North Carolina senior forward Garrison Brooks and sophomore forward Armando Bacot met with the media via Zoom on Wednesday morning in Indianapolis ahead of the Tar Heels’ matchup with No. 9 seed Wisconsin in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday night.

Among the topics discussed were the tournament, the Badgers, bouncing back from last season and much more.

Below are the full videos from the press conferences as well as some pulled notes and quotes from what Brooks and Bacot had to say.

GARRISON BROOKS

*With the threat of testing positive for COVID and teams likely having to drop out of the tournament because of it, players and coaches are not having the typical experience they normally would have during their downtime before and between games.

This means a lot of sitting around, watching TV and just hanging out in the hotel, which is far from ideal.

So, besides practicing, what has Brooks been up to since the Heels touched down in Indianapolis on Tuesday? Well, a whole lot of nothing really.

“I’ve pretty much been in my room just watching movies,” Brooks said. “Dudes have been playing cards in the hallway, so it's pretty much been just hanging out in the hallway, not being in each other's rooms. Everybody’s pretty much been doing their own thing.”

And what films has Brooks, a self-proclaimed “movie guy,” been watching?

"Yesterday, I watched Spider-Man one, two and three, so that pretty much took up the whole day,” Brooks said. “I love movies. That's my thing.”

*Brooks is one of the few players on this Carolina team that has played in an NCAA Tournament game and he is the only player that has started in one.

UNC’s last game in the big dance came in a 97-80 Sweet 16 loss to Auburn on March 29, 2019. Brooks started in that game and played 28 minutes, scoring six points and grabbing four boards.

As a leader on this young Carolina squad, which has six freshmen that play significant minutes, Brooks has been working to prepare his teammates for this new experience.

So, what has he been doing to get them ready?

“I was talking to ‘Mando yesterday just scout wise like, ‘Hey, we’re gonna start preparing now,’” Brooks said. “He was like, ‘Dang, it’s pretty early for us to start scouting,’ and I was like, ‘We have to win our first game, so it makes sense.’

“So, I think it's a different experience for the young guys, something that I've already experienced and expected.”

*Brooks has had quite the four-year career for UNC, playing in 132 games and averaging 9.6 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.3 assists.

Looking back on his time in Chapel Hill, Brooks has enjoyed every second of it.

“I wasn't one of those people that took anything for granted,” Brooks said. “I didn't take my freshman year for granted, never took my sophomore year for granted because it was so fun, we were winning a ton of games. So, I just always lived in the moment, enjoyed everything, I didn't overthink anything.”

And he’s excited to be back in the NCAA Tournament, too.

“It’s awesome,” Brooks said. “It’s something that our team has worked so hard for and you see that we made it on Selection Sunday. You see the excitement in everybody's faces and just the opportunity to play again.”

ARMANDO BACOT

*Bacot has been Carolina’s most consistent performer this season and currently leads the Heels in points, rebounds and blocks, averaging 12.2 points, 8.0 boards and 0.9 rejections through 28 games.

A sophomore, Bacot is yet another player on this vastly inexperienced UNC roster that will be playing in his first NCAA Tournament game on Friday against the Badgers, something he’s really looking forward to.

“I'm super excited just having the chance to be out here,” Bacot said. “Obviously, it's not the conditions any of us are really used to, but I'm definitely excited. I really don't know what to expect, but I’m ready to go.”

*The Tar Heels’ name was announced relatively early during CBS’ Selection Sunday show last Sunday evening, with UNC being selected as a No. 8 seed in the South Region.

With RJ Davis, Caleb Love, Kerwin Walton, Day’Ron Sharpe, Walker Kessler, Puff Johnson, Anthony Harris, Creighton Lebo, Duwe Farris and Bacot having never experienced the tourney before, the team as a whole was understandably excited when they saw their name pop up on the TV screen.

Enthusiasm aside, Bacot is just focused on beating the Badgers and taking it one game at a time.

“Obviously, it’s kind of tough to not look ahead, but I see we’ve got some tough opponents coming up,” Bacot said. “But, we’re just focused on the first game in Wisconsin, which is a good, experienced team and we know we’ve got to bring it and it's not gonna be easy.”

*After the way last season unfolded, with Carolina finishing 14-18 overall and losing by 28 in its final game against Syracuse in the ACC Tournament, Bacot made it his mission to improve and be a better player for the Heels as a sophomore.

He’s done just that and has been the team’s most improved player this season. Among his goals was reaching the big dance, something he and his teammates were able to accomplish after an 18-10 finish.

“I guess it wasn't too hard to top last year as far as just winning and stuff like that,” Bacot said. “I definitely just wanted to for sure get a tournament birth because obviously last year we weren’t going to go.

“And me personally, just being more consistent and just trying to get back at some of the people I feel like that got over me last year that I knew I was better than.”