Mike Krzyzewski reacts to UNC firing Hubert Davis: 'Sad that happened'

Legendary Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski has broken his silence on North Carolina‘s firing of head coach Hubert Davis earlier this week.

Following back-to-back First Round losses in the NCAA Tournament, Carolina parted ways with Davis after five seasons. In that span, Davis led the Tar Heels to a 125-54 record and a trip to the National Championship Game (2022).

No two wins, however, were bigger than Davis’ two over Krzyzewski and Duke in the final weeks of his inaugural season (2021-22). North Carolina marched into Cameron Indoor Stadium and upset Duke 94-81 in Coach K’s final regular season game, and then ended Coach K’s career with a 81-77 victory over the Blue Devils in that year’s Final Four.

Mike Krzyzewski opens up about relationship with Hubert Davis

Although the Duke–North Carolina rivalry is among the best in sports, Krzyzewski and Davis are good friends. He opened up about his relationship with the former UNC coach, along with discussing what went wrong, on Friday’s edition of The Pat McAfee Show.

“Hubert Davis is a good friend,” Krzyzewski said. “I think Hubert’s one of the great guys. I’m sad that that happened. Every coach in the country has sympathy for him. When you lose a player the caliber of Caleb Wilson… he’s a top-five player in the NBA Draft. When you don’t have him the last few weeks of the season, that’s a big thing. That’s a huge thing.

“Look, they can do whatever they want to do. But, I just have a lot of empathy for Hubert and a lot of respect for him. It’s one of the great programs of all time in any sport, and so I’m sure they will get a coach that is worthy of that position. It’s one of the big time positions in sport.”

The loss of Caleb Wilson certainly did hinder North Carolina‘s season, as it was just 5-4 in its final nine games without the superstar freshman. However, Davis’ shortcomings prior to this season did not help in establishing his case for another season. The Tar Heels were bounced out of the First Round as a No. 11 seed last season, lost in the Sweet Sixteen in 2024, and failed to make the Tournament as the Preseason No. 1 team in 2023.

There’s no question that North Carolina is one of the most coveted jobs in all of college basketball. The program boasts 2,419 wins (third most in NCAA history) and six National Championships (T-third most in NCAA history). Following Davis’ shortcomings at the program, however, a slam-dunk hire is crucial for ensuring that Carolina returns as one of college basketball’s juggernauts.