Parents of North Carolina men’s basketball players allege the NIT fate was left up to the squad.
According to the fathers of North Carolina men’s basketball players, coach Hubert Davis allowed his team to chose whether or not to compete in the NIT.
North Carolina men’s basketball coach Hubert Davis let his players vote on whether to participate in the NIT, and the school opted out after the majority of players voted against it, Tar Heels’ fathers told USA TODAY Sports on Tuesday.
According to the dads of junior guard Caleb Love and sophomore guard D’Marco Dunn, the voting results went into effect when the Tar Heels failed to qualify for the NCAA tournament.
Steve Kirschner, North Carolina’s associate athletic director for sports information and media relations, stated that the decision was made with input from players, coaches, and staff.
Dennis Love and Greg Dunn said Davis enabled the squad to vote.
The father of junior swingman Puff Johnson criticized the decision to forgo the NIT.
“I believe it should have been Coach’s decision, not the kids’,” Gilbert Johnson stated. “They should’ve competed in the NIT. They needed that experience, whether they won or lost.
Later Tuesday, Johnson stated that he was unaware of a player vote.
“I thought it would have been best to give the players more time to play more minutes,” Greg Dunn said, adding that his son voted in favor of participating.
Dennis Love remarked, “The competitor in me says let’s go play and win. But I can see how Coach would have looked at it and said, “If we play and lose, it will be even more hurt feelings because we did not meet the expectations.”
“Players, coaches, and staff all had input into the decision that Coach Davis and (athletic director) Bubba Cunningham ultimately made,” Kirshner said by text message, adding that North Carolina would not discuss “all the details of the process that went into the decision not to play in the NIT.”
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SITTING OUT: North Carolina coach Hubert Davis explains why Tar Heels men declined NIT invitation.
College Basketball Hall of Famer Tom Penders said UNC should be punished for withdrawing from the NIT and urged the NCAA basketball selection committee to “remember this slap in the face,” according to a tweet posted to Penders’ account Sunday night.
“ARROGANCE!” Penders wrote. “The University of North Carolina should be penalized heavily! The NCAA basketball committee should recall this slap in the face. “The NIT began before the NCAA tournament.”
The 32-team NIT, which takes place on campus but ends in Las Vegas, begins on Tuesday. The prospect of North Carolina participating was previously unimaginable.
The Tar Heels were placed first in the preseason polls following their 72-69 loss to Kansas in the 2022 NCAA championship game. Four of North Carolina’s top six scorers returned this season, but the Tar Heels ended 20-13 and did not go to the NCAA Tournament.
“I don’t like the way they ended it,” Gilbert Johnson stated. “To top it all off, they turned down the NIT. Why let them make that decision? It appears like they are having difficulty making the correct decision. I’ve seen that all year. “Why leave it in their hands?”
Jeff Williams, the NIT coordinator, stated that the selection committee was aware of North Carolina’s intentions before invitations were extended.
“We’ve had very few teams that have opted out of the NIT,” Williams added, with the exception being the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021.
Dennis Love stated that his son voted in favor of playing in the NIT. Caleb Love was the team’s best scorer, with 16.7 points per game.
Puff Johnson appeared in 27 games, including two starts.
