**************************************************************************************
***************************************************************************************
CHAPEL HILL – North Carolina forward Armando Bacot has posted impressive numbers this season as a junior and continues developing his game to where he will at some time have an opportunity to play in the NBA.
Whether that time is this spring or a year from now, Bacot doesn’t know and isn’t too worried about it. Reaching that level is on his mind at times, but so is improving aspects of his game and winning something intangible as a Tar Heel.
Tar Heel Illustrated spoke with Bacot on Tuesday about his growth as a player, person, what he wants to accomplish personally and with his team at Carolina, and his potential future in the NBA.
Bacot averages 16.2 points and 12.1 rebounds per game for the Tar Heels, who are 18-8 overall, 10-5 in the ACC, and have a big game Saturday at Virginia Tech.
Above is the full audio of our phone conversation, and below is the complete transcript of everything Bacot had to say:
THI: You’re posting amazing numbers, obviously, but I’m very curious to know what you think you’ve improved the most and what you’re most proud of where you think your game is right now?
BACOT: “That’s a good question. I would just say the smaller details. Last year I made huge strides in my game in terms of finishing and things like that. This year, I’ve been real detail-oriented and just trying to perfect and make everything as easy as possible on myself.”
THI: Give me an example of something that you’ve clearly seen a change in that maybe us in the media or fans might not see?
BACOT: “The way I get out of screens and the way I roll, and then sealing. You know how we do the horns set and I’ll set the screen, and they throw it down the Brady and may swing the ball over to the wing, I’ll be right under the basket and get an easy layup. So just my footwork, and things like that, have made it a lot easier for me to get easy buckets around the rim.”
THI: I said recently that you economize your footwork a lot more than before. So, instead of taking five steps to do something you’re taking four. How much work have you put in to doing that, and what kind of work did you do in the offseason to improve your footwork to economize your movement?
BACOT: “It’s just the combination with the work I put in over the summer with Big (Sean) May. We watched a lot of film on this last year, and on some of the stuff he did, too, and kind of put it all in perspective. And then I try to take what I like, and the stuff I don’t like just leave. And it’s been helping me out a lot.”
THI: Sean had a similar build to you when he played and obviously had an incredible career at Carolina. And when I used to cover him, I always thought he was a big-time IQ guy. He was a great physical athlete, but also a smart player. What is the relationship with him, and how has he helped you about being more of an IQ guy on the floor as well as a physical specimen?
BACOT: “Like I said, watching so much film. So, I could have a game where, let’s say like the UVA game. We still watched film and saw what I could take away from that game and do better. Because, as the games go on, I play such high minutes there are so many missed opportunities, even though I may be playing great, but still there’s more room for improvement and things I can improve on.”
THI: One of the things I’ve seen is when you were a freshman you kind of wobbled back and forth, and you had that terrible ankle injury and still managed to play showing there was some toughness there early in your career. There was a lot of maturity that was needed, and I’ve sensed a lot of that in your game. You’ve matured in a lot of ways, not just as a player but in how you approach the game, how you study the game, and watch film; how much has maturity played a big part in your growth as a player in the last couple of years?
BACOT: “That’s been huge for me. I would say my biggest thing my freshman year was I really thought everything would be easy. Coming into college, I really didn’t know what I was getting myself into, and then you factor into confidence things as a freshman. You go on the road and play and may play a couple of tough games, may have a bad game here and there and then it keeps spiraling.
“That’s one of the biggest things that changed last year going into this year; I just play every day by day, and if I have a bad game, I don’t put too much pressure on myself in terms of like missing shots and things like that. I try to figure out what it was, and I never just blame myself.”
THI: I know you remember this stretch as a freshman, it was around the time you hurt your ankle, the Wofford game, game at Gonzaga, and you were struggling there for a while. And I remember we talked in early January, and it may have been after a game, and you said something to the effect that you had voices in your head, negative voices.
BACOT: “Yeah.”
THI: And I guess what you were saying was that you were battling with confidence at the time. How clearly do you remember that, and what advice would you give freshman Armando telling the media that in January of 2020, if you had a chance to talk to him now?
BACOT: “That’s a great question. I can remember that stretch, because beforehand, coming off of the Bahamas trip, I was putting up crazy numbers, and then to go through that tough stretch getting injured and then it was the Wofford game when I struggled real badly. And that kind of changed a little bit of the trajectory of what I was doing that season.
“Just looking back at it now, I would tell myself like, ‘Hey, you’re going to have a bad game, it’s just about how you respond.’”
THI: And you respond to those now, and you have some guys on your team I imagine you’ve been a voice of reason because you’ve been through it. Caleb has wobbled some as well. Do you find yourself giving the advice to the other guys that you would give to yourself if you could go back and talk to yourself two years ago?
BACOT: “Yeah, definitely. You can see it, sometimes in a game when a guy is going through a stretch when he’s struggling, you try to tell him, ‘Next play, you’re playing great.’ You try to feed them with positive feedback so they’re fighting against that voice in their head worrying about the next play. And that’s just the main thing with all basketball players. You’ve just got to worry about the next play, you can’t worry about what you did the play before.”
THI: You’ve got a month-plus left in your junior year, are you about where you thought you would be at this stage, and what else is there for you to improve on in the closing part of the season?
BACOT: “I thought last year I could have played at this level. Obviously, we had tremendous bigs. You look at Walker Kessler, he was the fourth playing big, and he’s one of the top players in the country now. I thought that last year. We had so many good players, so it was hard. (Roy Williams) couldn’t play all of us at the same time. We couldn’t all get as much, we couldn’t all play 30 minutes.
“Going into this year, this is about what I expected. I still feel like I can play even better. I still feel like there’s another level I can take it to. I’m not surprised.”
THI: Whenever Hubert is asked a question about you, he often, without even being prompted, your dreams and goals about playing in the NBA. And then he goes into the conversations that he’s had with you about what you need to do, where your game needs to be, what you need to add to your game to get to the NBA.=
He brings it up a lot, Armando, is that something you guys have talked about since the season started where you evaluate your game that way, or was that all before the season and you ignore all of that and focus on the season, and after the season you will look back at where your game is in relationship to those goals?
BACOT: “It’s definitely a conversation me and Coach Davis have all the time. He’s always encouraging me and telling me things I need to do and giving me feedback on things I need to get better. I feel like he’s trying to put all of us in a position to play at the next level and do the things that we wish to do.”
THI: Where do you think you are with respect to your readiness for the next level?
BACOT: “I don’t really know. Me, I’m confident in myself, so I feel like I can play at any level. I don’t know, honestly.”
THI: If we were in pre-COVID times, we would ask you about these things more often because it is interesting he brings it up as much as he does. And I am curious to know your full take on where you think that you stand. So, let’s say someone says, ‘Okay, you’re going to be an NBA guy one day, but right now this is where your game is, how much more do you have to add to it to be an NBA guy,’ what would you say?
BACOT: “I would say a mixture of just shooting the ball more, probably. Just being more efficient shooting the ball, and being even better defensively.”
THI: Do you think if you guys had more of a presence of another big that your game would slide out form the basket a little bit more?
BACOT: “Yeah, one hundred percent. Just me being the only big guy, we had two, one now, big who play more outside the paint. We wouldn’t have any post option if I’m outside there; we’d be playing five out. My strength is swarm around the basket, and that’s one of the things that I do, and I’m one of the best at in the country. It’s kind of playing to my strengths right now. If it was like last year’s team and I was playing the four a little bit more in this system, I definitely would be able to do more different things. But us just not having that presence, I’ve got to suck it up and play more to my strengths.”
THI: I go down on the court, the baseline and sideline, before games and like to shoot clips of you guys beforehand and put them out on Twitter and so on. And a couple of weeks ago, I was right behind you, and you were shooting threes from the right corner. I don’t know how many you shot, at least 15 when I was there, and you made about 10 or 11 of them, and it looked pretty fluid.
How comfortable are you out there, and when Coach Davis talks about you taking your game away, he mentions the three-pointers you made in the offseason, but how much of it is the stuff between the paint and the three-point line where you need to be really comfortable with in order to more ensure a spot at the next level?
BACOT: “Just being able to knock down shots when open, that’s a huge thing, especially me being a bigger guy, too, there will always be opportunities there. That’s just something I’ve got to improve on and show more to that I’m able to knock down those open shots. But now, in the present moment, I’m taking what the defense gives me. Teams aren’t sagging off of me, so it’s like would I rather force up a three or get into the paint and get a rebound and get a shot I know for sure I’m going to make.”
THI: I’ve noticed that every once in a while you will say something, because you’re asked historical questions because of some of the numbers you’re putting up and some of the people whose names you’re lumped in with, you appear to have a really strong appreciation for the program’s history and the people that have come before you. Sometimes it takes guys a couple of years when they’re in a program to get that, and it seems to me like you fully embrace the idea of being a guy setting records at North Carolina, maybe as opposed to setting records at some other places.
How important is it to you personally to have your name associated with the Hansbroughs and the Mays and the Jamisons and those guys?
BACOT: “It’s just crazy to think. I’m a basketball junkie and being put in some of those conversations is just something you never would really imagine. Just growing up playing basketball, if you would have told me this ten years ago, I wouldn’t have believed it. There are so many great players that have played here, there’s so many bigs that were successful here, it’s really crazy to out into perspective that I’m playing just as good or even better than some of them. It’s kind of unbelievable, but I’m just thankful for the opportunity, and for Coach Williams and Coach Davis to put me in those situations.”
THI: Do you ever look up to the rafters and see all those jerseys up there and think about those guys and the possibility that, you never know, maybe one day you’re name can be up there?
BACOT: “A hundred percent. Even after this year, I know it will be tough, I know I’m in the runner for ACC Player of the Year, that’s something that I’m definitely going for. And I feel like I’m the best player in the ACC. I feel like I’m the most dominant and that teams have to prepare for me more than any other player in the conference. I think that add to my ACC Player of the Year case. I know that would put me in the rafters, and that’s definitely something that I want.”
THI: What else is there for you to accomplish at Carolina? Is that it, and I guess where I’m heading is you’re going to have a decision to make here in the next couple of months, and most guys say they’re not going to think about it until after the season. I don’t know if you have or not, but I would think part of that process for you would be what else can accomplish and want to accomplish at UNC before you move on to your next journey?
BACOT: “I want to put a team banner somewhere up there in one of those categories. I just want to be a part of some type of team history at North Carolina. If that’s winning an ACC regular season championship, ACC Tournament, national championship, just something.”
THI: How much of a factor will that be in whatever decision you end up making?
BACOT: “I definitely think it will play a huge role, because winning is something I’ve done at every level, and I haven’t done it at this level yet. So that’s something I definitely want to be able to check off my check list.”
THI: And the last part of that is, if you were to give an evaluation of Armando Bacot pro prospect, what would you be the first thing you’d say he needs to work on to enhance his chances at making a roster and sticking?
BACOT: “That’s a good question. I guess I’d say shooting the ball more from the outside, being more of a threat, showing I can shoot it more.”
THI: Going back on the team this season, you have six games left, it’s kind of weird to think that North Carolina is 18-7 but still on the NCAA fence because you guys don’t have that marquee win yet. Do you guys ever talk at all about what needs to be done, or is it something that you know everybody knows and you just plow forward in the grind of the season, and however things end up they end up? Or is this maybe with the older guys, like Leaky, you talk about what needs to be done?
BACOT: “Towards the middle of the season, I definitely say we would pinpoint stuff and look ahead, but ever since we lost to Notre Dame, us and the guys, we’ve said, ‘Yo, we’ve got to just stop looking ahead and do everything day-by-say.’ I feel our heads just weren’t all in it, because we wasn’t focused on that game, we were all just looking ahead and underestimated them.”
THI: Have you guys have improved in being ready no matter who the opponent is each time you step on the court, kind of elevating readiness regardless of opponent?
BACOT: “It’s been tough losing Ant Harris, who was a big-time player for us and somebody we were expecting to play 20 minutes for us. And also losing Dawson Garcia was huge, too. So, we’re still just trying to find ourselves. If you look at how Dawson played against Purdue, the tough stretch he went through was just more a mental thing for him and not really on-the-court thing.
“So, you factor into losing those two guys; I’m happy where we’re at right now. We’re just trying to get hot at the right time.”
THI: Last question to follow up on that real quickly, do you think you guys have fully adjusted now? It appears you have; this is who you are and you’re moving forward with who you are?
BACOT: “I would say the first five, year, but now we’re just trying to figure out who (are) those next guys to step up in place of those two guys missing. That’s just something that we’re still trying to figure out. What combination of our rotation is the best one?”
