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CHAPEL HILL – North Carolina Coach Hubert Davis met with the media Friday afternoon in advance of the Tar Heels’ game at NC State on Saturday to discuss the Wolfpack, his team’s perimeter shooting, Armando Bacot, where the Heels can still improve, and much more.
UNC (20-8, 12-5 ACC) and State (11-17, 4-13) tip Saturday at 2 PM and the game will air on ESPN. Above is the full video of Davis’ presser, and below are some notes and a few pulled quotes from what he had to say:
*The Tar Heels were 15-for-27 from three-point range in the first meeting between the teams, a game Carolina won, 100-80, and led by as many as 35 points in the second half. Six Tar Heels hit threes that day, with Brady Manek going 5-for-7, Caleb Love 4-for-6, and RJ Davis 3-for-4.
Hubert Davis understands, however, it’s important his club understands just because those open threes were there the first time doesn’t mean they will be in this game. The Heels can’t go in expecting anything but an intense effort from the Wolfpack.
“Yeah, we’ve talked about how we want to approach from an offensive standpoint, and how to attack, and how we want to score,” Davis said. “One of the things that allowed us to have success against NC State in the first matchup I really believe was our defense.
“It was a number of things, but I thought we were really good defensively. I thought Armando did an outstanding job of protecting the basket. I felt like if he didn’t block a shot, he altered a shot. I thought our rebounding was really good, and that allowed us to get out in transition. And I thought we did a really good job, for the most part, of taking care of the basketball.
“We’ve talked throughout the year with you guys about the three things that allow us to be successful, when you combine that with were really hot from three-point range… As I told the team, our offensive success, the reason why we were do good offensively, from my standpoint, was because we were good defensively.
“It would be great to think that we could make 15-plus threes every game, but that’s just not gonna happen. But the three things that we talk about – defense, rebounding, and taking care of the ball – is something that you can do every game and is something that should be consistent.”
*Most coaches believe teams continue growing until their very last games. So, with that in mind, what parts of the game does Davis want his team to develop more, and are there areas he wants them to gain more consistency?
“I do believe you always have an opportunity to get better, and I tell the guys, ‘Never stop improving until you retire from basketball,’” Davis said. “In the same way for a team, growth can continue to happen as long as you’re still in season. I really believe that we have room to grow.
“I think for us, I’d like us to continue to grow defensively, I’d like us to continue to grow in terms of taking care of the basketball, I’d like us to continue to grow in understanding more and more between what’s a good shot and what’s a bad shot. I think we can continue to grow in terms of our attention to detail and our energy and our effort and our toughness, so that we don’t have one of those off nights, off games that we’ve had at times throughout the season.”
*Are they getting closer in any areas?
“I think we’re closer at all of them,” Davis replied. “I think we get better at that every day, I do. I think our energy and our effort and our attention to detail has been there. I think every day we become a team of perseverance, a tougher team. I think we’re getting better every day at taking care of the basketball and understanding what’s a good shot and a bad shot, and how valuable and important it is to get after it on the defensive end, and rebound the basketball.
“I think we get better at that every day. As a coach, my hope is that in each one of those areas, yes, there’s improvement, but that we can be at our best in those areas. So, at the end of the day, we can say that we maxed out our potential defensively, rebounding, taking care of the basketball, taking good shots, bad shots, and our energy, effort, and toughness, and our will and our want to.”
*Armando Bacot has not attempted double-figure number of shots in each of the last four games as teams have defended him different than earlier in the season. But the junior forward continues to find ways to help the team and his rebounding numbers haven’t tapered off at all.
Bacot averages 15.9 points and 12.3 rebounds per contest, and in ACC play leads the league with 14.1 boards per outing.
“He’s been great all season, and not only has he been great, he’s been consistent,” Davis said. “I’ve felt like since the Virginia game, teams have adjusted defensively towards him. Whether it’s straight double-teaming or late help, more centered on not only keeping the ball out of his hands, but not allowing him to catch the ball anywhere close to the basket.
“Armando is very good when he has angles, when he’s able to catch the ball around the basket and be able to score from those areas, and teams have gotten better at trying to take that away. But it hasn’t take away his effort, his attention to detail, it hasn’t taken the way that he has rebounded the basketball, and his timely shots.
“His presence, even if he doesn’t shoot, even if he doesn’t score, it makes us better on the offensive end. With the last game against Louisville, you have the RJ drive – Armando’s presence makes RJ and Caleb better, makes Leaky (Black) better, Brady better.
“So, we really want to get the ball down to him, because I feel like he can score at will, and statistically, I think he’s second in the ACC in terms of field goal percentage (50.0 percent). So, from an offensive standpoint, we really want to get him the ball.”
