Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, March 27, 1991 TAG: 9103270185
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By GARY McCANN/ LANDMARK NEWS SERVICE
DATELINE: CHAPEL HILL, N.C. LENGTH: Medium
When he was 6 years old, he said, he remembers riding back from the 1976 Olympics in the same car with his parents and Tar Heels stars Mitch Kupchak, Phil Ford and Walter Davis, members of Dean Smith's gold medal-winning team in Montreal.
He attended North Carolina's basketball camp for eight summers, beginning when he was 10.
And with Walter Davis being his uncle, Hubert Davis was indoctrinated early with the baby blue and white - almost before he could dribble.
"I had chances to go to other schools," Davis said Tuesday. "Villanova and Virginia were interested. But I knew that if I had a chance to come to Carolina, I would."
He almost didn't get that chance because Smith didn't think he was good enough. He went so far as to tell Davis' father as much. He suggested Davis might find the going a little easier at one of those mid-major NCAA Division I schools such as those in the Southern Conference.
Smith, always one to take a swipe at those recruiting experts who rate high school players, has been taking knocks at himself lately.
When it comes to Davis, Smith said, "It shows what I know."
As North Carolina prepares for its first Final Four appearance since 1982, Davis, a 6-foot-4 junior, has become a key element in the past 16 games and especially in four NCAA Tournament victories. Over that span, Davis has hit 87 of 151 shots (57.6 percent), averaged 15.1 points points per game and led the Tar Heels in scoring seven times.
Davis has made 37 of his past 69 3-point shots and is shooting an ACC-best 48.8 percent on threes. His NCAA percentage is 57.9 and he set an NCAA regional record with a 4-for-5 performance against Eastern Michigan.
Davis has even surprised himself with what he's done this season.
"I felt like I'd be able to play [at North Carolina]," Davis said. "A lot of people didn't think so. They saw me as someone who would sit the bench for four years. But I can't say I envisioned myself playing the way I am right now."
Neither did Smith, who didn't plan to sign anyone during the 1987-88 recruiting period. Davis, who is interested in attending law school, planned to come to North Carolina regardless. His father asked Smith if Hubert would get a chance if he walked on.
Smith figured, since the kid was so interested, he would give him a scholarship. Davis became Smith's lone recruit for that year.
Because he was the only newcomer, Davis picked up the nickname "Rookie" and it has stuck.
"I'm surprised," Smith said, "but I said that even during his freshman year. He improved so much. I was happy with him in December of his freshman year, but I'm more happy with him now."
This year Davis has given the Tar Heels the outside shooting threat they have lacked in recent seasons. In the last half of the year, he has been a consistent threat. He is taking shots with the confidence you would expect of a blue-chip recruit.
Davis attended Lake Braddock High School in Burke, Va., a Washington, D.C., suburb, where he averaged 28 points per game as a senior. Davis, despite the fact that he also was an all-state per- former in football, did not impress Smith as being the kind of athlete his uncle Walter was.
"Walter called this morning to wish us well," Smith said Tuesday, "and he asked about Hubert. I told him he is a much better athlete than I thought. I felt like that would be his problem."
Davis has made himself into a good player. Ford, now an assistant coach with the Tar Heels, has taken special interest in him. Some say he gets on Davis harder than other Tar Heels players because he knows how much Davis wants to succeed.
Davis sometimes carries the weight of being related to Walter Davis, a former Tar Heels All-American. It seems that most newspaper stories carry the line "Hubert Davis, nephew of Walter Davis." And Dick Vitale has been known to scream, "He's doing it just like uncle Walter," when the soft-spoken Davis makes a long jump shot.
"Sometimes that bothers me," Davis said. "Everyone likes to have their own identity. Besides, we can't be compared at all."
Except that Davis, like his uncle, is making a name for himself in the Tar Heels' "family." And he still has a chance to do something uncle Walter never did - win a national championship.
"I haven't spoken with my uncle yet," Davis said, "but I'm eager to. I want him to tell me just what it's like to play in a Final Four."
Keywords:
BASKETBALL
by CNB