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CHAPEL HILL – North Carolina Coach Hubert Davis met with the media Tuesday afternoon at the Smith Center to discuss how he and the team processed all that took place in their wildly emotional win over Baylor on Saturday, the parts of the game film they focused on, practice Monday, and looking ahead some to Sweet 16 opponent UCLA.
Carolina, the eighth seed in the East Region, will face the fourth-seeded Bruins on Friday night in Philadelphia. The victor will face the winner of the Purdue-St. Peter’s game on Sunday in Philly.
The Tar Heels (26-9) have won 14 of their last 17 games and are easily playing their best basketball of the season.
Above is the full video of Davis’ presser (once it finishes processing), and below are some notes and pulled quotes from what he had to say.
Note: We had serious WIFI issues Tuesday night and have attempted to upload the Davis presser multiple times.
*Davis said Tuesday that when bench players do well, he is inclined to leave them in longer, which was the case with Dontrez Styles in Fort Worth. Overall, Styles played 40 minutes in the wins over Marquette and Baylor, with a career-high 25 versus the Bears. He scored 15 points, grabbed nine rebounds, handed out a pair of assists, and had two steals in the contests.
Not specifically discussing Styles, Davis did outline his usage of the bench.
“During the game, it’s really how the game is going,” Davis said. “If a certain five are in there and it’s working, whether defensively or offensive execution, I like to run with it. If a player is playing really well, and I had thought about only playing him two or three-minute stints, he makes positive consecutive out there, I’ll keep him in there.”
Davis said he doesn’t pre-determine before games how many minutes guys are going to play. “It’s predicated on their performance out there on the floor.”
So, Davis then used Styles as an example.
“I thought Dontrez played extremely well and he played (25) minutes,” the UNC coach said. “I know we went into overtime, but it (minutes) was because of his play. That’s how I’ve done it throughout the entire season.”
Now, with respect to Justin McKoy playing the last 10 minutes of the game, including all five minutes of overtime, Davis said that was based more on how well McKoy had been practicing over the previous week.
*The minutes starters are playing continues to be a daily topic, but it hasn’t appeared to concern Davis since he started griding the so-called “iron five” in late January. RJ Davis has [played 40 or more minutes in three of UNC’s last six games, including all 45 versus Baylor. Armando Bacot played 39 minutes against Baylor and that was with him being in foul trouble.
Leaky Black has played 40-plus minutes twice in the last six games, plus 38 in the win at Duke. In a nine-game stretch before Caleb Love fouled out with 6:15 left in regulation against Baylor, he had played 37 or more minutes in seven of those nine contests, twice playing 40.
Hubert Davis said a month ago he had already begun pulling back with the physical stuff in practice to help keep the starters fresh, and he is doing so even mor right now that March is here. That said, he doesn’t appear concerned about his guys’ ability to play a ton of minutes, especially in the NCAA Tournament.
“Practices have been geared to help those high-minute guys stay fresh, but also feel ready to play and rested as well,” he said. “The other thing is, especially with the NCAA Tournament, the timeouts are very long, and those serve as really nice points to get rested and feel like you can go back out there on the floor and play at a high level.
“The length of the timeouts in the NCAA Tournament really help us and help the high- minute guys.”
*Leaky Black is the only player on UNC’s roster who has ever been to a Sweet 16. So Davis is thrilled that his guys have this opportunity, and he said their excitement showed in practice Monday.
“It was like kids in a candy store,” Davis said. “They’re just so happy, they’ve been here before. So as a coach, that just brings me great joy. I’ve said this a number of times, the thing that fuels me is to see the players happy, is to see them successful, to see all of their hard work come back in a positive way.
“To see their reaction and how excited, how joyful, how together that this group is, is just warms my heart and brings joy to me.”
*Davis’ approach with the team entering the NCAA Tournament wasn’t to look at it like a six-game deal in order to win it all, though he reminded them last week they had just come off a six-game win streak before losing in the ACC Tournament, so they already know what that feels like.
But regarding the NCAAs, Davis said the goal was to win the Fort Worth event, be the last team from their four-team part of the bracket standing. And heading into the next four-team bracket in Philadelphia, the goal remains the same.
“We’ve been given the opportunity, because of our play, to go play in the Philadelphia tournament,” he said, noting what he told his team. “So, let’s see if we can win two games in Philadelphia. And if we play well and we win, more than likely they’ll invite us to the New Orleans tournament…
“So, just help the guys focus. It’s a big thing, and I know I’ve said this before, especially for this generation and this group of kids, it’s to stay focused on the task. There’s so much noise, and just to turn down the noise of the phone, the family, and the friends, and just focus on our practice, our preparation, and just make sure that we’re playing our best.”
*Davis says the team has fully moved on from the Baylor game, cutting the cord once and for all before Monday’s practice.
“Before practice yesterday, we looked at film for an hour,” Davis said. “We started from the 10-minute mark all the way through overtime. And one of the things that I wanted to show them was that some of the mistakes that we made were self-induced. And that these are things – whether it’s press offense execution, taking care of the basketball, missed box outs – these are things that can be a difference maker whether you continue to advance or you go back home.
“So these are things that are fixable and we’ve got to get better at and learn so we don’t make those same mistakes on Friday.”
*One of the more interesting questions posed to Davis on Tuesday was about how he handles the balance of the guys enjoying playing in another game on an increasingly bigger stage versus the pressure that it could be their last game.
“I don’t think there is any pressure, this is basketball,” Davis replied. “There’s a lot of things – this is basketball. This is a great opportunity, and I would hate for them to lose and to miss the opportunity to play against UCLA in the Sweet 16 because they’re thinking about this possibly might be their last game.
“That’s what I’m talking about, ‘Keep your eyes straight ahead and ignore all sideshow distractions. At the end of the day, whatever happens on Friday, or the remainder of the season, this is a great chance and this is a great opportunity. And I’ve always told them about how to be thankful and how to be appreciative of the opportunities that you get and make the most of it…
“What is it, 14 out of the last 17, in the Sweet 16? This is a time of joy and celebration and confidence, this is not a time of being scared and nervous.”
