North Carolina Basketball Coach Hubert Davis took part in the weekly ACC Coaches’ Conference Call on Monday morning to field some questions about his team.

Davis was asked about freshman Ian Jackson’s improving defense, for a quick scouting report on Cal, Seth Trimble’s on-court progress after returning from suffering a concussion, the Tar Heels’ defensive identity, and Davis got a question about when he first started recruiting Drake Powell.

UNC is coming off a 63-61 win at NC State and has won three consecutive games. The Tar Heels are 11-6 overall and 4-1 in the ACC. They host ACC newcomers California and Stanford this week at the Smith Center.

Above is the full video of Davis’ short Q&A session and below are some notes from what he had to say:

*Ian Jackson’s offense has been a major part of Carolina’s recent surge, as he’s scored 18 or more points in each of the last six games. But his defense has also improved, as Davis was asked about and discussed, offering some specifics.

*Young players sometimes base their defensive intensity on how they are playing offensively. Short memories in college basketball are a learned trait. But Davis said Jackson’s uptick defensively has no connection to his offensive surge. And, he says Jackson can be “an elite defender.”

*The Cal Bears visit UNC on Wednesday night and have not played their best basketball of late. They have lost four of their last five games and seven of their last nine sitting at 8-8 overall and 1-4 in the ACC. But Davis said the Bears are better than their record and pose multiple challenges to the Tar Heels.

*Seth Trimble missed three games because of a concussion and did not score in his first game back last week against SMU and it took until the second half at NC State before he finally put the ball through the cylinder. Davis discussed where Trimble is in re-acclimating himself on the court.

*The Tar Heels have held the last two opponents to 67 and 61 points, and even though the Wolfpack shot 60% in the second half Saturday, Davis was asked if the team is beginning to discover its identity on that end of the floor. He said yes.

*The final question was about freshman Drake Powell and what Davis recalls about him when he first saw Powell play and first met him.