Sports
Hubert Davis and UNC Basketball Find Themselves at Complicated Crossroads
The debate is raging – at least on social media – about the status of North Carolina men’s basketball coach Hubert Davis. It’s a complex situation facing decision makers, who presumably consider the program at a crossroads concerning Davis’ future.
Thursday night’s unceremonious exit from the NCAA Tournament’s first round with an 82-78 overtime loss to VCU after leading by 19 points in the second half heightened the speculation. North Carolina’s administration – chancellor Lee Roberts, athletics director Bubba Cunningham and AD-in-waiting Steve Newmark – have been put on the spot.
Cunningham is transitioning to another role, and Newmark will be in charge of the athletics department well before the next tip-off for the Tar Heels. The tide has turned quickly on Davis, who by the end of his first season in the spring of 2022 had gained what might have been considered lifetime privileges. He directed the Tar Heels past Duke in Mike Krzyzrewski’s final game as coach at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Four weeks later, he endeared himself again to Carolina fans when his team knocked off Duke in the Final Four, sending Coach K into retirement.
But there have been far fewer notable highlights since then – and even that 2021-22 team had underachieved and tumbled out of the Top 25 until the March success. The 2023 team didn’t make the NCAA Tournament field. But the following season, an Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season championship – dented with an ACC tournament championship-game loss to what had been a struggling North Carolina State team – and trip to the Sweet 16 restored confidence.
Troubles brewed last year, when the Tar Heels barely made the tournament – some will say because of Cummingham’s presence as chair of the NCAA selection committee. A First Four victory was followed by exit in the first round with a loss to Ole Miss. So that means in five seasons, the Tar Heels have reached the NCAA Tournament’s second round just twice – first with a team that Williams had largely put together and the other when, according to the seeds, they were bounced prematurely. North Carolina has reached the 20-win level each season under Davis. This season’s 24-9 mark represents his third-largest win total.
Former players have chimed in regarding the condition of the program, mostly expressing concern without indicting Davis so far. That group has included Tyler Hansbrough, who also had been member of the team’s rotating radio broadcast crew, and Joel Berry, an analyst with the ACC Network.
The 2026-27 season will come without the Tar Heels’ three most productive players from this season unless freshman sensation Caleb Wilson pulls a surprising move and stays for another season. Henri Veesaar and Seth Trimble have used up eligibility. Wilson’s personality and high-flying talents made him a fan favorite. Trimble played his entire college career for the Tar Heels and was already popular, a status that rose to special heights after his game-winning shot in early February against Duke. Since that night in the Smith Center, North Carolina went 5-5 – probably in part because Wilson played in only part of one game the rest of the way because of a couple of injuries.
A winter commitment from heralded recruit Dylan Mingo is reason for encouragement regarding the next roster. If there’s a coaching change, the pressing question becomes who’s next? And from there, it’s complicated if the school goes outside of the Carolina family. Dean Smith passed the torch to longtime assistant coach Bill Guthridge. His retirement led to former Tar Heels player Matt Doherty taking the job. When that didn’t work out, alum and former assistant Roy Williams was summoned back from Kansas. Davis was selected off Williams’ staff to replace the retiring Hall of Famer.
The other choice – at least in conventional circles – was then-UNC Greensboro coach Wes Miller.
Since then, Miller took the Cincinnati job and was dismissed when the Bearcats’ season ended this month. So that path might not be reasonably open for Miller, a former player on a Tar Heels national championship team, to assume the position. Cunningham predictably attended Friday’s women’s regional on the Chapel Hill campus, but he could have been huddled with other school officials during other parts of the day.
With the university’s spring break winding down this weekend, other activities on campus are only diversions to the most pressing question.
Sports
UCF extends coach Johnny Dawkins through 2028-29
Mar 19, 2026; Philadelphia, PA, USA; UCF Knights head coach Johnny Dawkins conducts a press conference during a practice session ahead of the first round of the men’s 2026 NCAA Tournament at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Ross-Imagn Images UCF coach Johnny Dawkins agreed to a three-year deal through the 2028-29 season, the school announced Thursday.
Dawkins, 62, guided the Knights to a second consecutive 20-win season in 2025-26 as well as appearances in the Top 25 poll and the NCAA Tournament.
“Johnny has led our men’s basketball program with outstanding poise and class,” athletic director Terry Mohajir said. “The stability and continuity he has provided have been, in my opinion, a major reason for the program’s growth. As a result, we’re excited to extend his contract. He is a strong leader and an outstanding role model for our young men. Johnny is highly deserving of this extension, and we’re excited about the future of UCF men’s basketball under his leadership.”
Dawkins reportedly had the lowest salary among Big 12 coaches last season at $2.1 million.
Dawkins has compiled a 189-132 record in 10 seasons at UCF, overseeing the Orlando-area school’s transition from the American Athletic Conference to the Big 12 Conference in 2023-24. His team also reached the 2019 NCAA Tournament.
The Knights were 21-12 last season, appearing at No. 25 in the Associated Press poll on Jan. 5. As a No. 10 seed, they lost to No. 7 seed UCLA 75-71 in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.
“What we accomplished this season was a testament to the hard work of our student-athletes, coaches and staff as we continue establishing ourselves in the Big 12,” Dawkins said. “I’m proud of the progress we’ve made and excited about where this program is headed. UCF has become home for my family, and I’m committed to continuing to build a program that our university and fans can be proud of.”
Dawkins was 156-115 with one NCAA Tournament appearance in eight seasons at Stanford from 2008-16, leading the Cardinal to NIT championships in 2011-12 and 2014-15. His overall record is 345-247.
Dawkins was a two-time All-American point guard and the Naismith National Player of the Year during a decorated career at Duke from 1982-86. A first-round pick (10th overall) by San Antonio in 1986, he played nine NBA seasons with the Spurs (1986-89), Philadelphia 76ers (1989-94) and Detroit Pistons (1994-95).
–Field Level Media
Sports
Tennessee rides Elsa Morrison HR, tames Texas bats
Tennessee Lady Volunteers catcher Elsa Morrison (22) celebrates after hitting a home run in the second inning during a Women’s College World Series softball game between the Tennessee Volunteers and the Texas Longhorns at Devon Park in Oklahoma City, Thursday, May 28, 2026. Tennessee won 6-3. Freshman Elsa Morrison smashed the first pitch she saw over the center field fence for a three-run home run in the second inning and Tennessee beat defending national champion Texas 6-3 in the Women’s College World Series at Oklahoma City on Thursday afternoon.
Sage Mardjetko (15-2) got the win for Tennessee in four shutout innings and muted the high-powered Texas offense. She has 16 strikeouts in 13 2/3 innings this postseason.
SEC Player of the Year Katie Stewart went hitless for the Longhorns in three at-bats.
Morrison doubled off the top of the wall in the sixth and was 2-for-3 despite missing her second homer by a narrow margin.
Taelyn Holley scored two runs for Tennessee, which avenged a 2-0 loss to Texas in the 2025 WCWS semifinals.
Morrison’s heroics are becoming expected. She belted a tiebreaking homer to sink Northern Kentucky in the regional opener and now has seven homers this season.
Texas cut the lead to 5-3 in the bottom of the sixth. After Gold Glove senior catcher and cleanup hitter Reese Atwood got Texas on the board, second baseman Leighann Goode delivered with two outs. She roped a two-run home run to center field off the Volunteers’ Karlyn Pickens, who was clocked at a record 78 mph — the equivalent of 109 mph from an MLB regulation pitching mound.
Pickens and Tennessee (48-10) advance to meet Texas Tech and starter NiJaree Canady on Friday for a spot in the semifinals. The Red Raiders won 8-0 in five innings in the WCWS opener Thursday.
The Longhorns will face Mississippi State, which managed two hits and zero runs Thursday against Texas Tech, in an elimination game.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Charles Schwab first round suspended with four tied for lead
May 28, 2026; Fort Worth, Texas, USA; Tom Kim watches his shot from the sixth tee during the first round of the Charles Schwab Challenge golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images Tom Kim of South Korea and Erik van Rooyen of South Africa had one hole left to break out of a four-way tie for the lead when first-round play at the Charles Schwab Challenge was suspended due to a dangerous weather situation on Thursday in Fort Worth, Texas.
When play was delayed at Colonial Country Club, Ryan Gerard and Andrew Putnam were in the clubhouse with 6-under-par 64s while Kim and van Rooyen were 6 under with the par-4 ninth hole left to play.
The tournament was suspended at 4:15 p.m. local time and it was not clear whether it would resume Thursday. Many groups from the afternoon wave had between one and nine holes left to play.
A 10-man logjam at 5 under par included Keegan Bradley, Brian Harman and Alex Smalley in with scores of 65, while J.J. Spaun, Gary Woodland and Lee Hodges were 5 under with some holes to go. Max Homa, Russell Henley and Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama highlighted the 12-man clump at 4-under 66.
Putnam, who had a bogey-free day, seeks his second PGA Tour victory and his first since the 2018 Barracuda Championship. Gerard’s only win on tour, coincidentally, came at the Barracuda Championship last year. He mixed eight birdies with two bogeys Thursday.
–Field Level Media
UCF extends coach Johnny Dawkins through 2028-29
Tennessee rides Elsa Morrison HR, tames Texas bats
