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CHAPEL HILL NC– North Carolina Coach Hubert Davis met with the media before preparing to leave for their ACC matchup at Louisville on Saturday.
Davis gave a positive update on center Armando Bacot's injury and some insight on forward Pete Nance's lingering back injury. UNC’s coach also discussed the development of his freshman forward Jalen Washington.
The Tar Heels will likely go into the KFC Yum! Center with both starting big men out of for the game, so Davis discussed the effect on his team and how the other guys can fill in during their absence.
UNC enters the game 11-6 overall and 3-3 in the ACC, and is still without a true road win. Louisville has struggled to win games this season owning a 2-15 overall mark, including 0-6 in league play.
The game tips off at 2:00 PM and will air on ESPN.
Above is the video of Davis’ presser, and below are a few notes and pulled quotes from what he had to say:
*Bacot suffered an ankle sprain early into the loss at UVA and did not return. He was seen after the game on crutches. Pete Nance left the win over Wake Forest 1:48 after it started and has not played since. So, Davis was asked about both players in the presser, starting with Bacot.
“He’s doing really well,” Davis said. “He didn’t practice yesterday, but I was surprised the way that he was moving yesterday. He’s improving a lot. I don’t know if he’ll play tomorrow, but I was really encouraged by the way he moved yesterday.
“We’ve got practice at 3, and I haven’t seen him yet, so we’ll talk. But the most important thing is, I’ve always said, is the players. I want Armando and I want Pete healthy.”
About Nance: “He continues to get better. I would probably say Armando’s closer to possibly, possibly playing tomorrow than Pete. But for somebody that at times has struggled with back issues, it’s all about flexibility, it’s all about strength. And it’s improving every say. He could be ready tomorrow as well.
“But if I would guess, Armando is further along, and Armando is still very questionable, at best, to play tomorrow against Louisville.”
*Nance has been on the floor for warmups before each of the last two games, and even got up some shots at UVA, but he struggled bending over to pick up a ball one time. So, might it be best to sit Nance down for a while without the pressure of coming back this game or the next game, and simply give it ample time to improve?
“It’s not really a time frame, in terms of let’s take ten days, let’s take 14 days,” Davis said. “The back, when all the muscles are loose, and there’s strength there and stability there, it takes one day or 21 days, I just want to make sure that Pete, health-wise, is in a great spot.
“It could be tomorrow, it could be today, it could be next week. But I don’t ever put a time frame on it.”
Nance injured his back in the first half of the loss at Pitt two weeks ago. He finished the game, but has played just 102 seconds since.
*Davis didn’t see any issues with Jalen Washington being sore or anything the day after the UVA game, though Washington said he was sore after playing 27 minutes. He had played just 21 in 18 months entering the contest. So where is his stamina right now, especially if he and Justin McKoy are the only two bigs UNC has going into Saturday’s game?
“I don’t know exactly how many minutes,” Davis said. “I think the thing with basketball is the only way that you can really get into basketball shape is to play basketball. And he didn’t play his senior year of high school, and at the beginning of the year he was limited in terms of what he could do five-on-five.
“So, I think his conditioning level is a 10 out of 10, but it’s also got to get a 10 out of 10 out there on the floor. There’s a difference.
“But I was encouraged how many minutes he played at Virginia. I think the game with Louisville will be at a faster pace, so that will be different. So, I can answer that question a little bit better at about 4 or 4:30 tomorrow.”
*Davis isn’t sure what Washington learned Tuesday night, but he was sure to mention how it made the rest of the team feel seeing him get that opportunity and come through with it.
“There’s a joy about being out there on the floor,” the second-year coach said. “He just loves to play, he’s an unbelievable kid to coach, all the guys on the team just adore him. It’s been a while since he’s been out there on the floor, and for him to get that opportunity, and for an extended period of time and be able to have success, I think there was joy, I think there was confidence, I think was relief.
“I think all those things. So again, I was just really happy for him.”
