CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (WNCN) – After leading the University of North Carolina men’s basketball team to its first outright Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season championship since 2017, head coach Hubert Davis is already receiving accolades for the program’s accomplishments this year.
Davis was officially named the ACC Coach of the Year on Monday, making him the first UNC coach to win the honor since Roy Williams (who won it twice in his tenure) in 2011.
He’s the fifth Tar Heel coach ever to take home the award, followed by Frank McGuire, Dean Smith, Bill Guthridge and Williams.
In his third season at the helm, Davis spearheaded the reconstruction of the UNC roster over the offseason, replacing nine scholarship players either through graduation or the transfer portal. He welcomed five new transfers into the program, including starters Harrison Ingram and Cormac Ryan. He also persuaded starting guard Elliot Cadeau, one of the best prospects in the nation coming out of high school, to reclassify one year early to join the Tar Heels.
Just one year after failing to make the NCAA Tournament, the Tar Heels compiled a 25-6 record, including a 17-3 mark in ACC play.
UNC, which holds the No. 1 seed in the ACC Tournament, is slated to open the postseason in the quarterfinals against either No. 8 seed Virginia Tech or No. 9 seed Florida State on Thursday.