Regardless Of Expectations, No Change In Davis' Message

There isn’t much mystery to how Davis approaches coaching and communicating with his team. He may come off as a bit repetitive when talking with the media, but that’s because he lives by simple mantras that aren’t necessary to change.

So, anyone expecting a different tone, voice, and message from the North Carolina coach as his second season at the helm approaches, will be mistaken.

“I wouldn't say he's different at all,” junior point guard RJ Davis said at the ACC TipOff. “He comes in every day in practice with the same energy, same passionate person that he is and same motivation that he brings to the team. “Obviously we know this upcoming year is big for us, but that doesn't change the person he is, his energy and what he wants best for us. I think that's what we all love about him, and that's why we love playing for him.”

Davis certainly loves coaching his players. He says it every chance he can. It’s basically on loop. And that’s okay. It’s who he is, and it is sincerely genuine.

This time a year ago, Davis was approaching his first campaign at the helm, a surprise turn of events given few expected Roy Williams to retire the previous spring, and Davis wasn’t exactly pining for the job whenever the time were to come.

Year one was a bit wobbly, though. But the Tar Heels fully found themselves late in the season and reached the national championship game, where they lost to Kansas by three points. Along the way, UNC beat Duke in Mike Krzyzewski’s final home game at Cameron Indoor Stadium, and then it defeated the Blue Devils in a historic Final Four meeting in Coach K’s last game, period.

That changed the lives of the players, the perception of Davis as a coach, and the program’s stature, hoisting it again atop the rest of the nation. Yet, Davis insists on doing things as he did before and will do in the years to come.

“It's the same approach this year compared to last year,” Carolina’s coach said. “The only difference between last year and this year is the outside noise. Last year the outside noise didn't think we had a chance. The outside noise this year thinks we do have a chance.”

Even with Davis repeatedly saying this, he was asked multiple times at the ACC TipOff about his approach, even if he goes “next-level” with his guys, given they are now at a different basketball level than a year ago.

Again, nope.

“I went next-level on them last year,” Davis replied. “I only have one level, and that’s it’s on. So, there’s no difference in approach this year compared to last year. The attention to detail, the focus on our preparation, our practice, and letting our play speak for itself.

“Those are the things that I consistently talked about last year, and those are the things that I’ve consistently talked through the offseason and the beginning of practice.”

If one were to identify any actual changes, it’s more based on personnel and how the Tar Heels will attack on the court.

Brady Manek is gone, and with it left his ability to stretch the floor like few UNC players before him. But the other four starters return, and Northwestern transfer Pete Nance arrived in the summer.

Nance was honorable mention All-Big Ten, and was quite productive with the Wildcats. At 6-foot-11, he is also a bit of a stretch four like Manek, but he’s a more accomplished interior player. So the double-post approach has been incorporated into some things the Tar Heels will do this winter.

“Not more his mentality, but Xs and Os,” senior forward and preseason ACC Player of the Year Armando Bacot said about one change about his coach. “We’ve got an identity and we know what we want to do versus last year.

“We had new players, new coaches, and were just trying to figure out our identity. But now, we know our approach, and it’s made coaching a lot easier.”

In a way, if it’s not broken, there’s no need to fix it. But Davis’ constant use of the same words expressing the same passion isn’t part of any media checklist. They aren’t just slogans on walls, either.

Davis is unapologetically who he is. His players know it, he knows it, and together, there are no mixed messages. They know exactly where he stands at all times.