WINSTON-SALEM – North Carolina may have reached a low point on its season Tuesday night, falling 92-85 at Wake Forest in a game it trailed by 22 points at halftime.
The lead reached 26 points early in the second half before the Tar Heels made a late push, but it wasn’t enough, and the game was really out of reach before halftime.
Afterward, senior Armando Bacot, the program’s all-time leading rebounder who has tremendous reverence for the UNC program and its fabled history, addressed his teammates in the locker room, and then he let the media know what was said following Carolina’s third consecutive loss that dropped it to 15-9 overall and 7-6 in the ACC.
Bacot fouled out playing just 22 minutes. He scored 17 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, but wasn’t complimentary of his own play nor his teammates’ performances. Leaning against the wall next to the doorway of UNC’s locker room, Bacot opened up about what he told the other Heels and about the team’s many issues.
“I mean, really, I just told everybody like, I'm not going to quit; if you wanna be here, be here on Thursday; if not, go home,” he said.
When asked if he thinks all 18 players on the roster will be there for practice Thursday, the Preseason ACC Player of the Year said, “I don’t know.”
So, instead of writing an lengthy piece about what Bacot said, why not put it all here for everyone to read and decipher for themselves. Here is the full Q&A with Bacot with video of his interview below:
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The Tar Heels were in the locker room following the game for 37 minutes before the door opened. UNC Coach Hubert Davis first addressed the team, then Bacot did.
BACOT: “I mean, really, I just told everybody like, I'm not going to quit; if you wanna be here, be here on Thursday; if not, go home."
Why say that?
BACOT: “Because being at a university like this and not have any pride; I mean, I'm not perfect either but I love this university and going out there and giving out that performance is inexcusable.”
How much was performance and how much was preparation for performances or does it simply surface during games?
BACOT: “Yeah, I don't know; that's what I don't get. We had two good days of practices, and I thought no question we were going to come into this game and win. Then we get out there and it's like we are not communicating. I just feel like we are more worried about ourselves, and it’s discouraging because I want to win, that's why I came back; coaches want to win.”
Last week, with those two losses, are you surprised wit the way you guys came out tonight?
BACOT: “I am not surprised, it has happened more than twice this year. It’s our reality but the thing is now our back is against the wall, so like I told everybody people that want to be here be here on Thursday if not, go.”
Were you leading the conversation in there? What was Coach Davis saying?
BACOT: “Yes, I guess you could say that.
“Same thing: He wants guys to play with his personality. You look at our coaching staff, Coach Davis had a great career here, coach (Sean) May, everybody. The passion is there; we've got the talent to do it, but me, Caleb, RJ, and Leaky came back for a reason, and this isn't it.
"It starts with us four. Pete wasn't here last year to play with us, so he doesn't fully know. We have a lot of freshmen and bench guys who don't have a lot of experience.
“It starts with us four; it's frustrating, but we're not going to quit; this one definitely hurt. I love this university too much, and I love the game of basketball too much to quit. Like I told the guy these next couple days is going to be hard, because we did put on a bad performance, people are going to be mad and rightfully so you should be but you got to block out the noise but I’m not quitting.”
Anyone u expect to not show up Thursday?
BACOT: “It was a quiet locker room, but I guess we will see who shows up and don’t. Coach Davis said it too, you doing us a disservice, this university a disservice, the fans, the players that played before us to show up and not be all the way in.”
Is frustrated the right word anymore?
BACOT: “For me, it's just a sense of desperation. I want to win and I want to be able to experience those things. I want to win, and I am not sitting right here saying I am perfect; I mess up, too. I want to win, and that's all I care about. That's all I want to do.”
What was the problem in the first half?
BACOT: “Yeah, I mean it’s a desperation. At practice this week Marco (d’Marco Dunn) was on second team, we damned near couldn’t get the ball to the three-point line because he was playing such good defense and heating him up.
“I don't know, I was talking to (assistant) Coach (Pat Sullivan) Sully, we do such a great job at practice, but it doesn't translate. The coaches are saying it's just a block or something stopping us from getting to that next level. I don't know what it is, trying to figure it out, its a block because we doing all the right things at practice; we've got the talent, but translating it is hard. Losing sucks, I hate it. I get sleepless nights just thinking about it because that’s all I do.”
Did any other players address the team?
BACOT: “I was the only one.”
Will the entire team be there tThursday?
BACOT: “That’s what I hope, yeah.”
Did you choose to talk or did Coach Davis ask you to?
BACOT: “I choose to talk.”
Is there a sense of deja vu?
BACOT: “We came here last year, and the same thing happened, and that was not my plan. I didn’t want to come in here and lose, I wanted to come in here and win, specifically how it went down in here last year. They are a good team, but we've got way too much talent and way too many horses to not go out there and win."
