CHAPEL HILL – North Carolina Coach Hubert Davis met with the media for 20 minutes Friday afternoon in advance of the Tar Heels hosting Notre Dame on Saturday to field questions about his team and the Fighting Irish.
Among the things Davis was asked about focused on the defense they played late in the win over Wake Forest on Wednesday night, Caleb Love’s struggles, use of the bench, specific players on the bench, Armando Bacot’s play of late, leadership, and Notre Dame.
Carolina is coming off an 88-79 win over Wake Forest at home Wednesday night, while the Irish have lost five of their last six games. UNC is 10-5 overall and 2-2 in the ACC, Notre Dame is 8-7 and 0-4.
The game tips at 11:30 AM and will air on ESPN2.
Above is the video of Davis’ presser, and below are a few notes and pulled quotes from what he had to say:
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*UNC forward Pete Nance left the Wake game just 1:56 into the contest and did not return because of a lower back issue. The injury first occurred in the first half of the Tar Heels’ loss at Pittsburgh last Friday afternoon, and obviously flared up Wednesday. Multiple photographers placed on the baseline said after the game that Nance winced in pain after jumping center to start the game.
Davis offered an update on the Northwestern transfer.
“He did have an issue with his back during the Pittsburgh game, but he was able to continue to play, Davis said. “And after the Pitt game, every day that we practiced, he participated the entire practice. So, going into the game against Wake Forest, I wasn’t even thinking about it.
“His back has improved every day, and having at times had issues with my back, it’s a day-to-day thing. If he feels good enough to play tomorrow, he’ll play. If not, he won’t.”
*UNC shut down Wake Forest over the final 10 minutes Wednesday night, Wake was 7-for-18 from the floor down the stretch, including six consecutive misses inside the final four minutes. Carolina’s coach has high praise for hos his team defended in that period.
“I would look at it as a blueprint of how we could play defense,” Davis said. “The last 10 minutes against Wake Forest, I thought was fantastic. I thought we were really good on the ball. I that our physicality, and our effort and our energy and our rotations, our talking, our boxing out, our contesting shots, was really good.
“It allowed us to be more efficient on the offensive end. So those last 10 minutes defensively probably was one of the best, if not the best, stretches defensively we’ve played all year.”
*It has become clear Davis views his bench as situational, which explains why a player gets a DNP one game and 15 minutes the next. Davis explained the variety of his bench and his usage of it.
“I do,” he said, noting the situational element from his bench. “I think it’s important to be able to tweak and pivot and alter and to adjust. There’s lineups out there on the floor that dictate certain lineups from us being out there on the floor, whether it’s to match up a little better defensively, or to put us in a situation where we can be more effective and efficient on the offensive.
“So, to be able have that type of adversity I think is really good.”
*Staying on the bench, sophomore forward Dontrez Styles is always a topic on social media with questions regarding why he doesn’t play. To some, it has been mesmerizing he doesn’t get more time. The 6-foot-6 native of Kinston has played 41 minutes in seven games.
“One of the things I always say in terms of playing time is you have to play well in practice, you play well in practice and stack practices and stack plays together, you’ll play well in games,” Davis said. “And once I put you in a game, if you play well in games and you stack good plays, you’ll play more minutes.
“Also, there’s different parts and different layers for anybody. One, you have to play well, but number two is, there’s also competition out there also. It’s not just one person. There’s a number of guys at all of the positions, so there’s competition every practice. Not only as a player you have to play well, but also play better than the person that’s at your position.”
*Carolina faces a Notre Dame team that is largely in tact from a year ago when it made a run in the NCAA Tournament, and also defeated the Tar Heels in South Bend. The Irish are struggling, but are the third most experienced team in college basketball and are fully capable of winning Saturday.
“They’re a really good team every year, and they’re extremely well coached,” Davis said. “I wouldn’t attribute it to their style of play, I would attribute it to every year, they’ve always been a talented basketball team.
“Not only do they have a very talented team, they’re a very old and experienced team that’s played well together. Tomorrow will be a very difficult team against a great opponent.”
