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University of North Carolina Athletics
Christian Keeling and Justin Pierce
Photo by: Jack Morton
Media Day Q&A: Christian Keeling & Justin Pierce
October 4, 2019 | Men's Basketball
New Tar Heel graduate transfers Christian Keeling and Justin Pierce spoke with reporters on Wednesday afternoon in the Smith Center as part of UNC's annual preseason media day.
Below are highlights of their comments.
Christian Keeling • Guard • Graduate Student
On being one of the few grad transfers that have come to Carolina under Roy Williams and finding his "fit" into the system
"That's one of the things that when he called up and recruited me...he said it was a 'need.' He understands that I am a one-year guy and he told me that he doesn't really like grad transfers like that. But, since Cam [Johnson] helped us...we were both blessed and we both thought it was a great fit for us."
On the experience he brings to the team
"Since we lost a lot, just to bring in some guys are already experienced, already been through three years of basketball - we've played against some high-major teams...we know what to expect and the ups-and-downs of how a season can go."
On his rebounding abilities
"One thing Coach has always told me is that you do not have to have a skill to rebound and defend. It's just effort. I know I have to help my team out, so I have to do it in all ways possible, and one of them is rebounding. I love rebounding and I think it's a good thing to be a great guard rebounding."
On the impact that he and Justin Pierce can bring to the team
"I think me and JT are bringing a lot of scoring and rebounding experience. Like we will feed off of Cole [Anthony] and Cole will feed off of him [Pierce]. You know, just help Cole out and other guys out. I think we will be real deep this year, I think that this is one of the biggest things that we have this year, we have depth."
On the biggest adjustment he has to make moving from a mid-major to a Power 5 school
"I think everything was bigger here. I come from Charleston Southern and I think it was like one of the smallest gyms in Division I. I think everything is just big, the school is big. Just adapting to the new system and adapting to a new culture. I think the whole transition is kind of new, but I am getting the hang of it now."
On whether or not he has something to prove coming from a mid-major
"Yeah, a little bit. It's not more so about me, it's about the team. I am just trying to make that effort to play on the last Monday in Atlanta. I could care less about my individual goals, it's about the team goals right now."
On his nickname "Blue Collar Kid," and how it fits the personality of his game
"It's just a personality that you take coming from the background that I came from. Just displaying it on the court, I can do a little bit of everything, rebound, block shots, steals and score. I think that is the persona and personality that I want to bring on and off the court."
On the "coolest" thing about being a North Carolina basketball player
"I think one of the coolest things is that I experienced over the summer a lot, was that we played pick-up with a lot of pros. Danny [Green] came back, Marvin [Williams], Justin [Jackson], Theo [Pinson]. To play with these guys, who are at a level that most of us are trying to get to, is cool. They give us pointers and playing with them consistently...it's good and I thought that was real cool.
On playing for Roy Williams and meeting his expectations
"It's good because he has a standard and high demand for us. He does that as a basketball player and as a man. That helps us both learn stuff from a guy like him that has so much experience and so much knowledge and wisdom. I think it helps us in all aspects of life."
Justin Pierce • Forward • Graduate Student
On fitting into the North Carolina basketball program
"I think personally, for me, that one of the main selling points was to come here to win, play an in-state tournament, play for a Hall of Fame coach like Coach [Roy] Williams and learn from the best every day. That was the main selling point here. In terms of how I see myself fitting in, it was just the same as what Coach Williams sold me on in April and May when he was recruiting me. He wants guys who compete and do what it takes to win. In terms of myself personally, I think I'm a pretty versatile player. I can play multiple positions. I can shoot, pass, rebound. That versatility plus the experience and the amount of minutes, I consider myself pretty balanced at this level. I think that's what they're looking for me to bring."
On personal and team goals for this season
"Number one would be win the National Championship. I think if you talked about it on the roster, 1 through 17, every guy would say the same thing. That's what I love about this group. We're so unified in terms of our goals. We want to win a National Championship. In terms of a smaller stage, it would be to make the NCAA tournament. I know it's taken for granted here but for me personally growing up, it was always my dream to play an NCAA tournament and I have not gotten that chance yet. I'm not taking that for granted. I'm going to be working for that every game. In terms of individually, it would just be to continue to improve as a player every day. I'm not going to put a number on it in terms of production. I just want to continue to improve and I think I have so far because I'm going against great players every day and learning from some great coaches every day. I'll just to continue to improve every day."
On how the team has come together in a short amount of time
"It's been really good. Like you said, we have six new guys, myself included, so there was definitely a learning curve when we all first got here but I think we're all gelling off the court which is really important. In terms of on the court, obviously with these first couple of practices there's going to be a lot of growing pains as we learn how to play with each other for the first time. I think we can all see the talent is there and Coach [Williams] is going to continue to push us to be the best collective unit and we're going to continue to work hard these next couple of weeks to get ready for November 6th."
Below are highlights of their comments.
Christian Keeling • Guard • Graduate Student
On being one of the few grad transfers that have come to Carolina under Roy Williams and finding his "fit" into the system
"That's one of the things that when he called up and recruited me...he said it was a 'need.' He understands that I am a one-year guy and he told me that he doesn't really like grad transfers like that. But, since Cam [Johnson] helped us...we were both blessed and we both thought it was a great fit for us."
On the experience he brings to the team
"Since we lost a lot, just to bring in some guys are already experienced, already been through three years of basketball - we've played against some high-major teams...we know what to expect and the ups-and-downs of how a season can go."
On his rebounding abilities
"One thing Coach has always told me is that you do not have to have a skill to rebound and defend. It's just effort. I know I have to help my team out, so I have to do it in all ways possible, and one of them is rebounding. I love rebounding and I think it's a good thing to be a great guard rebounding."
On the impact that he and Justin Pierce can bring to the team
"I think me and JT are bringing a lot of scoring and rebounding experience. Like we will feed off of Cole [Anthony] and Cole will feed off of him [Pierce]. You know, just help Cole out and other guys out. I think we will be real deep this year, I think that this is one of the biggest things that we have this year, we have depth."
On the biggest adjustment he has to make moving from a mid-major to a Power 5 school
"I think everything was bigger here. I come from Charleston Southern and I think it was like one of the smallest gyms in Division I. I think everything is just big, the school is big. Just adapting to the new system and adapting to a new culture. I think the whole transition is kind of new, but I am getting the hang of it now."
On whether or not he has something to prove coming from a mid-major
"Yeah, a little bit. It's not more so about me, it's about the team. I am just trying to make that effort to play on the last Monday in Atlanta. I could care less about my individual goals, it's about the team goals right now."
On his nickname "Blue Collar Kid," and how it fits the personality of his game
"It's just a personality that you take coming from the background that I came from. Just displaying it on the court, I can do a little bit of everything, rebound, block shots, steals and score. I think that is the persona and personality that I want to bring on and off the court."
On the "coolest" thing about being a North Carolina basketball player
"I think one of the coolest things is that I experienced over the summer a lot, was that we played pick-up with a lot of pros. Danny [Green] came back, Marvin [Williams], Justin [Jackson], Theo [Pinson]. To play with these guys, who are at a level that most of us are trying to get to, is cool. They give us pointers and playing with them consistently...it's good and I thought that was real cool.
On playing for Roy Williams and meeting his expectations
"It's good because he has a standard and high demand for us. He does that as a basketball player and as a man. That helps us both learn stuff from a guy like him that has so much experience and so much knowledge and wisdom. I think it helps us in all aspects of life."
Justin Pierce • Forward • Graduate Student
On fitting into the North Carolina basketball program
"I think personally, for me, that one of the main selling points was to come here to win, play an in-state tournament, play for a Hall of Fame coach like Coach [Roy] Williams and learn from the best every day. That was the main selling point here. In terms of how I see myself fitting in, it was just the same as what Coach Williams sold me on in April and May when he was recruiting me. He wants guys who compete and do what it takes to win. In terms of myself personally, I think I'm a pretty versatile player. I can play multiple positions. I can shoot, pass, rebound. That versatility plus the experience and the amount of minutes, I consider myself pretty balanced at this level. I think that's what they're looking for me to bring."
On personal and team goals for this season
"Number one would be win the National Championship. I think if you talked about it on the roster, 1 through 17, every guy would say the same thing. That's what I love about this group. We're so unified in terms of our goals. We want to win a National Championship. In terms of a smaller stage, it would be to make the NCAA tournament. I know it's taken for granted here but for me personally growing up, it was always my dream to play an NCAA tournament and I have not gotten that chance yet. I'm not taking that for granted. I'm going to be working for that every game. In terms of individually, it would just be to continue to improve as a player every day. I'm not going to put a number on it in terms of production. I just want to continue to improve and I think I have so far because I'm going against great players every day and learning from some great coaches every day. I'll just to continue to improve every day."
On how the team has come together in a short amount of time
"It's been really good. Like you said, we have six new guys, myself included, so there was definitely a learning curve when we all first got here but I think we're all gelling off the court which is really important. In terms of on the court, obviously with these first couple of practices there's going to be a lot of growing pains as we learn how to play with each other for the first time. I think we can all see the talent is there and Coach [Williams] is going to continue to push us to be the best collective unit and we're going to continue to work hard these next couple of weeks to get ready for November 6th."
Players Mentioned
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