UNC Basketball Coaching Search, Smith Center Debate Tabled, Caleb Wilson To NBA Draft

Plus: Spring Football kicks off, Women's Basketball falls in Sweet 16, Baseball has 4-0 week, Women's Lacrosse win streak ends at 31, Tar Heel coaching carousel

Arizona head basketball coach Tommy Lloyd | Photo: Eakin Howard, Imagn Images

The UNC Basketball coaching search is in full swing, Caleb Wilson is off to the NBA Draft, the Smith Center/new arena debate is tabled, spring Football kicks off with two commitments, Women’s Basketball falls in the Sweet 16, Baseball has a 4-0 week, and Women’s Lacrosse’s win streak ends at 31. On to the updates…

🏀 Basketball

As we all know by now, Hubert Davis is out as UNC Men’s Basketball coach following his termination last Tuesday. A coaching search is now underway. UNC Athletics Director Bubba Cunningham and AD-in-waiting Steve Newmark are leading the search, and Carolina has hired executive search firm Turnkey ZRG to assist.

Here are some news and notes regarding Davis’ dismissal and a behind-the-scenes recap from CBS Sports:

• The search firm Turnkey ZRG assisted Michigan with the hiring of their current basketball coach, Dusty May, who is also one of the Tar Heels’ top-3 targets.

• Hubert Davis released a statement Tuesday via his Instagram account expressing his desire to “coach again in the very near future.”

  “Tonight, I was let go by the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill. My desire was to continue to coach here. This opportunity has truly been such a blessing. I thank Jesus literally every day for giving me the opportunity, relationships and experiences with the kids and my staff. I am very proud of what we were able to accomplish together. My goal is to coach again in the very near future.“

• UNC will pay out all the remaining money on Davis’ contract. Davis’ buyout exceeds $5 million.

• “Players and staff were informed of the change of leadership at a 9 p.m. team meeting Tuesday at Davis’ house, minutes after an email from athletics director Bubba Cunningham arrived in the inboxes of members of the basketball staff.“

UNC is now almost a week into its coaching search, with three prominent names remaining from a candidate pool that once exceeded half a dozen. Here’s the latest on each…