Former UNC basketball star gives take on Hubert Davis coaching future

· Yahoo Sports

Once a consistent competitor in college basketball, the UNC men's basketball program is falling closer towards mediocrity each season under head coach Hubert Davis.

North Carolina's (24-9, 12-6 ACC) once-promising season came to a screeching halt on Thursday evening, with an alarming, 82-78 overtime loss to VCU in both team's NCAA Tournament opener. The Tar Heels looked well in control early in second-half action, leading by 19 points five minutes in, but took their feet off the gas.

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With UNC's defeat, that's now two consecutive seasons with a First Round exit. On the Zach Gelb show Friday afternoon, former North Carolina guard and National Champion Joel Berry gave a long, detailed answer on whether Davis should remain head coach.

“It’s a hard conversation for me because that’s someone that has coached me," Berry said. "I’ve seen him behind the scenes – and seen the competitiveness – and what he’s able to get out of his players. I’m just starting to question some of just the in-game adjustments. And then I’m starting to question the roster construction. Not having enough guys to be able to withstand not having Caleb Wilson. North Carolina usually has players that can make up for having one of your guys out. I just don’t know, my emotions are kind of mixed right now. At one point, I said "Okay, Coach Davis was for the job. But I’m just, I’m having a lot of mixed emotions because it’s the same old story. As a player, as a former player, the standard hasn’t been lived up to.”

It's difficult to look at the positives, but Davis led the Tar Heels to five straight, 20-win seasons. UNC has just one National Championship appearance in those five campaigns, but like Thursday night against VCU (28-7, 15-3 Atlantic 10), a dougle-digit blown lead ended hopes of immortaility.

One thing is clear, though. North Carolina is a shell of its dominant self under Roy Williams – and the question looms large. Will Davis remain head coach much longer?

“I don’t think he (Hubert Davis) will be fired," Berry continued. "If you asked me if he gets fired today, would I be surprised? I would tell everyone, 100 percent no. You have all the facts, you have everything out there that says "Okay yeah, he should be fired. I wouldn’t be surprised, but I don’t think he will because you have to look forward. He’s bringing in a great recruiting class. You have to think about buyout situations, what that takes away from being able to allocate towards next year’s roster. Those are some of the things you have to think about. You can’t just make a decision based on the emotion right now. You’ve gotta sit down, lay all the cards on the table and see okay, if we fire him, what will happen and what won’t happen.”

If the Tar Heels move on from Davis, they need to hire a proven coach outside of the Carolina Family. UNC has too much history to not be competing for championships.

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This article originally appeared on Tar Heels Wire: Joel Berry believes the standard hasn't been lived up to for UNC

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