serious about leaving the NBA and is open to being a college coach again, he'll almost certainly be interested in the UNC job. What's not to like about a program this historically dominant? Should UNC be prioritizing him, though?

The track record speaks for itself. Donovan is one of four college basketball coaches to win back-to-back national titles, joining John Wooden, Mike Krzyzewski and Dan Hurley. That list is ridiculous, and didn't happen by accident. He went 502-206 overall in his 21 seasons, winning more than 70 percent of the games he coached.

However, Donovan's last season with Florida before leaving for the NBA was in 2014-15 - over a decade ago. The game has changed a lot since then, with NIL now such a major factor. UNC obviously has a ton of resources to work with on that front, but is Donovan the right man in charge to build this team appropriately?

Plus, Donovan is now 60 years old. Is he willing to take on the year-long grind college basketball requires after spending over a decade in the NBA?

It feels like if UNC is willing to go outside the family, they should prioritize someone who's already familiar with how the college basketball landscape is right now. The era Donovan thrived in is no longer in place. The Donovan hire wouldn't be a bad one, and I'd understand why they'd make it, but guys like Golden, TJ Otzelberger and Nate Oats (to name a few) might make more sense.

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