CHAPEL HILL – There were no shortage of topics at Roy Williams’ press conference Monday at the Smith Center in advance of Tuesday’s home game with N.C. State.

Much of the presser, however, had to do with North Carolina practicing better in recent weeks, what it learned from the first game against Louisville, a 21-point home loss, which is the worst ever at home for a Williams-coached team.

Also, Williams discussed the Wolfpack, which is coming off a 47-24 loss to Virginia Tech at home, netting the lowest point total by a ranked team in the shot clock era, which began in 1986, and the lowest total of any ACC team in that same span, too.

Three-point shooting, defense and a few other topics filled the 18-plus minute presser.

Here’s some context and Williams quotes from Monday afternoon:

*Cameron Johnson and Luke Maye both said after the win in Louisville they took it upon themselves to inspire the team to practice more effectively since the first loss to Louisville, which followed two bad practices. Has Williams seen an upgrade in their leadership, especially when it comes to how the team is preparing?

“I think we’ve gotten to the point where we’re having better practices,” Williams said. “And I think that they’re very bright young men and I told them the two days before we played Louisville the last time the practices were awful, and the two days before we played Louisville this time, our practices were very good.

“So, whether they did some thing behind the scenes to make it that way or not I don’t know. But we’ve played harder, more attentive to detail, everything.”

Johnson said Saturday some of their fuel for playing better, and certainly for delivering some payback on the Cardinals, was not wanting to feel like they in losing at home by 21, which was the result of the first meeting. In addition, the motivation came from them knowing why they performed so poorly, a certain byproduct of the poor preparation.

“If you think about it, they both go very much together,” Williams said. “One’s probably more responsible for the other than anything. And I think they’re really bright kids, but they’re good leaders, they really are…

“Sometimes, the best intentions don’t work and sometimes they do. And I think that those kid are good leaders and they had some very positive input on this one.”

*The Tar Heels have been so hot from the perimeter that over the last five games, they’ve set a program record for most 3-pointers and highest 3-point percentage ever over a five-game stretch. Dating back to the Notre Dame game, Carolina has converted 53 of 126 shots from beyond the arc, which is good for 42.1 percent, and that includes Saturday’s 6-for-24 performance. What does Williams attribute this to?

“Ball going in the basket,” Williams said. “Same blessed things the first day of practice we’re doing right now. It’s the same amount of shots, (I) talk to them about the quality of our shots compared to the quality of the other team’s shots.

“I thought we shot terribly Saturday… six is not very good, 6-for-24 usually gets you beat. But, (the) ball’s just got to go in.

“Perhaps somebody says their back feels a little better, their ankle’s not bothering them or something like that. But we’ve practiced the same way.”

*Williams said his team has improved defensively in recent weeks, asked to specify a particular area, he had some fun with this scribe here before giving his answer before sort of offering up something tangible.

Williams: “How long have you been married?”

AJ: “Almost 14 years.”

Williams: “(Was) your wife’s cooking better the second year?”

AJ: “I can’t answer that question.”

(Laughter)

Williams: “Yes.” (arms in the air laughing)

AJ: “That’s a guaranteed way not to hit 14 years.”

Williams: “Not to get 15… It’s the same thing, you get better with experience. I’m not talking about her, she’s never cooked me a meal, so I don’t know. But’s that was basketball is. You practice every day and you get a little bit better.

“We work on every phase of it on the defensive end of the floor a lot. So we’ve gotten better in some areas. (But) if we go out there tomorrow night and (N.C. State guard Braxton) Beverly makes 12-out-of-12, I’m not going to feel that way.”

Full disclosure: Williams also understands that men do a lot of cooking, he was just trying to make a point.