Hubert Davis says he’ll hire general manager, expand staff

By R.L. Bynum

North Carolina’s men’s basketball program will join UNC’s football program and many other basketball programs in adding a general manager, Coach Hubert Davis said on Monday night.

During the “Hubert Davis Live” radio show (which you can listen to here), the fourth-year head coach said that a bigger staff is essential and that “we’re going to hire a GM.”

Among the other staff additions Davis wants are a director of marketing and fundraising for NIL and program needs, a video coordinator, a recruiting coordinator and a graphics coordinator.

“The old model for Carolina basketball just doesn’t work,” Davis said on the show, talking about the size of his staff. “It’s not sustainable. It has to build out because there’s so many things in play with NIL, the transfer portal, agents [and] international players. You just need a bigger staff to be able to maintain things. And you need a bigger staff so I can do what I’m supposed to be doing — coaching basketball.”

Davis, who recently lamented that he talks to agents more than he talks to coaches or parents, said that he couldn’t have envisioned a landscape like this when he became Carolina’s head coach.

“I never would have thought four years [ago] that I took the job that 100% what is needed is a general manager,” Davis said. “There’s just so much stuff out there, and I mention owner, GM, fund-raiser, basketball coach. It’s so much on the plate that will take you away from doing what’s the most important thing — coaching basketball.

In June 2022, the Duke men’s basketball program hired Rachel Baker, a former Nike executive, as its first general manager. Other men’s programs with general managers include Syracuse (hired in June 2024), Boston College (where the position is called director of roster management), St. John’s (hired in August 2023) and Butler (hired in July 2024). Adrian Wojnarowski, the former ESPN reporter, is the GM for the St. Bonaventure program.

Carolina football coach Bill Belichick’s general manager, manager Michael Lombardi, was at Top of the Hill restaurant in downtown Chapel Hill for the radio show. Davis joked to him, “Do you want to do basketball, too.”

Davis currently has four assistant coaches — Brad Frederick, Jeff Lebo, Sean May, Pat Sullivan and Marcus Paige — and a support staff that includes Eric Hoots (director of operations), Jonas Sahratian (head strength and conditioning coach), Doug Halverson (head athletic trainer), Bekah Brinkley (executive assistant to Davis), Kiersten Steinbacher (assistant to the director of operations) Kaye Chase (business operations/special events manager) and Maggie Hobson (administrative assistant/photographer).


UNC season statistics


DateMonth/dayTimeOpponent/event
(current ranks)
TV/
record
October
24FridayL, 78–76vs. No. 10 BYU in SLCExhib.
29WednesdayW, 95–53vs. Winston-Salem St.Exhib.
November
3MondayW, 94–54vs. Central Arkansas1–0
7FridayW, 87–74vs. No. 17 Kansas2–0
11TuesdayW, 89–74vs. Radford3–0
14FridayW, 97–53vs. N.C. Central4–0
18TuesdayW, 73–61vs. Navy5–0
Fort Myers Tip-Off
25TuesdayW, 85–70vs. St. Bonaventure6–0
27ThursdayL, 74–58vs. No. 9 Michigan State6–1
DecemberACC/SEC
Men’s Challenge
2TuesdayW, 67–64at Kentucky7–1
—————————
7SundayW, 81–61vs. Georgetown8–1
13SaturdayW, 80–62vs. USC Upstate9–1
16TuesdayW, 77–58vs. ETSU10–1
CBS Sports Classic
in Atlanta
20SaturdayW, 71–70vs. Ohio State11–1
—————————
22Monday8 p.m.vs. East CarolinaACCN
30Tuesday7 p.m.vs. Florida StateESPN2
January
3Saturday2:15at SMUThe CW
10Saturday6 p.m.vs. Wake ForestACCN
14Wednesday9 p.m.at StanfordACCN
17Saturday4 p.m.at CaliforniaACCN
21Wednesday7 p.m.vs. Notre DameESPN2
24Saturday2 or 2:30at No. 23 VirginiaESPN or
ESPNU
31Saturday2 p.m.at Georgia TechACCN
February
2Monday7 p.m.vs. SyracuseESPN
7Saturday6:30vs. No. 3 DukeESPN
10Tuesday7 p.m.at MiamiESPN or
ESPN2
14Saturday2 p.m.vs. PittsburghESPN
17Tuesday7 p.m.at N.C. StateESPN or
ESPN2
21Saturday1 p.m.at SyracuseABC
23Monday7 p.m.vs. No. 11 LouisvilleESPN
28Saturday6:30 or 8:30vs. Virginia TechESPN or
ESPN2
March
3Tuesday7 p.m.vs. ClemsonESPN or
ESPN2
7Saturday6:30at No. 3 DukeESPN
10–14Tues.-Sat.ACC
tournament
Spectrum Center,
Charlotte

Photo via Facebook stream screenshot

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