Blue blood needs new blood

Good morning! The coaching carousel had its first major domino fall on Tuesday with North Carolina. We’ll see if any other Blue Bloods also have openings in the coming weeks.

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1. Now what for North Carolina?

It took a few days, but North Carolina finally made a decision about its men’s basketball program and moved on from Hubert Davis.

The school issued a statement that it’ll honor the terms of his buyout, equating to a little more than $5 million.

Not that it was an easy decision.

There was growing pressure from former UNC players and some coaches who argued that Davis deserved another season given the injuries to star players Caleb Wilson and Seth Trimble. But after a 19-4 start ended in a 24-9 season and a Round of 64 exit from the NCAA Tournament, wealthy donors created enough noise that UNC elected to find a new coach.

“We appreciate all that Hubert has done for Carolina as a player, assistant coach, head coach and community leader — he has helped make special memories we will never forget,” outgoing AD Bubba Cunningham said. “This was not an easy decision because of Hubert’s tremendous character and all he has given to the program, but we must move forward in a way that allows our team to compete more consistently at an elite level.”

Davis issued a statement of his own, via Instagram.

Davis, 55, ended his five-year tenure as 125-54, which includes one national title game appearance, one regular-season ACC title, and four NCAA tourney appearances.

The school announced that it’ll hold a nationwide search for a new coach, which means it’ll hire outside of the program’s heralded family of coaches and players for the first time since Frank McGuire in 1952.

So. Who will North Carolina focus on during its national search? Jeff Goodman says the top three names are Arizona’s Tommy Lloyd, Iowa State’s TJ Otzelberger, and Chicago Bulls coach Billy Donovan, who reportedly could leave the team at season’s end.

But it’s also worth noting who Goodman says probably won’t be a target.

Of course, most of the coaches mentioned in the video above have teams still playing in the NCAA Tournament, which complicates timing. How quickly UNC moves on this will depend on how those teams fare.

One thing’s for sure: No matter who North Carolina brings in, there will be immense pressure to win right away. Davis can attest to that.

In other Tuesday coaching news:

• Florida is trying to finalize a third contract extension with Todd Golden in as many years.

• UCF reportedly will give Johnny Dawkins a contract extension.

• Louisiana Monroe is nearing a deal with UAB associate head coach Scott Cross.

2. Biggest transfer portal entrants yet

We got a pair of absolute studs headlining Tuesday's portal entrants — both hailing from the West Coast.

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