As always, the season-ending game between the Duke Blue Devils and North Carolina Tar Heels left a little drama out on the court. Despite the fact that it was Coach K’s last game and Duke was ranked, it was UNC who pulled off the big victory in Cameron Indoor Stadium, upsetting the Blue Devils 94-81.
Afterward, the two teams were passing one another in the handshake line when viewers noticed that Duke assistant coach Chris Carrawell appeared to snub Tar Heels head coach Hubert Davis instead of shaking his hand.
So what was this all about? He definitely blew off Hubert Davis’ handshake. #UNCvsDuke #Sportsmanship pic.twitter.com/XoYQ0xlK8C
— Jason Staples (@DocStaples) March 6, 2022
Almost immediately, there was speculation about why the assistant coach would purposefully refuse to shake the opposing coach’s hand. Was he being a baby about losing to their bitter rival? Did Davis say something to him that we were unaware of?
Is there a Chris Carrawell-Hubert Davis backstory? https://t.co/09XN46vsXj
— Mike Rutherford (@CardChronicle) March 6, 2022
Carrawell did text the News & Observer afterward to say that Davis “did not shake our hands before the game.” So it sounds like this was a bit of tit for tat. Though, some pointed out that Davis and Coach K did speak before the game, throwing cold water on this excuse.
There could be another reason. As noted by the Sporting News, an ESPN story that ran this past Wednesday inferred that some in the Blue Devils’ basketball program “bristled” at North Carolina’s lack of pomp or ceremony for Coach K during his farewell tour. There was no special moment before the game for the longtime Duke coach during the game in Chapel Hill earlier this year.
Still, in a day and age when coaches are constantly going on and on about players showing respect and class, it’s a pretty childish move by Carrawell, even if he felt like Davis had snubbed him beforehand. There’s pretty much no way that the assistant coach doesn’t look bad here and the reactions on social media reflect that.
This is so insanely soft from Chris Carrawell. You're a 44-year old man, dude.
As for the 2nd part, you have to be careful with "suggestions," but that is so incredibly weak if Dookies really took offense to UNC not bending the knee enough to Coach K in Chapel Hill. pic.twitter.com/0W0RQvDBHU
— College Sports Only (@CollegeSportsO) March 6, 2022
This is embarrassing. Unacceptable. Respect the game and your opponent. The rule stands for all coaches. https://t.co/skNi6bQWKV
— Seth Greenberg (@SethOnHoops) March 6, 2022
Really disappointed in how the @DukeMBB reacted to the @UNC_Basketball coaching staff after the game. Unacceptable. Respect the game and your opponent. This is a simple rule. A lesson coaches need to demonstrate to their players.
— Seth Greenberg (@SethOnHoops) March 6, 2022
This is the equivalent of my 22 month old throwing a tantrum because he can’t watch Cocomelon. I can hear the *wah wah wah* from here. SALTY. https://t.co/JrYCIFLHOO
— Ryan Switzer (@Switz) March 6, 2022
There’s a bit of irony in this happening in Coach K’s final regular-season game as he’s been involved in handshake line drama before and it was 100% about him being petulant. So it’s not too surprising to see that trickle down the coaching tree.
There’s certainly been a lot of drama around college basketball season post-game handshake lines and coaches, so perhaps they need to be the ones to reassess things instead of blaming players for these issues.
