Art Chansky’s Sports Notebook is presented by The Casual Pint. YOUR place for delicious pub food paired with local beer. Choose among 35 rotating taps and 200+ beers in the cooler.
The timeframe of Hubert Davis’ extension is curious, to say the least.
Maybe Bubba Cunningham drank the Kool Aid when he agreed to a multi-year contract extension for his head basketball coach who had lost his talented starting frontcourt from an ACC championship team.
Reports have surfaced that Cunningham and Davis agreed last summer, then signed the pact in early December but did not announce it until this week. Hubert is now under contract through 2029-30 with a jump in base salary from $400,000 to $1.25 million, plus 1.7 mill of supplemental income.
Social media, which has been arguing over Davis through the first 28 games, exploded with the news. Although Hubert could still take his team to a third NCAA Tournament in four years and beat Duke for the fifth time in 9 meetings, the announcement seems ill-timed.
It comes after four straight wins that could extend to six before Duke closes the regular season here on March 8, as ESPN gives the Tar Heels a 12.5 percent chance to make the Big Dance as an at-large entry. Hubert’s supporters are still strong, and Roy Williams came out in favor.
He hired Davis as an assistant in 2012 and urged Cunningham to promote Hubert and keep him, citing that magical run. The 3-point shot by Dontrez Styles (now at N.C. State) against Baylor and Caleb Love’s heroics against UCLA in the Sweet Sixteen took UNC to a historic Final Four rematch with Duke after the Heels sent Coach K out with a loss in his last game at Cameron a month before ending his career in New Orleans.
Carolina lost the 2022 national championship game to Kansas after suffering some injuries that the “Iron Five” had miraculously avoided during the season. But the two wins over the Dukies will never be forgotten by both alumni and fan bases.
The news of Davis’ extension came out within 24 hours of UNC naming NBA agent Jim Tanner as basketball’s new general manager, which was hinted by Hubert while the Heels were losing five out of seven games and slipping off the NCAA bubble.
That raises some other salient questions, such as how much will Tanner earn after apparently making millions in commissions from his NBA contracts, and will he still represent some pros? And who will Tanner report to and work for, Cunningham or Davis?
And the biggest question of all – in light of Bill Belichick’s multi-million-dollar deal that includes a big bump in NIL money to join the battle both sports have been losing over the last four years – is how much will basketball have to buy a new roster after as many as five regulars depart from this year’s team?
The current 18-11 and 11-6 records must be shared by Davis and Cunningham for not coaching better or finding enough NIL dough. The new GM may be of help with both.
chapelboroaudio.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/2025/February/26/Art%27s%20Notebook%20022625%20-%20FINAL.mp3
Featured image via Todd Melet
Art Chansky is a veteran journalist who has written ten books, including best-sellers “Game Changers,” “Blue Bloods,” and “The Dean’s List.” He has contributed to WCHL for decades, having made his first appearance as a student in 1971. His “Sports Notebook” commentary airs daily on the 97.9 The Hill WCHL and his “Art’s Angle” opinion column runs weekly on Chapelboro.Chapelboro.com does not charge subscription fees, and you can directly support our efforts in local journalism here. Want more of what you see on Chapelboro? Let us bring free local news and community information to you by signing up for our newsletter.
Chansky’s Notebook: The Week That Is Chapelboro.com.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Chansky’s Notebook: The Week That Is )
Also on site :