'Nervous' Davis Earned His Chops With the Knicks Back in the Day
CHAPEL HILL – A roll down memory lane occurred Monday afternoon at the Smith Center.
In a moment of total transparency, North Carolina Basketball Coach Hubert Davis let everyone in on a little secret, one that sports dudes don’t always acknowledge.
To set the scene: The ninth-ranked Tar Heels face No. 5 Connecticut on Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden in New York City, the same building where the New York Knicks play their home games.
Davis spent the first four years of his NBA career with the Knicks, and hasn’t been bashful expressing his love for the famous area, organization, and city. He has pledged to take his team there every year, or at least to the area each season.
“I love it,” he said Monday about MSG.
So, UNC’s third-year head coach was asked an interesting question in his pre-UConn press conference, which centered on what it was like for Davis, a well-mannered, faithful choir boy, joining the biggest bunch of bullies in the NBA. That was the Knicks’ reputation, and Davis knew it.
An All-ACC standout for Dean Smith at UNC, Davis knew he would be drafted somewhere late in the first round in 1992. He also had preferences of where he wanted to play.
“I wanted to get picked by the Phoenix Suns, because that’s where my uncle (legendary Tar Heel Walter Davis) played, and I thought that would be really cool to play with Charles Barkley and Dan Marley,” Carolina’s coach said. “My second choice was the Boston Celtics because (former Tar Heel) Rick Fox was there, and so I was like, ‘I get to play with one of my best friends in the NBA.’
“The last place I wanted to be picked was the New York Knicks because of that reason. I saw them in the playoffs the year before, and I was like, ‘they’re going to break me in half.”
The Knicks were the NBA version of the old Broadstreet Bullies of 1970s Philadelphia Flyers NHL lore. They were in-your-face, as physical as the rules allowed – and a tad beyond, and aimed to bruise opponents while getting deep into their heads.
The names spark instant reaction from anyone who followed the sport at the time: Patrick Ewing; Charles Oakley; Anthony Mason; John Starks; Charles Smith; and so on. These guys were the personification of rugged, back-alley brawlers, which was no way to describe Davis.
“I was like, ‘those look like some of the meanest guys in the world. They’re beating up Michael (Jordan), what are they going to do to me,’” he recalled thinking to himself 31 years ago. “I was really nervous about being a part of that team.”
Davis then shifted course.
“And it’s the best team I could have ever gone to,” he proudly said. “And I wish I could have played all 12 years with them.”
Davis played 262 games in a Knicks uniform, averaging 9.5 points in 21.4 minutes per contest. He started 45 times.
Coached by legendary Hall of Famer Pat Riley, the Knicks lost to Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls in the Eastern Conference Finals in Davis’ rookie season 1992-93. The next year, New York lost to Houston in seven games in the NBA Finals. His third and fourth years with the Knicks ended with second-round playoff losses.
“I absolutely loved playing for Coach Riley and Coach (Jeff) Van Gundy, and I loved playing for Patrick and Starks and Oakley,” Davis said. “They were the best teammates I could have ever asked for.”
Those days in New York shaped Davis, who lasted 12 years in the NBA even though he was repeatedly told he wouldn’t. Being a Knick hardened him in a good way, opening the door for a nastier, more intense Hubert Davis to come out.
So, the fierce coach people see standing up all game and constantly moving with his team on the sideline, barking instructions, gyrating in sync with how the game is sometimes flowing, got that spark in New York.
The coach who speaks about being blessed, honored, and grateful to be in his current position building relationships with his current players, and who isn’t shy about expressing his faith, also has a side senior guard RJ describes as “spazzes.”
It’s not uncontrolled, though.
“He has passion for the game that goes beyond measures,” said the Tar Heels’ leading scorer at 20.4 points per game. “It benefits us (and) gets us going, to see how much he cares, and how ready and hungry he is to win games.”
Last year, before Carolina made its first appearance at the Garden under Davis’ guidance, he wanted help the team gain an understanding of an edge Davis hoped to instill in them. So, he went back to his pro roots.
“I remember last year he showed us a clip right before we met Ohio State to (show) how his team played with the New York Knicks, and the different fights and brawls they would get in,” RJ Davis said. “Showing us how physical they were and what type of mentality they had.”
The younger Davis said Monday the Heels have developed an edge, one that will come in handy against the brawny Huskies. And just maybe UNC will flex that side of who it’s becoming in a way that will make an old ruffian Knick proud.