so who is roy's successor at unc?

[hurleyfor3]

Seriously, no one discusses this. Is the answer blindingly obvious? Roy himself was always the heir apparent to Dean, as people had been saying since the 1980s.

[Dukehky]

Seriously, no one discusses this. Is the answer blindingly obvious? Roy himself was always the heir apparent to Dean, as people had been saying since the 1980s.

I think this is why they brought Hubert Davis in. If the NCAA pulls one of his titles, which they won't, he will resign, because, from what I've seen, Roy doesn't exactly have a lot of mental fortitude or resolve. Or ya know, morals.

[Duvall]

I think this is why they brought Hubert Davis in. If the NCAA pulls one of his titles, which they won't, he will resign, because, from what I've seen, Roy doesn't exactly have a lot of mental fortitude or resolve. Or ya know, morals.

Him?

I suspect UNC would finally go outside "the family" for the first time in decades. They really don't have a viable option with UNC ties.

[Des Esseintes]

Him?

I suspect UNC would finally go outside "the family" for the first time in decades. They really don't have a viable option with UNC ties.
Were you not around this past season when ECU lost slightly closer than expected to Duke and something like half this board thought Jeff Lebo had won himself a promotion that very night? (Seriously, though, Mr. Cunningham, sir. Hire Jeff Lebo. Please.)

[devildeac]

I'd love to see D'oh return. I could try to find that old DBR t-shirt:rolleyes:. Or, maybe DBR could have a new one printed. Perhaps: I Said No to Bubba (or Roy). ;)

[Henderson]

Only one obvious choice: Sydney Lowe. Dust off that red blazer, Coach!

[CameronBornAndBred]

How much input will MJ have?

[NovaScotian]

don't forget about wes miller, who's already been the coach at unc-g for three seasons now (though he is probably terrible). after all these years at kansas and nc, does roy really not have a fertile coaching tree?

[Billy Dat]

Larry Brown is still a D1 College coach, I could see him wheeling out the oxygen tank and still coaching. I also bet George Karl would kill to get the gig, despite his age. Both of these guys wanted the job when D'oh got hired, right?

[Ima Facultiwyfe]

My money's on Lebo.
Love, Ima

[superdave]

I think this is why they brought Hubert Davis in. If the NCAA pulls one of his titles, which they won't, he will resign, because, from what I've seen, Roy doesn't exactly have a lot of mental fortitude or resolve. Or ya know, morals.

Hubert Davis seems to be who Unc folks believe is being groomed. I am not sure, at the end of the day, Davis is a strong candidate without head coaching experience. Perhaps Davis would stay on as lead assistant which would make the Rams Club ok with the head coach coming from outside the family.

I wonder if George Karl would get consideration. Beyond him, no one else in the Unc family has enough combined experience and success to date.

Unc fans will probably pine after Shaka Smart and Brad Stevens (as will Duke fans someday). After that, there are very few names that will get this fanbase excited.

[hudlow]

My money's on Lebo.
Love, Ima


Le'Doh?

[CameronBornAndBred]

Lebo has been at ECU since 2010, and only has had two winning seasons, his best was 2 years ago. His first year, they went 18-16, then they went 15-16. Finally, they had a solid year and went 23-12 and ECU fans cheered. After climbing to the top of the basketball world and winning the CIT, his team totally reverted and managed to get only to .500 this last season. If I were looking for a head coach, I'd want a guy that keeps his teams moving forward; Lebo doesn't have the stats to back those expectations up. Maybe he will by the time Ol' Roy drives the bus home, but it would surprise me.

[TexHawk]

don't forget about wes miller, who's already been the coach at unc-g for three seasons now (though he is probably terrible). after all these years at kansas and nc, does roy really not have a fertile coaching tree?

Are coaching trees really all that good anywhere? Does anybody have a good one? The only one I can think of is Pitino, and he built that up across three major jobs. Donovan, Cronin, Enfield, Sendek, Tubby... and only Donovan would be in demand for premier jobs. (Donovan himself has Shaka and Anthony Grant.)

Izzo's was looking good at one time, but Tom Crean torpedoed that.

Bill Self has Danny Manning, Joe Dooley, and Barry Hinson. Gillespie looked great at one point, but is out of coaching now. Norm Roberts had promise, but it doesn't look like he'll ever be more than a great assistant.

Calipari has Pastner and Bruiser Flint.

I suppose Larry Brown has an ok one, but you think it would be better, cuz he's like 150 years old now. Self, Calipari, Boyle (as a player).

A few years ago, Coach K's wasn't looking that great, but with Amaker and Dawkins looking better, and a couple new ones in Wojo and Collins, it has promise.

Roy only has Stallings and Turgeon still active. (Edit: Also Haase, Miller, Jacque Vaughn, and Rex Walters, if you include players.)

[Billy Dat]

I suppose Larry Brown has an ok one, but you think it would be better, cuz he's like 150 years old now. Self, Calipari, Boyle (as a player).

Brown's got the ultimate one....Popovich! Of course, that was the NBA.

You make a very good point. Coaching trees are pretty overrated.

[Chicago 1995]

And I think they pointed this out, but I think Gregg Marshall will be the next guy at UNC. Track record of success. From South Carolina.

Not sure if probation would scare him off. Probably not. But he's where I'd put my money.

[weezie]

"Let's go crazy, let's get nuts" how about Shaka Smart?

[oldnavy]

Lebo has been at ECU since 2010, and only has had two winning seasons, his best was 2 years ago. His first year, they went 18-16, then they went 15-16. Finally, they had a solid year and went 23-12 and ECU fans cheered. After climbing to the top of the basketball world and winning the CIT, his team totally reverted and managed to get only to .500 this last season. If I were looking for a head coach, I'd want a guy that keeps his teams moving forward; Lebo doesn't have the stats to back those expectations up. Maybe he will by the time Ol' Roy drives the bus home, but it would surprise me.

I would guess that Lebo would have pretty good success at UNC. He doesn't seem like an idiot. Actually he seems like a pretty good guy.

Doh was an idiot. He shot himself in the foot by making enemies out of the gate for no apparent reason other than a power trip...

I don't know if he would have lasted had he not gotten off to such a bad start, but he basically doomed himself.

I knew Doh was going to be in trouble when he cried after winning his first ACC game (?).... way too emotional for the roller coaster of college BB.

UNC will go after the best available coach IMO regardless of lineage, they value one thing over family... winning (not that there's anything wrong with that! :p )

[CameronBornAndBred]

I would guess that Lebo would have pretty good success at UNC. He doesn't seem like an idiot. Actually he seems like a pretty good guy.
I agree about him being a good guy, but I'm not basing my assumptions on him being smart or decent. There are plenty of bad coaches that are smart people. I'm not even calling him a bad coach, just an inconsistent one. His record at Auburn (which may be a better prognosticator of how he would do at a bigger program such as Carolina) pretty well mirrors that of his current record at ECU. Up and down, and never great.
It would not surprise me one bit to see the folks at Chapel Hill look to fresh faces for a replacement. It really is surprising that there isn't more branches in that tree, given the length of time covered by Dean and Roy.

[oldnavy]

I agree about him being a good guy, but I'm not basing my assumptions on him being smart or decent. There are plenty of bad coaches that are smart people. I'm not even calling him a bad coach, just an inconsistent one. His record at Auburn (which may be a better prognosticator of how he would do at a bigger program such as Carolina) pretty well mirrors that of his current record at ECU. Up and down, and never great.
It would not surprise me one bit to see the folks at Chapel Hill look to fresh faces for a replacement. It really is surprising that there isn't more branches in that tree, given the length of time covered by Dean and Roy.

I guess my point is that you probably don't have to be a "great coach" to be moderately successful at UNC, especially for the short run... just don't be an idiot like Doh.

Lebo didn't have success at Auburn, but who really has? Tough gig...

Not saying that Lebo is a great or even good coach, but I would think he would do better by a wide margin than Doh...

[Kdogg]

Hubert Davis seems to be who Unc folks believe is being groomed. I am not sure, at the end of the day, Davis is a strong candidate without head coaching experience.


So was Roy before he took the KU job. I think Davis is the successor in waiting. Of course the last time UNC tired this (Phil Ford) it did not work out as planned.

[hurleyfor3]

If the crap really hits the fan this time around, would they in fact want someone from the "unc establishment", much less someone already there?

[TexHawk]

So was Roy before he took the KU job.

That was 25 years ago, college hoops has changed a lot since then. KU, even though they had just won the title, was in a very bad place when Roy was hired. Larry Brown left as the NCAA hammer came down to go to the Spurs. Danny Manning had just been drafted #1. There was a postseason ban, no high-quality players, and some recruiting restrictions. The only experienced coach who was somewhat interested was Charlie Spoonhour. Without a lot of options, the AD went out on a limb for Roy, and it paid off handsomely. (My gawd I loved those early Roy KU teams, before he developed his ego. So fun to watch.)

There would be a riot if a blue-blood school did the same thing today. There's a reason schools don't give inexperienced assistants big time jobs right out of the gate. UNC would be wise to realize Roy was an exception.

This could all change if the NCAA blows things up. Davis makes sense in that scenario. Let the guy who played there try to reignite the passion while dealing with the loss of scholarships (if any) and postseason bans (if any), without any pressure. Get the job up to a respectable level, then go after a Brad Stevens-type. You never know, he could prove to be excellent.

[Henderson]

If the crap really hits the fan this time around, would they in fact want someone from the "unc establishment", much less someone already there?

I wonder if they might approach Larry Brown as a temporary stabilizing influence. He's going to retire in the next few years, but they'd benefit from having a grown up in the athletic department for a couple years. Lebo would be more fun, because I think he'd be worse than Roy for 3 years then get fired for putting UNC-CH into the ACC bottom rung. He doesn't seem to have much ability to coach his players to transcend their individual talents and hasn't shown any ability to recruit above his rank.

[Kdogg]

If the crap really hits the fan this time around, would they in fact want someone from the "unc establishment", much less someone already there?

The current mess happened before Hubert got there. He's probably got "clean hands" and a link to past UNC success. If things with the NCAA really so south, there will be talk of new blood I'm sure. I just don't see UNC going outside the family unless the whole athletic department burns down. IF that happens I'm not sure how many of the high profile coaches would really want the job. Yes it would still be UNC but bringing back a program from NCAA sanctions is tough. Pitino did it was UK but it took Michigan over a decade and three coaches.

[hurleyfor3]

So Hubert would be a move towards antidisestablishmentarianism?

(I thought of that one too late to edit my previous post in time.)

[Henderson]

The current mess happened before Hubert got there. He's probably got "clean hands" and a link to past UNC success. If things with the NCAA really so south, there will be talk of new blood I'm sure. I just don't see UNC going outside the family unless the whole athletic department burns down. IF that happens I'm not sure how many of the high profile coaches would really want the job. Yes it would still be UNC but bringing back a program from NCAA sanctions is tough. Pitino did it was UK but it took Michigan over a decade and three coaches.

Hubert Davis might look at Tommy Amaker's experience at Michigan and say no thanks. There are certain parallels.

[TruBlu]

Sgt. Schultz

[cspan37421]

Hubert Davis might look at Tommy Amaker's experience at Michigan and say no thanks. There are certain parallels.

Excellent point. Duke haters love to point to Amaker's middling run at Michigan as a failure, without acknowledging the sanctions that hindered recruiting players there.

[OldPhiKap]

If Shaka Smart or Brad Stevens would take the job, they get it over any tree branch.

Whoever said Gregg Marshall is probably the winner, though.

[blueduke59]

My biggest fear is George Karl taking the job. Aside from being an excellent coach he loves the university. There's just something about loving a place that will make you work even harder for it.

[lotusland]

I'm hoping for a long embarrassingly botched search with publicly rebuffed overtures to Brad Stevens and/or Popovich that ends with Lebo at the helm. Marshall is as good a guess as any though. He can be abrasive and, as an outsider, would shake things up and likely alienate some good ol' boys on the hump but, in the end, the heels would play tough and win. Winning probably overcomes the personality conflicts. I've also seen web rumors that Marshall will stay put unless a blue blue blood comes calling. UNC definitely qualifies and they're close to home so here's hoping they try to keep it in the family instead or approach Marshall with terms he won't accept.