The North Carolina Tar Heels were exceedingly disappointing last season. While the 23-14 record looks fine on the surface, UNC couldn't muster more than a single Quad 1 win. Their NCAA Tournament berth as a No. 11 seed felt like an inside job and their first-round exit against Ole Miss was entirely predictable. It did, after all, feature a Quad 1 opponent.
Hubert Davis led Carolina to the Final Four in his first season as head coach, but it has been a gradual downhill slide since. It's probably too early for definitive takeaways on his career or even his abilities as a coach, but Tar Heels fans aren't a patient bunch. This program is steeped in history and there's a built-in expectation to contend. So far, Davis has yet to deliver a consistent winner.
This next season presents a whole new challenge for Davis, whose past teams have been built around seasoned vets and a semblance of continuity, which is hard to come by in today's college basketball landscape. The 2025 Tar Heels will look different top to bottom, anchored by a deep (but overall uninspiring) group of transfers.
Can Davis break his own trends and put UNC back on the map with a brand new group? Only time will tell.
Hubert Davis needs to elevate a new-look roster in his fifth season as UNC head coach
North Carolina has experienced a somewhat unexpected talent purge since the season ended. We all knew R.J. Davis was slated to graduate. That left UNC without its longtime leading scorer and a head to the proverbial snake offensively. It seemed like replacing him was simple: Ian Jackson was due for a considerable bump in responsibilities as a sophomore.
Instead, Jackson left for St. John's, where he will join a revamped Johnnies roster under Rick Pitino. That meant UNC lost its two more potent scorers and ball-handlers on the perimeter. Next up, Drake Powell was one of the few freshmen to declare wholeheartedly for the NBA Draft despite few guarantees about his position on draft boards around the league. He took a thinly veiled shot at Davis and the Tar Heels on his way out the door.
"I feel like I’m the same two-way player that I was coming into college," he said. "Obviously I don’t think I was able to showcase that at UNC.“
That set off alarm bells, naturally. Powell was a top recruit, viewed as a potential one-and-done prospect and lottery pick. He did not meet expectations, however, which led many to believe he might stick around and look to improve his stock in year two. Instead, he rolled the dice in the draft, not believing that he could fully maximize his talent in Davis' program.
Ven-Allen Lubin's departure for NC State, as a Chapel Hill native, was the real dagger. Not only did he leave, he left for a smaller in-state program in the ACC, joining up with new Wolfpack head coach Will Wade. It feels like NC State might just have a better roster right now, which is troubling.
North Carolina needs to make the most of its transfers
UNC is not completely devoid of talent. The Tar Heels have brought in five high-profile transfers, including Jarin Stevenson and Henri Veesaar, who have a chance to anchor one of the best frontcourts in college basketball.
Still, the Tar Heels lack an established go-to weapon on the perimeter. Five-star freshman Caleb Wilson ought to help, but Davis' track record of using and developing top prospects is complicated at best. It's hard to feel confident about Wilson's situation after Powell bombed so spectacularly in a Tar Heels uniform. Wilson is the more complete prospect, at least offensively, but UNC's (limited) success under Davis has not typically correlated to a splashy transfer class and a touted rookie.
This is a new challenge for UNC's head honcho. We'll see if he can meet the moment.