With an 83-67 UNC victory over Loyola Maryland, the Hubert Davis era officially begins

A new era began quietly.

Just 14,992 of Dean E. Smith Center’s over 21,000 seats were filled during No. 19 North Carolina men's basketball's season opener on Tuesday. 

As they’ve done in the last 17 seasons, the Tar Heels coasted to another season-opening win, beating Loyola Maryland, 83-67. After the game’s opening moments, the crowd rarely made much noise.

All of the Smith Center’s imposing monuments to UNC basketball history — the national championship banners, retired jerseys and the abundance of Carolina blue — remained just as they had been eight months ago, the last time the Tar Heels took the court in Chapel Hill. 

But if you peered down to one of the newer pieces of lore scattered across the Smith Center — the Roy Williams Court signature on the home sideline — you would have noticed one key difference. 

The coach pacing in front of the insignia, throwing up hand signals and directing his basketball orchestra was no longer its namesake, who looked on from a few rows above the court.

It was first-year head coach Hubert Davis.

“It’s a big deal, it’s emotional, it’s a change,” Davis said. “Me being in this role, it is different. I understand the impact of me being in this position, what this program’s done in the past and what we’re planning to do in the future.”

Once the opening whistle blew, the on-court product showed many of the same core tenets of the oft-cited "Carolina Way." As was the case during Williams’ 18-year tenure, the Tar Heels took advantage of fast-break opportunities to the tune of 15 points off turnovers, sharing the ball and keeping two bigs on the floor for almost the full 40 minutes.

But in the margins, there were clear differences. The game started with one of them, as graduate transfer Brady Manek knocked down a three from the top of the arc to become the first scorer in the Davis era. Bigs rarely pulled up from deep under Williams, but Manek and fellow transfer Dawson Garcia combined for seven 3-point attempts Tuesday.

“It’s unbelievable that I get to be part of Coach Davis’ first team ever, I was a part of his first win,” Manek said. “It’s a great thing for me, a great thing for all of us. We’ll all look back and appreciate everything.”

Another notable difference was the emergence of sophomore guard Caleb Love, who finished with a game-high 22 points. 

Despite struggling with efficiency last year, Love shot a more than respectable 7-13 from the field and knocked down a pair of threes. The sophomore’s impressive shooting clips weren’t an outlier for the Tar Heels either, as they finished shooting over 50 percent from the field and nearly 40 percent from deep.

UNC’s field goal percentage was on par with last year's average — when a dominant post quartet were the centerpieces of the offense — but the clip from deep was a 10-point improvement from the previous season’s.

“I’m just happy for Coach Davis,” Love said. “Him being so passionate about this program, him having the opportunity to step into this role for us. I’m just happy for him, I’m happy for this team and we got the win.”

Williams may only wear a nine-and-a-half, but Davis has Smith Center sized shoes to fill. Three of the national title banners lining the rafter were won under Williams' guidance, the court bears his name and for some UNC students, Williams was the only North Carolina men’s basketball coach during their lifetime. 

But Davis has been around a while. Nine years as an assistant, to be exact. And four years as a player in Carolina blue before that. 

This North Carolina team is different. It was always going to be different. But by the time Davis is done in Chapel Hill, there should be plenty more history to add to the Smith Center.

“For us, our focus is on this team,” Davis said. “It’s on this program and becoming the best team that we can be.”

@zachycrain

sports@dailytarheel.com