I would think Otzelberger would make the list, and maybe Scott Drew if some others say no. I think he's regretting not going to Lexington two years ago.

Agree with you, and also think Mays is better than Oats. I just don't see how Michigan loses their basketball coach after 2 years and with things rolling.

Do you think Scott Drew is still "hot"? It seems that 2 years ago was his chance to leave for a big program like Kentucky.

Who's next at UNC? Potential candidates to replace Hubert Davis, their priorities

https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/48300317/north-carolina-coaching-candidates-recruits-retention-priorities-2026

beatlesphan said:

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All the chatter I've seen from UNC indicates that the fans don't want Oats bc of all his baggage. They seem to have some pride unlike schools such as Ole Miss etc

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I get that...but pride goeth before the fall...

what if they follow Duke and hire Tyler Hansbrough

EliteZags said:

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what if they follow Duke and hire Tyler Hansbrough

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All indications point to them going after a sitting head coach with serious skins on the wall, but they're probably going to have to settle for a tier II guy like Byington. He's a state of North Carolina guy who's been ACC assistant and has had success everywhere he's been. Honestly, that's where'd I pivot immediately to if my first name said no. I'd immediately kick the tires on Donovan, think he's done with the Bulls.

Lloyd nor May will leave their spots. Golden and Oats go against the squeaky clean and genteel image that UNC has portrayed since Dean was walking the sidelines. McCasland has too large of a buyout. And Jay Wright ain't coming out of retirement.

Also, don't be shocked if a name like Travis Steele or Chris Mack surface. Both former big time coaches at somewhat of a name school (Xavier), & also Louisville in Mack's case, who could be reclamation jobs in the vein of their former boss Sean Miller.

I live in Raleigh and have personal and professional ties to UNC. Like many others, I was sad to see Hubert Davis fired. He is a quality person and much loved within the Carolina "family." Here, the key word is "fired." There had been talk of somehow maintaining his relationship with UNC. But, Hubert apparently still wants to coach, if not at UNC than somewhere else. From the little you can glean from the local media, the next coach has not been secured. The timing is obviously awkward with the ongoing NCAA tournament. I agree that neither Oats nor Golden fit the (genteel?) image UNC has generally tried to project. Many of the other "candidates" simply aren't realistic for the reasons discussed. It will be interesting to see who they hire and how quickly the process plays out. I'll likely be the last to hear anything but will pass along tidbits that come my way.

Quote:

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Golden's would cost $16 million; and Oats' would cost $18 million until April 1, when it drops to $10 million.

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https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/48300317/north-carolina-coaching-candidates-recruits-retention-priorities-2026

Between the baggage and 8-figure buyouts, it doesn't seem to be a high probability that either of these two will be moving to UNC. Good for A&M for avoiding the possible domino effect of Oats leaving Bama and then Bucky getting mama's call.

BubblesMcGee said:

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I live in Raleigh and have personal and professional ties to UNC. Like many others, I was sad to see Hubert Davis fired. He is a quality person and much loved within the Carolina "family." Here, the key word is "fired." There had been talk of somehow maintaining his relationship with UNC. But, Hubert apparently still wants to coach, if not at UNC than somewhere else. From the little you can glean from the local media, the next coach has not been secured. The timing is obviously awkward with the ongoing NCAA tournament. I agree that neither Oats nor Golden fit the (genteel?) image UNC has generally tried to project. Many of the other "candidates" simply aren't realistic for the reasons discussed. It will be interesting to see who they hire and how quickly the process plays out. I'll likely be the last to hear anything but will pass along tidbits that come my way.

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Yeah I've always felt like UNC has carried themselves with that Old South gentleman air. Especially the basketball coaches. I don't mean it mockingly either. Duke has always had a sort of brashness about them, which a lot came from Laettner but K was from Chicago and he definitely had that same fire when he was younger.

Dean and Roy were much more southern charm.

I remember 5 seasons ago Wes Miller was being talked about as the next great Carolina coach. Walk on on the '05 team. High level of success at a UNC system school but completely flamed out at Cincy. Hence why they're having to look outside the family.

Yes, never say never, but this next hire will almost definitely come from outside the family.

More Hubert Davis thoughts...

- The big donors were not going to buy the roster any more. This is a warning to every program. If the NIL boosters aren't happy, you are done.

- He coached a total of six 5* players in 5 seasons. Bacot was a hold-over. Ian Jackson and Elliot Cadeau left in the portal. Caleb Wilson got hurt. Drake Powell and Jarin Stevenson are contributors. Hubert just wasn't bringing in talent like UNC should be doing, and he wasn't keeping it either.

2022: National runner up year 1 (as an 8 seed), with victories over Duke at their senior night, and in the Final 4 to retire Coach K.

2023: pre-season #1, failed to make tourney

2024: overall #1 seed, made sweet 16

2025: first round exit

2026: first round exit

- averaged 25 wins per year

One could argue that Hubert Davis had more success in 5 years than our program has had in its total history. But in some ways, Hubert Davis was UNC's Billy Kennedy. He brought in some good players, won a bunch of games, made a nice run or two and picked up some accolades, but the bones of the program weren't good. UNC no longer scared anybody - not on the recruiting trail, and not on the court. Their ceiling had become second weekend canon fodder for the real contenders. Even with Caleb Wilson, they would have received a beatdown from any of the top 8 seeds in this tournament.

Kudos to UNC for pulling the plug. And regarding the ACC, there's no reason thar league shouldn't be every bit as tough as the Big 10, Big 12, and SEC. A perennial top 10 UNC is part of that.

The Athletic reported they don't expect Golden or Oats to be candidates because of the off-court baggage. Strongly suggested they're all in on Lloyd, but the timing could be a problem. Games results this weekend could have a big impact on the search with others as well like Maye and Otz.

There's no chance UNC is hiring Travis Steele or Chris Mack though unless the search is a completely off the rails failure. Bucky would almost certainly be much higher on the list than those two and I don't see a world where they get down to Bucky.

Topher17 said:

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The Athletic reported they don't expect Golden or Oats to be candidates because of the off-court baggage. Strongly suggested they're all in on Lloyd, but the timing could be a problem. Games results this weekend could have a big impact on the search with others as well like Maye and Otz.

There's no chance UNC is hiring Travis Steele or Chris Mack though unless the search is a completely off the rails failure. Bucky would almost certainly be much higher on the list than those two and I don't see a world where they get down to Bucky.

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KU being open throws a monkey wrench into UNC's plans. Now you've got two sharks hunting in the same waters and one has a more recent natty to their name.

I still think UNC will not wind up with one of their top choices. Think they're more strapped for cash than people realize because of hoodie Bill and his 25 year old gold digger.

I can legitimately see Golden's baggage putting him out of contention at a place like UNC, but not Oats. To me it just reads like they don't want to pay his huge buyout and are using baggage as an excuse.

This probably doesn't matter to the level of coaches they're going after but the fact the new KU coach would be the one following "the guy" as opposed to UNC following a fired coach might make UNC more enticing.

Very possible that is the case with Oats, but either way means they're reportedly not pursuing.

Florida is apparently gearing up to give Golden his 3rd raise/extension in 3 years. For as big of a creep as he apparently was/is, he's rich as **** now.

Another comment (or two) on the Hubert Davis era at UNC. Ironically, his tenure was marked by bookends of historical come-from-behind losses in the NCAA tournament. We're familiar with the 19 point deficit VCU overcame in what would be the last game Davis coached at UNC. What may be forgotten is that Kansas overcame a 45-30 UNC halftime lead to win the 2022 NCAA championship. This had become all too familiar to UNC fans - see the link below on comments from Tar Heel legend Tyler Hansbrough regarding their lack of a killer instinct. Of course, this raises the age-old issue of a coach (and team) finding the balance between continuing to play with fire to close out games versus being seen as trying to embarrass the other team. As Hansbrough went on to say, all too often, UNC under Davis failed to put their foot on the other team's throat. There's a lesson in there somewhere.

https://tarheelswire.usatoday.com/story/sports/college/tarheels/mens-basketball/2026/03/19/unc-basketball-tyler-hansbroughs-honest-words-about-tar-heels-loss/89238980007/

Butler has their man.

https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/news/ronald-nored-hired-butler-alum-brad-stevens-thad-matta/

Yeah that was talked about extensively the moment they blew it to VCU. Some people look at it and say it's only 5 years, he had success, played for a natty, etc.

I think the closer thing to the truth is he has all the talent in the world and often gets in the way of that talent getting close to their potential. I just don't think he's a very good coach. Good man, good leader, good motivator probably, but likely not a good coach.

I agree with your assessment of Davis as a coach. I will admit to being a big fan of him as a person. For instance, I loved the chemistry he and Jay Bilas had on ESPN's College Basketball Gameday show back in the day. I must have missed most of the commentary the other night on the UNC loss to KU in 2022 and/or their lack of a killer instinct. You probably remember A&M's game with St. Mary's was on at essentially the same time. I was switching between the two games in the first half but watched A&M exclusively once it seemed we had our win well in hand while UNC was letting their game slip away. It felt good to watch a "comfortable" Aggie win for a change!

Kansas should hire Mark Turgeon

As one source just told @On3, Will Wade is not returning to LSU without Heath Schoryer. https://t.co/Cl2733XXCU

— Pete Nakos (@PeteNakos) March 25, 2026

He must really love Louisiana. NC St isn't a top tier job but I would say it's better than LSU by a decent margin in today's age.

They have been awful since he left, but I'm sure their NIL participation would explode if he came back. Would be interesting to see how he does this go round. The SEC as a basketball conference is much stronger now than it was 5 years ago.

Chris Mack leaving Charleston for USF.

Mikesyracuse1

mikesyracuse1 said:

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Chris Mack leaving Charleston for USF.

Mikesyracuse1

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I like that for the Bulls. Things went sideways and couldn't get right at Louisville. Still the weirdest thing to me, I think he can flat out coach.

I know USF is the bigger fish, but man if I was coaching/living in Charleston on a nice salary it'd be tough to leave.

Bunk Moreland said:

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I know USF is the bigger fish, but man if I was coaching/living in Charleston on a nice salary it'd be tough to leave.

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I've been fortunate to spend a lot of time in that gym over the years. Good school and a nice program.

Mikesyracuse1

Living in Raleigh, it's hard to avoid (even if that were my goal) speculation on coaches right now. Here's an article from the Fayetteville Observer on the Will Wade drama. I'm never sure which newspapers will be blocked so apologies if this link isn't active. BTW, Fayetteville (aka FayetteNam back in the day) is home to Fort Bragg about 50 miles from Raleigh.

https://apple.news/A213RKyMmT7-KXboC8jU_Sw