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CHAPEL HILL — Over the past five years, the dynamics of college basketball recruitment have experienced drastic changes. The recent offseason activities of the University of North Carolina's basketball team exemplify these shifts.
UNC has faced a significant reshuffling, with seven players departing for the transfer portal and two exhausting their eligibility and now attempting to make NBA rosters.
The Tar Heels adeptly navigated these challenges by securing five incoming transfers, roping in an athlete poised to be a high school senior in the coming year, and continuing to excel in the traditional avenues of recruitment.
Recruiting his own players has been one of the changes Hubert has adapted to and implemented even more this summer. During his summer press conference Thursday at the Smith Center, Davis touched on all that encompasses roster management in this new work of college hoops, especially at North Carolina.
"What is important to me is guys that want to be here and understand the importance of the name on the front of their jersey,” Davis said. “It's an honor and a privilege to be part of this program. To be successful here, you have to love basketball, love this place, and love your teammates."
Taking the UNC camaraderie to another level, Davis's philosophy remains centered on personal connection and passion for the sport.
"I really love this group," he said. "We've been together all summer — individual workouts, practices, spending time with each other. The biggest thing for me is relationships. You can't play for me unless you know me, and I can't coach you unless I know you. That's what we've been doing."
Even though Davis continuously expressed the standards of Carolina basketball will never alter and are very much intact. Not everything, however, has stayed the same.
"Things have changed since I played,” stated Davis. “A lot of things have changed in the two and a half years I've been head coach. The transfer portal is real, I'd characterize it more as free agency,"
UNC went from losing an enormous amount of experience to becoming a more experienced team in a matter of a two-month span. This past offseason, Davis brought in five transfer players, boasting a combined total of 394 career games, 8103 minutes played, and 3,344 career points scored. In the traditional recruiting model, such immediate replacement of the departed experience would have been impossible.
Moreover, the presence of factors like the extra COVID year has fundamentally altered the recruiting mindset. A scenario such as Armando Bacot coming back for his fifth year would not have been possible under the old model. Thus, UNC's improvement in terms of experience, even after major departures, stands testament to these transformative changes in recruitment strategy that would not have happened five years ago.
“In terms of recruiting, it comes from different directions now,” Davis pointed out.
These changes have led to a new norm where continuous recruitment becomes essential. Davis understands it is a dog-eat-dog world in recruiting. Recruiting is not just an off-season mindset.
"There's never a time you're not recruiting," shared Davis. "Since the time we lost to Virginia in the ACC tournament and found out we wouldn't be in the NCAA tournament, there has not been a day off — not one, the whole summer. Recruiting your players, transfers, high school kids, it's always a process."
Despite the changing landscape of college basketball, Davis remains focused on the core values of the program and believes in the enduring power of its traditions and prestige. His commitment to adapt, evolve and continuously recruit will be just as impactful as the actual recruits that are coming in.
