Duke's Jon Scheyer offers empathetic insights on Hubert Davis' departure from Chapel Hill, acknowledging the delicate nature of coaching prestigious programs.
North Carolina is in the midst of a national coaching search after choosing to part ways with Hubert Davis this week.
UNC needed to make a change after suffering a second-half collapse to No. 11 seed VCU in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Davis had a poor history of blowing leads in the tournament.
The Tar Heels were also worried about Davis' ability to fundraise and recruit top talent to compete with blue blood programs like Duke. The No. 1 seed Blue Devils are set to play No. 2 seed UConn on Sunday in the Elite Eight.
Still, Davis did have some success at UNC. He led the team to a national championship appearance in 2022.
On Saturday, Duke head coach Jon Scheyer spoke on Davis' exit from UNC. He said he has sympathy for Davis.
"I've got a lot of empathy for other coaches, for Hubert, not just the fact of him coaching at the school down the road, but the fact that he played there as well," Scheyer said, via ESPN.
"So there's thUNC: Duke's Jon Scheyer Comments on Hubert Davis' Exite meaning behind it. I understand tUNC: Duke's Jon Scheyer Comments on Hubert Davis' Exithat obviously well in this position myself."
Davis was a former UNC player and assistant coach before he became the head coach in 2021. However, loyalty for coaches theses days are slim.
UNC partly made the move to get rid of Davis because the team didn't have enough NCAA Tournament success after losing in the first round two years in a row.
Scheyer noted that coaching at top programs can be a "delicate" situation.
"Coaching is a big blessing, but it's also what you sign up for in this business unfortunately," Scheyer said.
"So I think this thing is really delicate. I think it's really fragile. I think this week has been an example of that."
North Carolina appears ready to look for a proven winner for its next head coach. Arizona's Tommy Lloyd, Chicago Bulls' Billy Donovan and Flordia's Todd Golden are a few names of coaches that have thrived under pressure at big-name schools.
It'll be interesting to see who UNC locks in on for a candidate as the NCAA Tournament gets down to four teams this weekend. The job will be a blessing for a new leader at Chapel Hill.