Hubert Davis Postgame Quotes

Coach Davis:  Elon's a good team. They're better than what the record shows. They can really shoot the ball from three point range, they were averaging close to 33 point attempts a game. So we knew that that was an emphasis on us protecting and guarding and contesting to three, because they have a number of guys that can get hot from three point range. So I thought we did a really good job from three point percentage. I mean, we held them to 27% from three so I really feel good about that. We were also able to get into passing lanes and get some steals and deflections. I thought Caleb [Love] was really active defensively. Our big guys Dawson Garcia and also Armando Bacot. At the top of the key made it very difficult for their man to catch the ball in the second half, they started getting into those passing lanes and they were able to get some Steel's into flexion. So I was I was really happy with that. Just the execution on the offensive in was very frustrating. And, you know, for us, we pride ourselves on sharing the basketball and taking care of the basketball. And, you know, for us to only have 11 assists in for us to have 16 turnovers that that was that was disappointing on the offensive end, but I thought defensively we played pretty well.

Question: Hubert, along those lines you've talked about there are going to be some nights when the ball doesn't go in the basket. The fact that your team shot a season low 39% yet wins by 17, what are some of the teaching moments there for your team?

Coach Davis: Well, that is encouraging, because you're right, as good, you know, shooter or good shooting team as you are, you're going to have nights where, you know, the normal shots that that go in, they don't. And so what is it has to be consistent is his defense. And so I was very happy with our defensive effort. And I think we had some, you know, some breakdowns where we went under screens against three point shooters, and so those are things that we made mistakes on. But there's a couple things that I think should be consistent all the time is number one is defense, and number two, taking care of the basketball. So from a defensive standpoint, I was very happy and very proud of them. But on the offensive end, you know, 16 turnovers and they didn't start pressing in toward towards the end of the game. You know, I always believe turnovers are either careless or selfish. It's either one or the two. I 100% think that all of our turnovers are never ever, ever, ever selfish. They're all careless. For us to continue to build on what we've been doing this season, and especially the last couple of weeks, I was very frustrated at the carelessness of us on the offensive end that led to turnovers and allowed Elon to get out and transition.

Question: This is the second time the last week and a half that Caleb's had four three-pointers in a game. He said that this summer most of what he worked on wasn't necessarily his game so much as it was his confidence and getting back to that place mentally and e said you were a big part of that. Can you just elaborate a little bit on the work that you saw from Caleb mentally in terms of getting himself back to the point where he's able to contribute at this level consistently?

Coach Davis: Well, you know, he's changed a lot from last year to this year. You know, there's a reason why, you know, in terms of from an offensive standpoint, where he's shooting the ball with confidence, and his percentages are much higher. One, because of his hard work. He's always been a hard worker last year, he was always the first one, one of the first ones in the gym, he would consistently throughout the year, come in at 7, 8 o'clock in the morning and put up shots, and he comes back and you know, after practice, so in terms of the hard work that that has always been consistent with him. I think this year, which is a huge part is he's taking better shots. You know, you can practice all you want, but if you take bad shots, they're still not going to go in consistently, you have to take good shots. I think that's the biggest thing for Caleb is his work ethic has continued to be great. But his shot selection is better. He's taking better shots. And when you take better shots, and you're a good shooter, your percentages are going to look good. And I think that's a huge reason why Caleb is in a nice rhythm on the offensive end.

Question: D'Marco [Dunn] got some meaningful minutes there in the second half with about nine minutes left. What did he show you in practice this week that earned him those minutes?

Coach Davis: He's been playing really well in practice. I tell people that how you earn playing time is your performance in practice. And so as you perform in practice, you will get playing time and when you get into the game, how you get more playing time is that your play is validated in the game. So you have to practice well. And then as you get into the game, your play has to be well also. And so for DeMarco he's been practicing really well on both ends of the floor, not just making shots. I've been really happy with him defensively. I felt like it was a great opportunity to put them in a game. We needed him. And the minutes that he played the five minutes that he played, I told him he was great. I was very proud of him. Those minutes that he played those important minutes in the second half. They were deserved. And earned.

Question: I was going to ask you about Caleb too. He said a minute ago when he was with us that he when you got the job, he promised you that he was going to be better than the player he was last year. I don't know if you remember any of those conversations.

Coach Davis: I do.

Question (continued): When he's telling you that, what were you telling him? Like, how did those things go down?

Coach Davis: The biggest thing that he told me in that conversation that I looked at him and I said "okay, well now we have a player". He said "I need to come back to college. He says I've got to mature". Says "I got to be a better person on the court and off the court, if I want to be good here at Carolina, and I want to have a chance to be good in the NBA". And for an 18 year old kid to be able to say that clearly definitive face to face. I thought that was awesome. And when he said that, to me, and after we met, I went back to the coaches. I said, "we got a player here". And they said, "What do you mean"? I said, "You won't believe what he said". And I said, there, it's very difficult for adults to say that and I said for 18 year old kid to be able to say that I said, "we got something here".  And I said, "Well, he's gonna have a terrific season." I'm very, very, very proud of him

Question (continued): Did you start charting shots that he needed to take to work on, you know, like, did you have a shot doc or anything?

Coach Davis: No, I charted shots that he shouldn't take, right? I charted shots that he couldn't take, right, because I think they're low percentage shots. And I think it would be a bad shot for Steph Curry to shoot. I want him to take good shots. And I felt like if he took good shots, I think it's going in every time. You know, he's gifted, you know, he has the ability to be able to create a shot anytime he wants to. And so if you have that ability, and you have that giftedness, then use it for your advantage so you can get the shot that you want. And Caleb's doing a really good job of taking good shots, and also attacking the basket again to the free throw line. He's a great free throw shooter as well. And I thought he did an outstanding job defensively. Everybody wants to talk on the offensive end. But defensively, he did a really good job. And so you know, to be able to have to guard Torrance Watson and then also have to guard Hunter Mackintosh, I mean, playing 30 minutes he played well, on both ends of the floor.

Question: Hey, Hubert, you guys had 19 fast break points that's coming after 15 against Georgia Tech, which is the highest back-to-back total this season. What are you seeing, or what are you guys doing that you feel like is making you play faster?

Coach Davis: Well I think over the last, you know, week, we can have we we've been you know, we've been more active on the defensive end, which has allowed us and put us in positions to get steals and deflections. And then also, you know, how you get out in transition is when a team misses. And so over the last two and a half weeks, our defense has been better. It's hard to get out in transition, when you're allowing 90 some points in a paint the way the way we did in Connecticut, that's hard to get out and transition there. But when you get stops, and you're active defensively, you put yourself in a position to get steals and deflections that allow you get out in transition, and then when you get stops that's because we're a good rebounding team, that also gives us a chance to get out in transition. I always feel you know, one of the things I always tell the guys, it's our pace, our pace. We want to run at our pace, and what starts our pace is how we play on a defensive end. And so I think that's a huge reason i think our defense has gotten better, which is allowed us to be better and transition.

Question: Kerwin [Walton] seems to be in a bit of a slump. And it's not to me,, it's not so much the actual shooting. It's that it seems like he's not even hunting his shot as much anymore. How do you kind of get him back into the flow of the offense?

Coach Davis: Well, Kerwin is a fantastic player. I mean, he's a guy that can make shots from three point range. He's our returning best three point shooter. He was only person on our team last year to shoot over 40% from three point range and you know, his ability to shoot. We need it. You know, the one difference this year compared to last year is last year, I don't think he was on the first page of everybody scouting report. Now he is. And so in those situations, you know, as an offensive player, one, I've got to do a better job of calling plays and being able to get him open. But you got to be aggressive, and you've got to move without the basketball and not hunt your shot, but you have to.  When I say aggressive you have to push I, you have to be a factor out there on the offensive end. And so those are things that young players have to adjust to, you know, Kerwin's only a sophomore, and he's an unbelievable player. And I think he's somebody that can be a first team All American here. I think he's somebody that can play at the next level and he's going to have an unbelievable career here. We're all. not just him, we're all going to figure it out. Because for us to be the team that we need to be we need Kerwin to be the best that he can be. And he's a huge piece of our team in this program and I'm so thankful and happy that I'm that I'm his head coach.

Question: Coach, was there a reason why Styles didn't long any minutes tonight?

Coach Davis: No, there wasn't anything specific. I just felt like, you know, during the game who was playing really well, in certain situations. I felt like D'Marco and also Dontrez has done a terrific job practicing as well. His time on the floor is 100% going to come. I've said this before like, we need Dontrez out there on the floor. We need DeMarco, we need those guys to be able to contribute. You know, everyone says, you know, we got our people with teams go we have great depth. Well, you only have great depth if you use it. And so there wasn't anything specific on why Dontrez didn't get into the game tonight. I'm looking forward to putting him out there on the floor and he's gonna be a big piece of us being able to be the best team that we can be this year. I'm very happy and very proud of them.

Players Mentioned

Armando Bacot

Dawson Garcia

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