North Carolina Coach Hubert Davis was made available to the media via zoom from Portland, OR, on Wednesday morning for about 15 minutes to field questions about his top-ranked team.
The Tar Heels are out West to participate in the Phil Knight Invitational, as they will play three games in four days beginning Thanksgiving versus Portland at 1 PM EST.
UNC will face either Iowa State or Villanova on Friday, and Sunday will take on a team from the other side of the brackets, thus Alabama, Michigan State, UConn, or Oregon will be Carolina’s opponent.
Carolina is 4-0 with home wins over UNCW, College of Charleston, Gardner-Webb, and James Madison.
Above is video of Davis’ Q&A session, and below are several notes and pulled quotes from what he had to say:
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Note: Davis said that ten days ago was the first time all 18 players on the roster were available to practice at the same time.
*Davis said following the win over JMU on Sunday that he thought the team took some steps forward. They had a few intense practices in which he challenged the team, and they responded. He obviously wants to win the championship in Portland, but he wants to see a continuation of the positives from the JMU game as well.
“I’d like for us to continue to improve,” Davis said. “I said after the James Madison game that I told the team and the rest of the coaching staff that I felt we took a step forward in our defense, in our rebounding, in our distributing, passing, sharing the basketball, shot selection.
“In all of those areas, I want us to continue to improve and get better. And it’s a great opportunity to be able to do that with so many unbelievable teams and programs out here in this tournament.”
*Outside of basketball, this is the team’s first road trip together, and Davis says it’s a great opportunity for the guys to bond together, which is an integral part of their overall development as a team.
“It’s always nice when you’re on the road, you have an opportunity to turn down that noise from the phone, family, and the friends because you’re always all together. And so that’s really nice for us (and) for this year’s team to be on the road for the first time together.
“And to be able to spend that uninterrupted, un-hurried time on the court and off the court together that I think is just so huge for team building and team confidence and helping us become the team that we can become.”
*Carolina’s bench hasn’t been on the floor as much as was expected before the season started. According to KenPom, UNC is 362nd nationally in bench minutes, with the group being on the floor only 14 percent of the time. Davis says he plans on using his reserves this weekend and all the time.
“I do because we have tremendous depth, and it’s really going to be important,” Davis said. “It’s just not sustainable to play the starting five huge minutes. We need Dontrez (Styles), we need D’Marco (Dunn), we need Tyler (Nickel), we need Seth (Trimble), we need Justin (McKoy).
“We need those guys, and it’s only been early in the season, but every time those guys have been on the floor, they’ve delivered in some form or fashion on either or both ends of the floor. And they’re going to be used a lot this week, and it’s going to be fun to see them out there competing.”
*Caleb Love is 5-for-27 from 3-point range through the first four games, and expressed some frustration about his shooting following Sunday’s game. Is it too soon for Davis to have a conversation with him about worrying about his shot, or does the second-year coach allow it to play itself out?
“One of the things for me when I struggled with my shot, I went through a check list,” Davis said. “One, I wanted to look at was there any technique or in terms of my fundamentals, was there anything that I needed to address? With Caleb, it’s not.
“I always looked the type of quality shots that I’m taking. I just always felt like if I wasn’t taking good shots, it doesn’t matter how good I was as a shooter, I wanted to take good shots. And I think Caleb has done such a better job this year compared to last year in terms of taking better and quality shots…
“It doesn’t bother be at all. He’s one of the best shooters in the country.”
*On the flip side, Love has been aggressive attacking the basket, as he calls it “going downhill,” and appears more effective at getting off shots in the lane when taking on contact.
“I think that’s great. One of the things we talk to Caleb about is attacking the basket because, one he has that ability, and number two is when he gets fouled he goes to the free throw line,” Davis said. “And those percentages from the free throw line are a little bit down, but he’s historically one of the best free throw shooters in Carolina history.
“When he gets to the basket, we love his ability to finish, his ability to pass, and we love his ability to get fouled and get to the free throw line. It’s good news for us when Caleb is attacking the basket.”
*Carolina opens play in Portland on Thanksgiving with the tip time 10 AM out there (1 PM EST), so Davis plans on getting the team together for a Thanksgiving meal later in the day.
“Yes, we are having a Thanksgiving meal tomorrow after the game,” Davis said. “And we’ve invited all of their parents that are traveling out here. Thanksgiving’s always been a really awesome holiday for us because it brings you into a place for thankfulness.
“And I think that’s something we don’t do enough is to step back and think about how many ways that we’ve been protected and provided, and how thankful we are for the families that we have, relationships that we have, and the resources and the things that we’re able to enjoy.”
