Who's on UNC's coaching list? Duke's successful succession, X-factors for the game: Mailbag

Happy Duke versus North Carolina week to all who celebrate.

Regardless of each teams roster, this game is always one of my favorites.

I love college basketball because anything can happen any given night, and no singular game better embodies that philosophy than this one.

Ive been fortunate to be courtside for a few recent classics Wendell Moores and Tre Jones buzzer beaters; Zion Williamsons return in the 2019 ACC Tournament; Mike Krzyzewskis final home game; the Final Four and the rivalry (almost) always delivers.

Advertisement Thanks to all who submitted questions.

We received so many that Ive divided this mailbag into three parts: one big-picture question per school, then more specifics on Saturdays game at Cameron Indoor.

Scroll at your leisure, but lets start with the burning question at UNC.

(Submitted questions have been lightly edited for clarity and length.) If UNC wanted to move on from Hubert Davis, who do you think the list would be of interviews? Wesleyt1098 The larger discussion about Davis whether he should be back next season, if hell retire, what changes should be made if he does return, etc.

could easily fill a mailbag by itself.

And Ill have a piece getting into that soon.

But for the purpose of Wesleys question, lets assume that, either via Davis firing or retirement, North Carolina needs a new basketball coach next season.

Whos the call list? One thing is abundantly clear: If athletic director Bubba Cunningham truly has the autonomy to make this hire which he should UNC must go outside the family.

Its non-negotiable.

Who even are the realistic in-family options? Wes Miller, whose Cincinnati team is 12-8, with one top-50 win and seven losses in its last nine games? Jerry Stackhouse? King Rice? Cmon.

There are simply no deserving candidates ...

and thats perfectly OK! Id argue its preferable.

Because it frees North Carolina to strictly hire the best basketball coach it can.

Which means, straight off the jump, you make three calls.

The first two go to Alabamas Nate Oats and Baylor s Scott Drew, two of the best coaches in the country who almost certainly are not leaving their positions.

(For all the UNC fans crying, bUt wErE uNc! Doesnt matter.

Oats and Drew both turned down Kentucky last offseason.) Oats buyout was prohibitive, and frankly, the schools level of investment in mens basketball is about as good as a coach can ask for.

Drew, meanwhile, just built his dream home in Waco, lives down the street from his family, already won a national title with the Bears and plays in a new arena.

Both have to pick up the phone its still North Carolina but it seems unlikely if not impossible that either makes the leap.

(Side note: UNC isnt exactly the most cash-rich athletic department right now, especially after hiring Bill Belichick and in light of the pending House settlement.

Paying a lucrative buyout for another coach, and then signing him to a megacontract, doesnt exactly seem in the cards.) Advertisement The third guy you call if youre Cunningham is Chicago Bulls coach Billy Donovan.

Donovan has long been intrigued by the UNC job, and while he last coached in college in 2014-15, hes obviously a brilliant basketball mind whose NBA experience would play incredibly with todays college game.

Another plus: He understands how to manage a salary cap, which is essential in college today.

Donovans Bulls tenure hasnt exactly been a boon, but its still an NBA gig.

Would he seriously consider leaving that for college? TBD, but UNC is arguably the one job that could make him think twice.

Hed also be 60 next season, so youre hiring him with the understanding that youll need another new coach in a decade.

Again, you still make the call.

One more long shot, if were strictly talking the best Xs and Os minds in the college game: Purdue s Matt Painter.

Hes got an incredible cultural fit with the Boilermakers and proved last season that he could win there at the highest level.

Hes also a Purdue lifer, and how him leaving at this point would be perceived poorly definitely factors in.

But if you were starting a new college program today, the 54-year-old would easily be among my top five choices.

If/when you strike out on those guys, then I probably lean toward a promising up-and-comer.

Texas Tech s Grant McCasland and Vanderbilt s Mark Byington have limited experience but have proved their program-building ability and would seemingly thrive with UNCs resources.

Both also happen to be fantastic coaches in their 40s, meaning you can hire them and conceivably be set for a while.

McCasland has no North Carolina ties, but Byington was born in Virginia, played collegiately at UNC-Wilmington and has worked at several places nearby: Virginia, Virginia Tech , James Madison and Charleston.

Like Pat Kelsey at Louisville this season, Byington is probably not a hire the fan base would be thrilled about, but hes won everywhere hes been.

And look how Kelsey turned out.

Nearly three years since Coach K retired, isnt it time to acknowledge that his succession plan was about more than wanting a farewell tour? Todd D.

The answer lies in whats happening at Indiana, Virginia, Villanova, Syracuse and, to a lesser extent, North Carolina.

Now, nobody could have known three years ago that Dukes transition from Krzyzewski to Jon Scheyer would go as swimmingly as it has.

That was the hope, but never the guarantee.

But its clear now that Scheyer slow-cooking for a season as coach-in-waiting not only did wonders for the Blue Devils continued recruiting success, but it gave Scheyer a leg up when he did finally slide into his job.

He got to ask Coach K, in real-time, how he handled staff meetings, player meetings, scouting, media, scheduling everything.

Advertisement But theres one thing about Scheyer I dont think has gotten nearly enough publicity, and it goes beyond the transition.

Do you remember who his first two hires at Duke were? Rachel Baker, the first general manager in college basketball history, and Jai Lucas, then a Kentucky assistant.

Lucas had some family ties to Durham, but neither was a Duke person.

During his year in waiting, though, Scheyer ascertained that he needed a GM and a promising young coach/recruiter the role he was vacating, basically and didnt care if he went outside the family.

Did it ruffle a few feathers? It almost doesnt matter now because Baker and Lucas have become integral pieces to Dukes success.

almost Saturday #StayCrazie pic.twitter.com/DG2Ey2Qaeo Duke Mens Basketball (@DukeMBB) January 29, 2025 In the modern landscape, for better or worse, tradition and history have been minimized.

Its all about your coaching acumen, your re$ources and finding players who fit your system.

(Dont forget how many former five- and four-star recruits Scheyer let leave last offseason, to better reset the deck around Cooper Flagg.) Not every school has the benefit of having a Scheyer-type assistant, but for programs with iconic coaches nearing the end of their rope looking at you, Gonzaga , Michigan State and Tennessee its easy to see which transition strategy has bred the best long-term situation.

But I dont think Krzyzewski hated all the gifts and attention he received that season, either.

Now on to the game itself ...

How does North Carolina even really keep it close this time around? Seems like UNCs roster is just so misconfigured, especially when compared to Duke.

Baker F.

Its not super fair to compare most college rosters with Dukes, which, frankly, is just an NBA breeding ground.

Seriously.

Every single one of Dukes starters could be selected in Junes NBA Draft, and likely three of them led by presumptive No.

1 pick Flagg will go in the lottery.

I havent been able to nail this stat down, but I believe Duke is also the first high-major team in over a decade without a rotation player under 6 feet 5.

On the contrary, all five of UNCs best players are under 6-6.

So, yeah.

Tough comparison.

But youre right that this is specifically a bad matchup for UNC because of Dukes length.

Well see if Jalen Washington is healthy enough to play he missed the Pitt game with a sprained left knee he suffered versus Boston College but if not, youre talking about the (generously listed) 6-8 Ven-Allen Lubin going up against 7-foot-2 Khaman Maluach inside.

Off to a bad start.

Id imagine JaeLyn Withers and Drake Powell split the Flagg assignment, and Seth Trimble probably takes Kon Knueppel as frequently as possible.

But UNC is giving up size at basically every position, as it has most of this season.

So, how does UNC keep it close? First, it has to make 3s.

In Dukes two losses this season, Kentucky and Kansas made 10 and eight 3s, respectively.

If there is a weakness in Dukes top-three defense, its that it cedes some decent 3-point looks, as NC State took advantage of in the first half Monday.

UNC has to knock down those opportunities when they arise which it can, but hasnt necessarily this season.

Also, it has to get to the free-throw line.

Duke is one of the better teams in the country at defending without fouling, but Maluach is susceptible at times, as are Isaiah Evans and occasionally James.

When UNC has hung with good teams Kansas, Michigan State, Florida its done so by getting to the line.

Advertisement Who should Duke assign as the primary defender to guard Ian Jackson ? Rick R.

Since Duke switches almost everything defensively, a few people will get a turn on Jackson: Tyrese Proctor , James, Knueppel, Flagg and probably Mason Gillis and Caleb Foster off the bench.

(Although if Im Scheyer, I dont want Foster in that situation if I can avoid it.) The bigger question is how often, if at all, Duke allows Maluach to switch onto Jackson.

Scheyer has been letting Maluach switch 1-5 since the Pitt game with solid returns.

But Jackson is quick enough, and has a deep enough bag, that hes one of the rare guys I wouldnt want Maluach trying to dance with on the perimeter.

(And the last thing Duke needs is Jackson getting hot this game.

Hes one of the guys who, like Cormac Ryan last season, is tough to stop once he gets going.) If Duke does try the 1-5 Maluach switching, and Jackson ends up with him on an island on the perimeter, expect UNC to attack that relentlessly.

Who are each teams X-factors for Saturday? Yaakov H.

North Carolina: Seth Trimble.

Up until the UCLA game before Trimble got injured he was shooting 38.5 percent from 3 and averaging 14.8 points per game.

Since he returned, though, hes shooting 11.1 percent from 3 and averaging 8.1 points per game.

Hes obviously become a rebounding force 6.3 boards per game since returning, including 12 in each of UNCs past two games but his shooting and scoring regression has hurt UNCs offense.

Hes probably the guy Duke is most comfortable leaving open from 3, and if that happens, Trimble has to knock down his looks for UNC to have a chance.

Duke: Tyrese Proctor.

Its been a rough stretch for the junior guard.

After shooting 43.2 percent from 3 in Dukes first 15 games this season, Proctor is at basically half that 21.7 percent from 3 over the past five games.

The past two, especially, have been tough watches at times; Proctor hit the decisive 3 against Wake Forest but had been 0-fer up until then, and he was basically a nonfactor offensively against NC State.

Hes had a tendency throughout his Duke career to let his 3-point shooting dictate his overall impact, but as one of Dukes rangy perimeter defenders, hell need to chase RJ Davis and Elliot Cadeau around all evening regardless of how hes shooting it.

When Proctor is on, though, Duke looks borderline unstoppable.

(Photo of UNC coach Hubert Davis and Duke coach Jon Scheyer: Peyton Williams / UNC / Getty Images).

This article has been shared from the original article on theathleticuk, here is the link to the original article.