CHAPEL HILL – North Carolina Coach Hubert Davis met with the media Friday afternoon in advance of the Tar Heels’ game at NC State on Sunday afternoon.

Davis was asked about tweaking the offense to allow for more space and opportunities for Armando Bacot inside, other ways to generate a more free-flowing offense, if he’s had hard conversations with some players, Pete Nance’s struggles and talks he’s had with him, how the Wolfpack has changed since the first meeting, and more.

UNC is 16-10 overall and 8-7 in the ACC, while State is 20-7 and 10-6.

Above is video of Davis’ presser, and below are some notes and pulled quotes from what he had to say:

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*Davis said following the loss to Miami on Monday night he might have to “tweak” some things offensively, including with his personnel. Now that the Heels have had a couple of practices since, and were getting ready for their third since that game, Davis was asked how he’s gone about that.

“I’m continuing to look at that, not just offensively but defensively, with some different things to put us in a better position to get steals and deflections, get stops, (and) offensively the get better shots, to get more shots to the guys that we want them to shoot,” Davis said.

“And try combinations out there that might work better when teams are really packing the paint against us and making it very difficult for us whether it’s to feed the post or penetrate and be able to get to the basket.

“Those are things I’ve talked about before that I’ve thought about and practiced this week, and will practice more of that today and tomorrow. And we’ll see that on Sunday against NC State.”

*The need for more shooting, especially from the perimeter, and fluidity to open things for Armando Bacot inside can be a catch-22. So what is the balance in getting more scoring on the floor versus what might be sacrificed defensively, if there is a sacrifice?

“I think it comes from two different directions,” Davis said. “It’s also you have to look at individual matchups as well. I remember early in my career in the NBA, I could shoot the ball, but the first couple of years, at times they were reluctant putting me in a game because I’d give up a bucket.

“So, I had to get to a point where I could guard my position, so when I was out there on the floor I could be a positive impact on both ends. Those are things we look at, those are things that we talk about, in terms of matchups making sure that we’re on the offensive end and putting us in position that we can get the shots that we want.

“But also on the defensive end, that we’ve got the matchups that we want and get stops, because I always believe with this group… that it starts with defense. And I just feel like when we’re good on the defensive end and we allow one shot every possession and we get the rebound, that allows us to get out in transition.

“I just think our offense is so much better when we’re more efficient and locked in defensively.”

*So, if mission number one is to get Bacot the ball in position to score more, how does Davis go about doing that?

“There’s a number of things,” Davis said. “Different play sets, different positions or areas on the floor to be able to get him the ball, emphasized where he has gotten the ball consistently really well to be able to reinforce that even more so, particularly in transition. All of the above, it really is.”

*In saying there is a possibility of some personnel changes, with that might mean Davis has had some conversations this week with players about their roles changing, so has he, and if so, how hard have they been?

“I haven’t hard any hard conversations,” Davis said. “I’ve had constant clear and upfront and direct conversations with pretty much all the guys on the team. And so, my conversations that I’ve hard over this past week are no different than I've had them throughout the entire season. I am direct, straight forward, clear, straight to the point, they know exactly where I’m coming from.

“And, I don’t have a problem having conversations, whether they’re difficult or not. I just love communication, and so the communication between myself and the players have been really good this week.”

*When Caleb Love was in a deep and long slump, Davis spoke with the junior guard about it. Now, Pete Nance is in a long slump, so has the UNC coach spoken with Nance about it as well, and how does he approach getting Nance back involved again?

“How do I approached it with him is I don’t look at Pete in percentages, ‘in terms of you shooting the basketball are not very good.’ I think what Pete has in his bag, and he brings to the table, and what he can bring to the table, shooting the basketball from the outside is just one of many things. I just look at him that way. It’s the way that I’ve always perceived and looked at Pete.”

Davis listed the many things he says Nance does well, emphasizing, “that’s what we need from him, so it’s not, ‘we need you to hit a shot.’ I want Pete to be the best he can be.”

*UNC is currently 0-9 in Quad 1 games and likely wouldn’t make the NCAA Tournament if the bracket was announced today. Davis doesn’t worry about quads or anything, but he was asked what he’d like to see from them in these last five games that says they are an NCAA team.

“I don’t look at it like, ‘This is what I need to see for this team to be an NCAA Tournament team,’” Davis said. “What I always focus on is the process. I want us to reach our full potential, (and) I don’t think we have, and I want us to play really well.

“And I feel like this season has been inconsistent from the standpoint we take a couple of steps forward then we take a couple back. That’s what my focus is on, because I feel like if this team continues to improve, and this team plays up to its potential, I don’t have to answer that question. It will take care of itself.”

*NC State is a healthier team now than in the first meeting, in which UNC won, 80-69, in Chapel Hill. Davis says the Wolfpack is a different club now than it was then.

“They’re a really good basketball team,” Davis said. “They can really score from a number of different positions. And their ability to consistently, on every possession, to be able to score in the post and on the perimeter, is very difficult to play against.

“I think defensively, with the way that they pressure, make you extend your offense, and make you run your offense further out than you do in shootaround; they’re just a really good basketball team.

“They’ve got some guys that are healthy now that bring to the table something a little bit different, especially from the power forward position, from the standpoint, that being able to shoot the ball from the outside, being able to handle the ball, being able to make plays on the perimeter, so that just adds to their strength on the offensive end and being able to score in many different ways.”