“Elijah could see very clearly that his playing career was coming to an end and he’d be transitioning into some other way of keeping basketball in his life,” Leslie Davis, Elijah's mother and Hubert's wife, said. “I think that helped him make the decision that it would be a really great way to end that, to be back here with his dad.”
Elijah started conversations about transferring after North Carolina’s season ended in 2023. Over the next few days, Hubert and Elijah talked about what playing at UNC would look like, and Hubert told his son how much he would treasure coaching him.
After a month of contemplation, Elijah called his dad in his car after class outside a Lynchburg dining hall to inform him he had made his decision. It was a moment they would never forget.
“I was like, ‘There's nothing I want more than to come here and play for you,’” Elijah said.
The whole Davis family was thrilled about the move to UNC, but Leslie was ever-so-slightly annoyed that she was the second parent in the know. After all, Leslie was the one who recruited Elijah to North Carolina, Elijah said. She still teases them about it, but she's happy they could share such an intimate moment.
Now that Elijah is at UNC with Hubert, they no longer have to make plans to meet for dinner at Lynchburg. Elijah and Hubert spend more time at their longtime favorite local restaurant, Four Corners.
Whether in Virginia or North Carolina, one constant is keeping basketball out of dinner conversation. This separation between basketball and family is what has made the father-son duo so close over the years. On the court, there’s separation, too.
“In between those lines, I don't call him ‘dad,’” Davis said. “I call him ‘coach.’”
Elijah's teammates, who see Hubert award Elijah a pat on the back after a good play and, of course, an earful after a not-so-good move, understand this distinction, too.
“Elijah's like a brother to us,” junior guard Seth Trimble said. “We don't see him any differently. We never think too much into it.”
This new step in Hubert and Elijah's relationship has brought them closer and given them the opportunity to learn more about each other in a different setting. For instance, Elijah said Hubert now sees that his son welcomes criticism on the court.
On the flip side, Elijah is learning just how passionate and “crazy” his dad is.
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“I remember the first time I missed a box out,” Elijah said. “He ripped a new one into me. That was different.”
Even though Elijah said it's been the best couple of months of his life playing under his father, the forefront of Elijah's focus remains on doing what he can to help North Carolina bring home a national championship.
The head coach may be Elijah's father, and the late UNC great Walter Davis may be the reason Elijah wears No. 6 (which Walter wore for the Phoenix Suns), but it's about the team name on the jersey — not the “Davis” on the other side.
“There's no teasing or anything about ‘the coach's son,’” Elijah said. “I'm just another player.”
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