CHAPEL HILL – North Carolina forward Pete Nance met with the media Thursday at the Smith Center to field questions about his first several months at UNC, what the experience has been like, his “wow” moment as a Tar Heel, assimilating with the team, playing alongside Armando Bacot, and much more.
Nance, who is 6-foot-11 and was honorable mention All-Big Ten last season, spent his first four years at Northwestern before transferring to UNC in the summer.
A year ago, Nance averaged 14.6 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 1.1 blocked shots per game. He shot 49.7 percent from the floor, 45.2 percent from 3-poiunt range (42-for-93), and played 2,588 minutes as a Wildcat.
UNC faces Johnson C. Smith on Friday night at the Smith Center for its only exhibition game in advance of the regular season, which starts Nov. 7 at home versus UNC-Wilmington.
Above is the video of Nance’s Q&A session, and below are some notes and pulled quotes from what he had to say:
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*Nance was extremely complimentary of UNC senior forward Armando Bacot. He praised his game, work ethic, determination, and skill.
“I love working with Armando,” Nance said. “He’s a really smart player.”
*Nance has never played in the NCAA Tournament, but he’s joining a team that was in the national title game last April and is the preseason No. 1 team in the nation. Nance says he’s just following the lead of his teammates who know the experiences already.
“Being able to take from those experiences those guys have, just apply what I learn from them, and just see how they react,” Nance said, about adjusting to this new basketball experience. “I think I’m in a great situation as far as examples to follow in that sense for sure.”
*Nance was consistent saying he is here to win and do whatever it takes. He has repeated that many times, almost downplaying his role and ability. So, Nance was asked about downplaying it, that he isn’t exactly a walk-on coming in here.
“That’s kind of how I always think,” Nance replied. “Honestly, I genuinely feel this way, whatever I am needed to do during a game, I will try and do it. If we need to defend, if we need to facilitate more.
“If we’re in a dry scoring spell, I an be that guy, I’ve done that, too. I think just literally trying to be whatever this team needs to get over the hump is what I’m here for, because I love these guys, and I want to, along with everybody else, do great things here.”
*Now that Nance has been at UNC for four months, has Nance grabbed the magnitude of what it’s like being a North Carolina basketball player, given the stage is so huge, and that the players are pretty much always on a stage to some degree.
“Yeah, a little bit, a little bit,” Nance said. “I don’t really go outside much. I try to just stay inside. I come to the gym, and I play video games, and I watch Netflix. I really don’t do much. I try to stay off social media and all that stuff, because I know that there’s a lot of negatives that can bring for the most part.
“So, just being embraced by the Carolina family is something that has been really cool for me. When I do go somewhere and somebody recognizes me, it’s super nice and super genuine talking about how long they’ve been a fan of the team for, and how excited they are for me to play here and I haven’t even played a game yet here.
“It’s been awesome, it really has been awesome. And getting to know everyone has been great. And just being a part of this family has been great so far.”
*The jersey number 22 has been a part of the Nance family for decades. His father wore it at Clemson and for 13 years in the NBA, and Pete wore it at Northwestern. But he’s wearing number 32 this season because another Tar Heel already had 22.
“I tried to talk him out of it,” Nance said, smiling. “It is a number that we both have been wearing our whole lives. I’ve never been on a team where I haven’t worn number 22. It’s definitely interesting for me and new for me.
“But that’s definitely his number and he was here before me. I tried to talk him out of it a little bit, but he didn’t budge, he wouldn’t give it up.”
Did Nance try to sweet talk McKoy, offer him something? How did that play out?
“I tried to sweeten him up, tell him it does look good on him,” Nance said, laughing. “Tried to guilt him with my family’s been wearing it – all my family member have worn it, nobody has ever not worn number 22, I don’t want to be the first.
“He wouldn’t budge, and I wouldn’t either if I were in his shoes, because it’s too good of a number. It’s all good.”
*Nance ganged against some of the best big men in the nation when he was at Northwestern, but now he is playing with one of those guys and may not have to always been on the other teams’ biggest guys as much as before. Nance doesn’t mind banging with the nation’s best post players, but he is also looking forward to something a bit different as well.
“Yeah, I think so,” Nance said. “I think I have the capability to play the five, I showed that at Northwestern, and definitely the Big Ten has some monsters. Being able to have a national player of the year-caliber on my team and being able to work with somebody like him alongside him at the four is something I’m definitely excited about, and be able to showcase that part of my game as well.”
Note: We had some technical difficulty with the camera and missed the first two questions.
