Agreed - but I think
@DSouthr post above was about perfect spot on, IMO. And at least his post had less to do with criticizing Brooks, than observing, pointing out Roy's blind spot, and a difference in how Roy handled Brooks attitude, skill, effort compared to how Hubert might handle that same player.
Brooks is what he is and he should be commended for the four year dedication and contribution to the program. But if younger players would deliver more to the team, and if they are putting in the effort and showing the skill to supersede Brooks results, the younger guys should've gotten some of Brooks minutes. But again, Brooks doesn't dictate that - Roy does.
Roy wasn't perfect
(me, ducking from incoming fire) and the blind spot Dave describes along with a very high level of stubbornness led to Brooks getting more time than he deserved IMO compared to the young guys, and may have caused a fair amount of locker room strife.
Hard for me to imagine Roy and/or other coaches couldn't see that and try to do something about it. Then again - Roy was not about to let the players dictate who got what playing time, based on the possibility of building better team chemistry. Unfortunate - but some of Roy's stubbornness and stuck in his ways forever, may have contributed to this year's inconsistent efforts and results, team lack of chemistry, etc which helped usher Roy out.
This is not going to be easy for me to say but it is going to be honest...
Roy told us, Roy told the college basketball world, no matter if you agreed with what he said or not, at very least live by the words so many (myself absolutely included) have have always used in association with Roy. How many of you have said that Roy was the only coach you wanted for UNC and should have the job for as long as he feels like it should be his? How many times have you uttered or written, the phrase "I Trust In Roy, Roy will do the right thing"?
Roy stepped down as our head coach and in doing so did not hesitate to say with complete clarity "I no longer feel I am the man for this job". Roy reflected back on season before last in that PC, flatly said he realized he should have done more, alluded to his not knowing what else he should have done. IN reference to this past season, his reflection was much the same, I needed to do more, I needed to have done things differently, not wanting to define the word insanity. So did the "trust Roy" phrase end at his retirement announcement, it didn't for me.
I have to believe and I do that had Roy knew he could have done some things differently, had he realized the mistakes he felt he made, Roy would have corrected those mistakes. I don't think that should stretch anyone's imagination, isn't that what you expect from any coach, much less a hall of fame coach? It was clear, that in his mind Roy knew there were things he should have done differently but I sincerely believe he does not know what those things were. He certainly did not NOT do things that ended up in our losing games on purpose, if you suspect he did then how could you have ever trusted the man. I think Roy sat back and honestly told himself that I just do not know what to do to turn the tide of this thing around and that makes me the wrong man for this job at this time we find ourselves in. I do think Roy believed that a new set of eyes would be able to see the problems differently, maybe clearer and I do believe he felt the best set of new eyes was Hubert Davis.
I do think Roy was to married to every aspect of his system that had been extremely successful for him and the programs he coached and I do think in some way Roy considered them perfectly fitted to UNC to the extent that they should not be tinkered with. I personally saw that as Roy being stubborn/hard headed, said so many times over the last few years. I am not a HOF coach but I didn't need to be to see how , example, our half court offense "worked", does not take a "Rocket Surgeon" to realize how in need of adjustment our half court offense was. When we watch a team go to the very same attack on his defense several times in a row, drive and kick out to an open shooter, do this over and over, it work over and over, and yet look, we are in the very same defense they have been drilling all night? You can't seriously tell me that something was not in dire need of being tweeked.
I think maybe, the most difficult thing I heard from Roy was in one of his post game PCs, said he not only knew after his teams last practice but knew at shoot around before that game we lost, that he knew his team was not in the right head space to play? I mean, that was a WTF moment, at least to me? Man, if you know your guys heads are not right to play that game then you have to deal with that, speechify, adjust your starting line up, do something to shake them up but you don't just hope it goes away?
Look, not backing the truck over Roy, just saying I do STILL TRUST ROY, that he maybe was not the right man for the job today, was in the past but we are now in TODAY and we need to move forward. We need a staff willing and able to move this program forward from where we are today and I do think we have a solid staff now in place and a head coach that can lead this program back to where UNC has always been for most of our life times, so I trust Hubert, just as I trust Roy, both good men, one ready and able to lead us forward and one ready to work on his handicap after a great career. How did Kenny Rogers put it again, "you got to know when to hold em, know when to fold em, know when to walk away, know when to run"?