Chris Carrawell appeared to show poor sportsmanship when he chose not to shake North Carolina head coach Hubert Davis’ hand after Saturday’s game, but the Duke assistant felt the act was justified.
The Blue Devils lost 94-81 in what was Mike Krzyzewski’s final home game as Duke’s coach before he retires. Carrawell completely snubbed Davis in the handshake following the game (video here). Davis seemed puzzled, but Carrawell later claimed he was returning the favor after Davis snubbed Duke prior to tip-off.
Carrawell told C.R. Brown of the Charlotte News Observer in a text message that Davis “did not shake our hands before the game.” Brown noted that Davis was not yet on the sideline when the Duke coaching staff entered the arena before the game, which is typically when coaches exchange pre-game handshakes. There was a crowd gathered at the Duke bench area when Davis made his way out of the locker room, though he did shake Krzyzewski’s hand.
It’s unclear if there is more to the story. Carrawell was obviously convinced that Davis snubbed some members of the Duke staff intentionally, though we don’t know why the North Carolina coach would do that.
Carrawell played for Duke from 1996-2000 and has been on Mike Krzyzewski’s staff since 2018. Davis played for North Carolina from 1988-1992 and is in his first season as the Tar Heels’ head coach.
