CHAPEL HILL – North Carolina Basketball Coach Hubert Davis met with the media Tuesday afternoon at the Smith Center in advance of the Tar Heels’ game at home Wednesday night versus No. 10 Tennessee.
Carolina, which is ranked 17th, faces the Volunteers in the inaugural ACC/SEC Challenge. The Vols are 4-2 having dropped their last two games in Hawaii to Purdue and Kansas, but they own wins over Syracuse and at Wisconsin.
Above is video of Davis’ presser, and below are some notes from what he had to say:
*Cormac Ryan was injured late in UNC’s overtime loss to Villanova last Thursday and did not play in the 15-point win over Arkansas the next day.
“He’s going to try to practice today. He’s getting better each day, but it’s uncertain whether he’ll be good enough to play tomorrow night or not.”
*Tennessee is a physical team, much like Villanova, and Davis says that game should help them Wednesday night. But that the Heels played three very different styles last week helps, too.
“Tennessee is very physical. They’re an outstanding defensive team. And I have a long history with Coach Rick Barnes. He’s one that recruited me out of high school when he was coaching George Mason. So, I’ve known Coach Barnes since I was 17 years old.
“I would even say, not just Villanova, but for everything from The Bahamas, it was just a mixture of different playing styles…It was in three straight days, three different ways that our opponents played, I think helps us and puts us in a position to be able to compete against a really good Tennessee team.”
*Last year’s UNC team struggled when its offensive sets broke down. The players spoke about that a lot over the last half of the season. With Tennessee’s defensive intent to take teams from their sets, Davis sees this group as being better at dealing with things offensively when the sets break down.
“I think it’s important to be able to not only exist, but to be efficient outside of your offense. I just really believe with the scouting that people (do); everyone knows what you’re doing. So, at the end of the day, how are you going to be efficient offensively when your play doesn’t work.
“I like the way that the ball is moving. We have a number of playmakers out there on the floor that just in freelance situations can make a play, not only for themselves but for their teammates. And that’s something that’s going to be huge for us tomorrow.”
*Davis said before the trip last week that his team fully meshing will take time, using an old Roy Williams line that Rome wasn’t built in a day, but was worked on every day. He said the team got a great deal out of last week’s games in getting to a jelling point. When that will be, he isn’t saying, though some of the players believe Christmas is a time when they should have fully meshed.
*Seth Trimble hit two 3-pointers and scored 11 points versus Arkansas – his second 11-point game of the season. His shot looks cleaner, overall game is better, and the sophomore guard is playing with confidence.
*Armando Bacot was 9-for-27 at the Battle 4 Atlantis, scoring only 30 points. Davis was asked about Bacot’s struggles around the rim.
*Davis said one thing about Harrison Ingram that was a bit of a surprise is how good a personality he has. He makes people laugh a lot and is incredibly positive.
*First-year assistant Marcus Paige uses an iPad during games to show players things when they go to the bench.
*Villanova is now ranked, Arkansas was ranked when the Tar Heels beat the Razorbacks, and they’ll likely get back into the rankings this season. Plus, Tennessee, UConn, Kentucky, and Oklahoma are all ranked and are UNC’s next four nonconference opponents.
Add Saturday’s ACC opener at home versus Florida State, and this is a daunting stretch on the schedule, perhaps the most challenging of the season for the Heels. Davis spoke about that, referencing the kinds of schedule Carolina played when he was in school, and that the program has historically played before getting into the meat of the ACC slate.
