CHAPEL HILL – North Carolina Basketball Coach Hubert Davis met with the media Thursday at the Smith Center in advance of the Tar Heels’ game Saturday versus Kentucky in Atlanta as part of the CBS Sports Classic.

UNC has not played since falling to Connecticut a week ago at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

Carolina is 7-2 and ranked No. 9 in the nation, while the Wildcats are 7-2 and ranked No. 14.

Above is video of Davis’ presser, and below are some notes from what he had to say:

*Following the loss to UConn, Davis said he was going to use some of this down time for the Tar Heels to work on themselves. The focus first and foremost was and still is rebounding.

“Just having more of a presence getting second-chance opportunities consistently,” Davis said. “Getting our three, four, and five to the offensive glass every time, giving us multiple opportunities to be able to score.

“Defensively, I’ve been straight forward and direct in terms of wanting to have the best defensive rebounding percentage in the country, which means you have to box out and you have to limit teams to one shot every possession. So, we’ve got to do a better job of creating contact first, boxing out, and being more active in getting those rebounds.”

At lingering issue is that Carolina was outrebounded by UConn by 10, and that the Heels are just plus-4.9 on the season in rebounding margin. As a point of reference, last year’s team was at plus.1.6 through nine games.

But more the norm for UNC teams is in the plus-8 range and more.

Furthermore, Carolina is ranked 90th in adjusted offensive rebounding efficiency, and 60th in adjusted defensive rebounding efficiency. Those numbers are usually much better for most UNC teams.

So, the emphasis the past week has been serious.

“I think there’s three parts. One, I think there’s drills that you can do. I think number two is you have to hold them accountable. And if they don’t do it (pause.)

Question: Are they running?

Davis: “Yeah. You’re either going to rebound or you’re going to be in even better shape.”

*Cormac Ryan has been in a shooting funk since injuring his ankle late in the overtime loss to Villanova in The Bahamas. In the three games since his return, Ryan has converted 8-for-28 from the floor (35.7%), including 4-for-19 from 3-point range (21.1%).

He has scored in double figures four times, including in UNC’s win over Tennessee (15 points), and its loss to Villanova (18). But Davis drew up a play for him near the end of regulation, a three that he converted.

Yet, he was 0-for-6 from the perimeter in the loss to UConn. The Heels certainly could have used a couple of made threes that night.

It’s obviously hugely important that Ryan become a consistent scorer, the team’s fourth scorer, for it to contend for something significant. So, what kinds of conversations has Davis had with Ryan of late?

“I just filter it through my experience in my career. There were times that my shot just didn’t go in.”

Davis went on to note the various things he looked at with his shot selection, form, release, which are the things Ryan is looking at.

“In relation to Cormac, there hasn’t been anything from a structural, fundamental standpoint that I would say is why he hadn’t shot it as well as he would have liked. I don’t think it’s in terms of shot selection.”

*The Tar Heels and UK are perhaps the bluest of the bluebloods in college basketball. Any time they face each other is a big deal. This weekend on national TV in a great time slot only exemplifies that.

But the Heels are in a stretch of games that move the needle nationally. Villanova and Arkansas to close out The Bahamas trip, Tennessee at home, UConn in MSG, UK in Atlanta, and next Wednesday, the Heels face unbeaten and No. 11 Oklahoma in Charlotte.

Davis doesn’t think his team needs to play a lighter schedule. He’s just fine lining up with this gauntlet.

“I like it, I do. And it’s great for the teams (they’ve played)… I think it’s a great schedule for us to be tested, and for us to find out who we are. And in the first nine games, we’re 7-2. So, we’ve got two more games before Christmas break, and then another stretch comes.

“I’ve had a number of people who ask me that question in different ways, and – you ask me, ‘Do I remember’ – I do not remember time when it was not a challenging schedule for North Carolina. Specifically, me as head coach over the last couple years.”