Davis Says More Extended Pressure Is Coming

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CHAPEL HILL – North Carolina is changing some.

Some.

And it’s on the defensive end.

Tar Heels Coach Hubert Davis said during his weekly press conference Friday afternoon at the Smith Center he wants his team to extend its defensive pressure more moving forward. This is in response to some recent success applying this tactic, and perhaps looking to jar things within his struggling team.

The Heels went from 18 points down at Virginia Tech last Sunday to trailing by just three because its extended pressure served them like Popeye chugging a can of spinach.

“It gave us a spark of energy,” junior guard Caleb Love said.

It was also effective.

“We’re going to do that more,” Davis said before repeating it again. “We’re going to do that more, I really liked it.”

The Tar Heels (5-4, 0-1 ACC) forced only three turnovers extending its defensive pressure, which included plenty of traps, but also much more active hands and arms in passing lanes, and forcing Hokies big man Justyn Mutts to have the ball some in the backcourt.

The effectiveness showed in getting Tech to play faster, thus missing shots it was hitting earlier in the game in building a 57-39 lead with 12:38 remaining. The dialed-up defense worked versus Alabama in Carolina’s third game in Portland, which prompted Davis to use it once his team fell nearly 20 points behind last Sunday.

“The players this week have come to me individually and said how much they did like it,” Davis said. “And that this is something they would like to do more.”

Davis watched the Virginia Tech game on the bus heading back to Chapel Hill, and by the time they arrived, he told his assistants they were going to employ more extended stuff earlier in the game. Perhaps even mix it up some, not just use it when behind or in certain situations.

“I think it’s something we should use throughout the game, not just in game situations whether you’re behind or not,” Davis said. “It can be really good for us.”

And fun. Just ask Love.

“Yeah, it’s definitely fun,” he said. “Getting steals is fun, getting easy buckets is fun. It’s going to help our offensive flow a little bit more, and we don’t have to play catch-up like we’ve been playing.”

More important than it enhancing the Tar Heels’ entertainment value, it triggered them from an apparent malaise. Hence, the spark Love spoke about.

“That’s kind of what we lack throughout the whole course of the game,” he said, referring to the loss in Blacksburg. “Extending that pressure, getting steals, getting turnovers, it gives us that spark and that life we need throughout the whole game.”

Riding a four-game losing streak, the Tar Heels must elevate their play in a multitude of areas, not just simply hit more shots. Defensive consistency has been a problem, as has trust, Davis said Friday.

Raising the energy level through controlled chaos just might spark a new edge and could partly define a shift in the team’s direction.

Will UNC employ this new approach some versus Georgia Tech (6-3) at the Smith Center on Saturday? Davis said they will.