North Carolina valuing fit over speed in coaching search, per report
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North Carolina isn’t in a race with itself to pick its next head basketball coach, according to a report on Saturday afternoon by ESPN insider Pete Thamel.
The Tar Heels are considering a long list of quality names to replace the fired Hubert Davis, who was let go after North Carolina‘s first-round NCAA Tournament flameout against VCU a few weeks ago. The proud program learned on Friday that Arizona’s Tommy Lloyd was no longer a candidate, with Lloyd announcing he was staying in Tucson and agreeing to a new 5-year contract.
That took Lloyd off the list, but the names that are left on that list will be dealt with in a timely manner that has nothing to do with high speed, according to Thamel. North Carolina is way more concerned with getting the right guy than getting its next guy faster than it has to. Vanderbilt head coach Mark Byington, who led the Commodores to 27 wins this season, and former Florida coach Billy Donovan are 2 names to watch with SEC connections, according to Thamel, but there are plenty of other quality names on UNC’s list, including UConn’s Dan Hurley and Michigan’s Dusty May, who are both coaching in the Final Four this weekend in Indianapolis.
North Carolina would have to wait a little bit on Hurley or May, who are trying to win a national title right now, and Thamel’s point during Saturday’s report was that time wasn’t going to be an issue for the Tar Heels.
“Most importantly, I’m told by UNC officials, they are more concerned with getting the right guy than the timing of the (transfer) portal opening on Tuesday,” Thamel told ESPN host Rece Davis during Saturday’s report.
As North Carolina goes at its own pace in carefully picking its next head coach, here is what the Kalshi market is currently saying about the favorites to land the illustrious job:
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
