How the UNC basketball season ended was pretty tough, but considering how North Carolina missed the NCAA Tournament entirely last year, you could call the 2023-2024 campaign a success.
The Tar Heels earned the West Region’s top seed, won games against Wagner and Michigan State, then lost a heartbreaker to Alabama in which very little went right late.
One area I was impressed with most is coaching. UNC head coach Hubert Davis came under some fire last year for not using his bench, then figured out how to effectively utilize his extras this season.
In short, we learned Hubert was a good coach who knows how to connect with his players. That was particularly evident in team meetings Monday via Inside Carolina:
“I want to know how the year has gone,” Davis said. “As the season ends, just to catch up and just see how the year went for them. Anything that they liked, things that they didn’t like, my expectations early on of what I expect coming back next and what I want it to look like. Those conversations were really good today (Monday). It was a lot of fun.”
Hubert doesn’t just treat his players like employees, but as they were his own sons. You watched that firsthand during games, with cameras consistently showing Hubert encouraging his players in huddles or at the scorer’s table.
While Hubert won’t have the likes of Armando Bacot next year, his fourth season as head coach could be bolstered if RJ Davis decides to return.
I can’t wait to see how much further Hubert grows in Year Four.
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