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, 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), Kaye Chase (business operations/special events manager) and Maggie Hobson (administrative assistant/photographer).
UNC season statistics
| Date | Month/day | Time/ score | Opponent/event (current ranks) | TV/ record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October | ||||
| 15 | Tuesday | W, 84–76 | at No. 19 Memphis | Exhibition |
| 27 | Sunday | W, 127–63 | vs. Johnson C. Smith | Exhibition |
| November | ||||
| 4 | Monday | W, 90–76 | vs. Elon | 1–0 |
| 8 | Friday | L, 92–89 | at No. 11 Kansas | 1–1 |
| 15 | Friday | W, 107–55 | vs. American | 2–1 |
| 22 | Friday | W, 85–69 | at Hawai’i | 3–1 |
| Maui Invitational | ||||
| 25 | Monday | W, 92–90 | Dayton | 4–1 |
| 26 | Tuesday | L, 85–72 | No. 1 Auburn | 4–2 |
| 27 | Wednesday | L, 94–91, OT | No. 7 Michigan State | 4–3 |
| December | ACC/SEC Men’s Challenge | |||
| 4 | Wednesday | L, 94–79 | vs. No. 4 Alabama | 4–4 |
| ————————— | ||||
| 7 | Saturday | W, 68–65 | vs. Georgia Tech | 5–4, 1–0 ACC |
| 14 | Saturday | W, 93–67 | vs. LaSalle | 6–4 |
| Jumpman Invitational in Charlotte | ||||
| 17 | Tuesday | L, 90–84 | No. 5 Florida | 6–5 |
| CBS Sports Classic at Madison Square Garden | ||||
| 21 | Saturday | W, 76–74 | UCLA | 7–5 |
| ————————— | ||||
| 29 | Sunday | W, 97–81 | vs. Campbell | 8–5 |
| January | ||||
| 1 | Wednesday | L, 83–70 | at No. 21 Louisville | 8–6, 1–1 |
| 4 | Saturday | W, 74–73 | at Notre Dame | 9–6, 2–1 |
| 7 | Tuesday | W, 82–67 | vs. SMU | 10–6, 3–1 |
| 11 | Saturday | W, 63–61 | at N.C. State | 11–6, 4–1 |
| 15 | Wednesday | W, 79–53 | vs. California | 12–6, 5–1 |
| 18 | Saturday | L, 72–71 | vs. Stanford | 12–7, 5–2 |
| 21 | Tuesday | L, 67–66 | at Wake Forest | 12–8, 5–3 |
| 25 | Saturday | W, 102–96, OT | vs. Boston College | 13–8, 6–3 |
| 28 | Tuesday | L, 73–65 | at Pittsburgh | 13–9, 6–4 |
| February | ||||
| 1 | Saturday | L, 87–70 | at No. 2 Duke | 13–10, 6–5 |
| 8 | Saturday | 4 p.m. | vs. Pittsburgh | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 10 | Monday | 7 p.m. | at Clemson | ESPN |
| 15 | Saturday | 6 p.m. | at Syracuse | ESPN |
| 19 | Wednesday | 7 p.m. | vs. N.C. State | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 22 | Saturday | 4 p.m. | vs. Virginia | ESPN |
| 24 | Monday | 7 p.m. | at Florida State | ESPN |
| March | ||||
| 1 | Saturday | Noon | vs. Miami | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 4 | Tuesday | 7 p.m. | at Virginia Tech | ESPN, ESPN2 or ESPNU |
| 8 | Saturday | 6:30 | vs. No. 2 Duke | ESPN |
| 11– 15 | Tues.–Sat. | ACC tournament Spectrum Center, Charlotte |
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