The North Carolina Tar Heels have been one of, if not the most disappointing team in college basketball this season. At 17-11 overall and 10-6 in ACC play, the Tar Heels are on bubble watch when it comes to locking down an NCAA Tournament bid. A lot will have to go right for them to squeak in, let alone make any sort of noise in March Madness.
For a North Carolina program that expects to be ultra-competitive every single year, this kind of showing is unacceptable and has Hubert Davis squarely on the hot seat. Davis has already missed the tournament once in his brief four years as North Carolina's head coach, and another missed opportunity this year might end his tenure altogether.
In terms of looking for the ideal Davis replacement, the Tar Heels won't have to look far to find Duke Blue Devils assistant coach Jai Lucas. The only problem is that Lucas might be off the board before the Tar Heels even decide if they want to fire Davis.
Tar Heels might lose out on ideal Hubert Davis replacement before even getting a chance to interview him
Lucas makes a lot of sense for North Carolina considering his proximity and his experience. The problem is that Lucas might be off the board before UNC even considers hiring him.
ESPN's Pete Thamel and Jeff Borzello reported on Saturday that Lucas has emerged as the frontrunner to land the Miami Hurricanes head coaching job. While a deal is not completed or imminent, the fact that he's already an established frontrunner suggests that he could be hours from getting poached for all we know. That would be a real bummer for the Tar Heels.
Lucas might be the best option out there if the Tar Heels do end up parting with Davis. He might be just 36 years old and might not have head coaching experience, but he's been an assistant for the Texas Longhorns, Kentucky Wildcats, and now the Blue Devils - three outstanding programs.
With Duke, his role is to focus on the defense and it's safe to say he's done a stellar job. The Blue Devils have allowed just 61 points per game this season, the seventh-fewest in the country. His job is definitely easier with Khaman Maluach and especially Cooper Flagg on his team, but still — a defense that good is worth praising.
Whether UNC would go out of its comfort zone to hire a Blue Devil like Lucas remains to be seen, but from the looks of things, if they don't fire Davis sooner rather than later, they might not even have a chance to make a decision on that front.