North Carolina men's basketball fans likely began the year with cautious optimism over what the 2021-22 campaign might look like. The Tar Heels had been won three national championships under Roy Williams, but the legendary coach announce Alabama vs. Auburn Rivalry Jerseys d his retirement following the conclusion of last season.
Enter Hubert Davis. The former standout UNC and NBA guard had been an assistant coach under Wi College Lacrosse shirt lliams for nine seasons with the Tar Heels before stepping into the role as head coach following Williams' retirement.
How has Davis done?
He took the Tar Heels to a 23-8 regular season, capped off with a win on the road against rival Duke to spoil the Cameron Indoor Stadium finale of Mike Krzyzewski. After a second-round exit in the ACC Tournament, North Carolina entered the 2022 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament as a No. 8 seed in the East region. The Tar Heels have since knocked out No. 1 Baylor, No. 4 UCLA and upset No. 2 Duke in the Final Four to punch their ticket to the national championship game for the first time since winning it all in 2017.
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On Monday, the Tar Heels will take on No. 1 Kansas as they look to win their seventh national championship and officially open up the Davis era with a title.
Should they do that, Davis would make history in guiding a team to a national championship in his first season as the head coach of a men's college basketball program. How many other coaches have accomplished this feat?
The Sporting News takes a look.
NCAA Sweatshirts and Hoodies Coaches to win NCAA Tournament in first year
There has only been one coach to ever win a national championship in his first year as a head coach of a men's college basketball team — and even that comes with an as Cincinnati Bearcats Jerseys terisk.
Back in 1989, Michigan coach Bill Frieder took the Wolverines to a 24-7 regular-season record. The Wolverines earned a No. 3 seed in the Southeast region. There was only one problem: Frieder received a job offer from Arizona State.
Athletic director Bo Schembechler asked Frieder to leave the program as soon as he learned about Fisher's desire to coach at ASU.
He promoted Steve Fisher to become the interim head coach for the tournament.
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In what was initially expected to hold an interim title quickly changed. Michigan tore through its region and beat No. 1 Illinois in the Final Four to punch its ticket to the national championship game. There, they faced No. 3 Seton Hall. The game went to overtime, but the Wolverines came out on top in a 80-79 to claim the program's only title.
Fisher remained the head coach in Michigan until the end of the 1996-97 season. He took the Wolverines to the national championship in back-to-back years — 1992 and 1993 — the former of which being the infamous "Fab Five" team.
Those two Final Four appearances were ultimately vacated, however, due to the Ed Martin scandal.
Coaches to reach NCAA Tournament championship in first year
Regar College Cold Weather shirt dless of what happens on Monday, Davis is already in historic company as one of only four coaches to take their team to the national championship in their first year.
Along with Fisher, only three other coaches have guided their team to the national championship game in their first year of coaching. The first was Kansas' Dick Harp, whose Jayhawks lost to the Tar Heels in 1957. Next came Indiana State's Bill Hodges, who took the Sycamores to the title game in 1979, but fell to Jud Heathc UNC vs. Duke Rivalry Jerseys ote's Michigan State squad.
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There have been several coaches that have taken a team to the Final Four in their first year of coaching, however. The first ever to do it was Oklahoma's Bruce Drake in the first annual NCAA Tournament of 1939.
Here's the list of coaches who have taken a team to the Final Four in their first year.
Year | Team | Coach | Outcome |
---|---|---|---|
1939 | Oklahoma | Bruce Drake | Lost Final Four to Oregon |
1943 | DePaul | Ray Meyer | Lost Final Four to Georgetown |
1943 | Texas | Bully Gilstrap | Lost Final Four to Wyoming |
1957 | Kansas | Dick Harp | Lost National Championship to North Carolina |
1965 | Wichita State | Gary Thompson | Lost Final Four to UCLA; lost third-place game to Princeton |
1972 | Louisville | Lenny Crum | Lost Final Four to UCLA; lost third-place game to North Carolina |
1979 | Indiana State | Bill Hodges | Lost National Championship to Michigan State |
1989 | Michigan | Steve Fisher | Won National Championship vs. Seton Hall |
1998 | North Carolina | Bill Guthridge | Lost Final Four to Utah |
2022 | North Carolina | Hubert Davis | ? |
Coach to win NCAA Tournament the fastest
This would certainly belong to Michigan's Fisher, who won a national championship just six games into his coaching career.
But there are others who have come close to his accomplishment, with two coaches winning a title for their program in their second year of coaching.
The first to win a national champ Cal State Fullerton Titans shirt ionship in his second year of coaching was Ohio State's Fred Taylor, who guided the Buckeyes to their only tournament title win in 1960 in a 75-55 win against California. The next coach to accomplish the feat did not do it until 2014, when Connecticut's Kevin Ollie guided the Huskies to a 60-54 win against Kentucky.
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There have only been a handful of coaches even win a national championship within the first five yea WVU vs. Pitt Rivalry shirt rs of coaching, however. To date, only seven coaches have won a national championship that early into their coaching careers. Davis could join Fisher at the top of the list.
Year | Team | Coach | Year of coaching | National Championship |
---|---|---|---|---|
1989 | Michigan | Steve Fisher | 1 | 80-79 vs. Seton Hall |
1960 | Ohio State | Fred Taylor | 2 | 75-55 vs. California |
2014 | Connecticut | Kevin Ollie | 2 | 60-54 vs. Kentucky |
1961 | Cincinnati | Ed Jucker | 3 | 70-65 vs. Ohio State |
1943 | Wyoming | Everett Shelton | 4 | 46-34 vs. Georgetown |
1955 | San Francisco | Phil Woolpert | 5 | 77-63 |
1966 | Texas Western | Don Haskins | 5 | 72-65 |