Top 5 Hubert Davis replacements as next North Carolina basketball coach

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On Tuesday evening, North Carolina basketball made the expected decision to fire head coach Hubert Davis. The move came on the heels of a 19-point blown lead against No. 11 seed VCU in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, and now the Tar Heels will head into the most talked-about coaching search in the country over the next few weeks.
When Davis made the national title game in his first year as head coach, it looked like he would be in Chapel Hill for a long time. However, two-straight first-round exits have led to his departure.
Now, it sounds as if North Carolina is going after an established coach with a track record of winning to replace Davis and bring the program back to the consistent, elite level that it is used to competing at.
Here are the five best options that North Carolina should be going after now that the Davis fire is official.
Billy Donovan, Chicago Bulls HC

Billy Donovan has been an NBA head coach since 2015, but it sounds like he and the Chicago Bulls may be heading for a divorce at the end of the season. While this is a new era of college basketball, Donovan is a proven winner at the college level, winning back-to-back national titles at Florida in 2006 and 2007.
Donovan would likely command a massive amount of money to come back to the college level, but getting one of the best coaches available would be a home run hire for the Tar Heels.
Tommy Lloyd, Arizona HC

Tommy Lloyd has built Arizona into a premier contender in the Β Big 12, so it will take a lot to pry him away from Tucson. However, North Carolina would likely be a step up in resources from Arizona and would give Lloyd an easier conference to coach in. The former Gonzaga assistant is a West Coast guy, but maybe the North Carolina gig would be enough to pull him out east.
TJ Otzelberger, Iowa State HC

TJ Otzelberger has emerged as one of the best coaches in the nation, turning Iowa State into a perennial defensive powerhouse during his time there. Otzelberger has built a reputation as one of the best resource management coaches in the country and has an Iowa State program that doesnβt have a whole lot of NIL near the top of a loaded Big 12 each and every year.
Otzelberger is 124-52 in five seasons with the Cyclones, with a Big 12 Tournament title and three trips to the Sweet 16 (and a chance to go even deeper in the NCAA Tournament this year). Imagine what he would do with North Carolinaβs vastly deeper roster-building pool.
Dusty May, Michigan HC

Dusty May rose up the college basketball coaching ranks very quickly after taking Florida Atlantic to the Final Four. He has already turned Michigan into a winner in just two seasons, and has the Wolverines as a No. 1 seed with a chance to win a national title this spring.
May has proven he can do everything needed to be an elite college coach: he can develop talent, he can retain key players, he can recruit top talent out of the transfer portal, and he can get a transfer-laden team to gel quickly into an elite group. It will be hard to pry him away from Ann Arbor, but North Carolina has to make him say no.
Josh Schertz, Saint Louis HC

Schertz is not as well-known as the other names on this list, but he has also risen the coaching ranks quickly and could be the next big thing as a big-time college basketball coach. After a long stint at Division II Lincoln Memorial, Schertz turned Indiana State from a bottom-feeder in the Missouri Valley Conference into a 32-win power in just three seasons.
Schertz then left for Saint Louis, and had the Billikens in the second round of the NCAA Tournament as an at-large team in year two. Thatβs an impressive track record of building winning teams at two programs that donβt have anywhere near the resources North Carolina has. If some of the bigger names turn down the job, Schertz would be a rock-solid hire.
Related: North Carolina rumors: Billy Donovan, TJ Otzelberger named as possible Hubert Davis replacements
Related: North Carolina rumors: Tar Heels seeking βsuperstarβ coach to replace Hubert Davis