They led the Tar Heel men's teams to five NCAA championships, 16 Final Fours, 16 Atlantic Coast Conference tournament titles, 26 regular-season ACC championships and 1,364 victories. Both are members of the Naismith, College Basketball and North Carolina Sports halls of fame. 17.īetween them, Smith and Williams coached the Tar Heels for 67 seasons, including their time as assistant coaches. The Chapel Hill Town Council approved a resolution to support the request on Nov.

Highway 54, both of which lead to the Dean Smith Center, home court for the men's team. The Dean Smith Highway stretches between exits 270 and 273 and includes U.S.

Highways 15-501 as the Roy Williams Highway. NCDOT will place honorary signs designating stretches of I-40 from exits 266-N.C. Department of Transportation approved a request on Wednesday to name portions of I-40 in Chapel Hill for coaches Dean Smith and Roy Williams, according to a news release from the school's athletic department. He has a tenacious, burning desire to be the best he can possibly be we witnessed that when he was a player, a broadcaster and an assistant coach – and I have no doubt he will ensure than our student-athletes and program will be the best they can be, as well.Two stretches of Interstate 40 will bear the names of two legendary men's basketball coaches at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. “He teaches student-athletes on and off the court. “Hubert Davis is the best leader we can possibly have for our men’s basketball program,” Cunningham said. I am proud to lead this team, and I can’t wait for all that comes next.” I played here, I earned my degree here, I fell in love with my wife here, I got married here, I moved here after I retired from the NBA and I have raised my family here. I also would not be here without Chancellor Guskiewicz and Bubba Cunningham I appreciate their faith in me and I look forward to working closely with them. “I would not be here without Coach Dean Smith, Coach Bill Guthridge and Coach Roy Williams they taught me so much – and I’m eager to walk their path in my shoes and with my personality. “I am honored and humbled to be given the opportunity to lead this program,’’ Davis said. Similarly, Cunningham wanted to remain true to the school’s basketball history but said he wasn’t going to limit the search to candidates who, like Davis, were members of the Carolina family. Athletics director Bubba Cunningham said that he preferred to hire coaches with previous head coaching experience, but he wasn’t going to be “myopic” if a candidate without it was considered the top choice for the job. Dean Smith, who coached from 1961 to 1997, also was hired without head coaching experience.ĭavis becomes the first African American head coach in UNC basketball history.ĭavis was believed to be the choice of Williams, who retired after 18 years in the job last week, to replace him at the helm of the program, and Davis had support from many current and former players. He is the first UNC basketball coach hired without previous head coaching experience since Bill Guthridge in 1997. He has been to two Final Fours as an assistant, including the 2017 NCAA title run, where players credited an emotional halftime speech from Davis for helping spark a Final Four comeback win.ĭavis has spent time as head coach of the UNC JV team, which is his only head coaching experience. After a 12-year NBA career and four years as an ESPN basketball analyst, Davis joined Williams’ staff at UNC in 2012. The UNC Board of Trustees held an emergency meeting Monday to approve the hiring, and the team will hold a meeting to inform the players later in the afternoon.ĭavis played for North Carolina for four years, ending in 1992, making one Final Four appearance. Hubert Davis will replace Roy Williams as North Carolina head coach, the school announced on Monday.

Davis will be the successor to Roy Williams as head coach of the Tar Heels. North Carolina's Hubert Davis celebrates on the court with teammates after the Tar Heels defeated Temple in the 1991 NCAA East Regional final.

Who replaced roy williams