UNC-Furman Postgame Quotes

Men's Basketball vs Furman
Chapel Hill, N.C.
UNC 74 - Furman 61
12/14/2021

UNC vs Furman Postgame Quotes
Head Coach Hubert Davis

Question: Coach, congratulations on the win. Talk about RJ [Davis] and Caleb [Love], as they're being intentional about getting the ball inside and really letting the game come to them tonight.
Davis: Yeah, you know, two things. One, I wanted to say that they were fantastic. Both of them played at an extremely high level. You know, from an offensive standpoint, you know, last game. You know, they had one assist in seven turnovers; in this game, they had 11 assists to three turnovers. So their ability to create shots and get the ball to our big guys down low on the posts or whether in transition coming off the ball screens. I thought they were fantastic. One of the things that I did is I apologized to the team when I went in there, right after the game. And I specifically looked at RJ and Caleb because one of the things that I wanted them to do was really take care of the basketball and also wanted them, because I think they have an unbelievable ability, to create shots for their teammates. I felt like in the first half, they were looking to pass so much that they weren't looking for the shot on the offensive end. And so the beauty with RJ and Caleb is they can create shots, but they can also make shots. And so that's one of the things that I said and at halftime I said, "guys, I want to get the ball to our bigs. I want to distribute the basketball, but also want you guys to shoot the ball. And so if you're wide open, I want you to shoot", and I felt like in the second half, they started getting to an offensive rhythm. And I was very, very proud of both of them.

Question: At half, it's tied up at 39, Furman is shooting 53%, both from the field and from beyond the arc. And then after, at the end of the game, in the second half, shot 20% from the field and then 1% from beyond the arc. So at half, was there shooting something you tried to focus on, or at least tried to tell the team to try and contain?
Davis: Yeah, I wanted them to play defense. I just felt like we were giving them open shots. We were giving them everything that they wanted, whether it was from three-point range, or their post players being able to score around the basket. You know, I've said before, we can't take away threes, but we can contest every one. We can't block every shot, but we can contest every shot. And that's one of the things that I said at halftime, I felt like they were more physical than us on both ends of the floor. And so from a defensive standpoint, that had to change. We had to be the aggressor, we had to be in the passing lanes, we had to be getting through screens, we had to be contesting shots. And I felt like we really did that. One of the things that we've always talked about is, you know, there are going to be stretches and there are going to be times in practices and games where we're not playing well. Let's be a team that can immediately change, always say next shot. Next possession. Next possession, next play. Everybody makes mistakes. As long as it's done with effort, I've got no problem with it. But let's change. And I felt like in the second half, we changed. We changed the way that we were playing defense on number 10, with a sense of urgency. We changed in closing out the shooters like 51. We changed in terms of making it harder defensively in the post for them to be able to score. As I saw, I felt like our willingness to change was a biggest factor in us defensively, playing better in the second half.

Question: Hubert, you've mentioned several times recently that you would like to see your rotation expand. What would you like to see out of some of the guys who weren't playing as much, to be able to get those more minutes?
Davis: You know, one of the things that I always talk about is we've got unbelievable talent, and we've got great versatility and you've got great talent and great versatility if you use it. That versatility and that great depth will be used this year. You know, for us to be the best team that we can become, we have to have D'Marco [Dunn] out there on the floor. We have to have Dontrez [Styles] out there on the floor. We have to have Justin McKoy out there on the floor. We have to have Kerwin Walton playing at a high level. You know game to game, situations a lot of time dictates playing time. And I've always said this before, how you earn playing time is how you play in practice. You play well in practice, you'll play well in the games. And then when you get into the games, your playing time in the game will increase if your good play in practice is validated by your play in the game. And I really believe that there's going to be some unbelievable big time moments for D'Marco and Dontrez and Justin and Kerwin this year because in order for us to achieve all of our team goals, we need all of them and they're going to be big time players for us.

Question: You guys really established Armando [Bacot] after halftime. I think he had twice as many shot attempts in second half as he did in the first half. Ended up finishing with a double-double as a result of that. Just how essential is it for you guys? I know being tied at halftime, how essential is it to make sure that he maintains and remains as a consistent offensive threat throughout the course of a game, even when the rest of things can like you said be changing?
Davis: Well, you know, I just feel like regardless if it was Furman or Michigan or whomever we play, I really feel like that we have an advantage down low on the block. We've got some bigs that can do a number of different things, not just Armando but Dawson [Garcia] and also Brady and that's a strength for us. You know, we have the ability to penetrate post and shoot from three and get to the free throw line and attack the offensive glass. And so I want to take advantage of all of that on the offensive end and a huge part of is our ability, our bigs to be able to score on the block. You know, one of the things that you do when you score a penetrating attack the basket, it also gives you an opportunity to get to the free throw line and that means the opposing team is getting in foul trouble. I like that. I like when the opposing player or opposing team's best players are in foul trouble and then we get to play against somebody else. You can't do that by just shooting threes. You have to attack the basket and our bigs have been really good all year being a post presence consistently on the offensive end.

Question: Coach, this is two straight games for Dawson that's been at the 20 point mark, and he obviously exploded out of the gate tonight. Is this just an example of circumstances and that's why he was very productive these games? Or is there something that he's doing differently and better more often now, that's kind of allowed him to increase his production?
Davis: Well, one of the things that we've talked about in the last week or so is just trying to establish him offensively early. He really feels like if he can, not just offensively, just kind of get going early, whether it's, you know, an offensive rebound, score around a basket, run the floor, hit a three, get a key defensive stop. And you know, from an offensive standpoint, we've also talked about, I think he's more efficient when he starts inside out as opposed to outside in. I think at some times, he'll start from three and then try to work his way in as opposed to, hey, let's run the floor like he did and score. Hey, let's get into the posts. Hey, let's get to the free throw line. And then step out and knock down that three. And I think that's a little minor adjustment that he's made and just make a conscious effort to kind of like establish him early in the game just to get them going. And it's been big for us the last couple games, I like the way that he's playing.

Question: What's your philosophy on kind of managing these scorers because you have so many that you can have on the floor at one time, and Dawson kind of talked about, you know, putting the emphasis on being aggressive early. And I was wondering, if you've had guys who've kind of just gotten lost in the shuffle, like they don't necessarily look for their shots, because there are other guys that can score?
Davis: No, I want everybody to be able to shoot. I've never given anybody a role where you know, out there on the floor, you can't shoot. The only thing that I've said from an offensive end is I want you to shoot shots that you've practiced in practice, I want you to shoot shots that you have practiced before practice, and I want you to shoot shots that you have practiced after practice. And if you consistently shoot shots that you practice before and after practice and during practice, and those are shots that you consistently make then that's the shots that I want you to take. I haven't told one person on the team, this is a shot that I don't want you to take, I just want them to take good shots. And so from an offensive standpoint, everybody has freedom. That's what I want out there on the floor. That's why Leaky [Black] had the freedom in the second half and felt the freedom to be able when he was wide open to knock down those two jumpers. And that three pointer is because he's been practicing those shots before and after practice and during practice.

Question: Hubert, just going back to your talking about willingness to change. I think it's three of the last four games where you guys have either been tied at the half or within two points of the other team. And you sort of turned it on to have a convincing win in the second half. I mean, is that an encouraging sign for you as a coach to know that you can talk about things at the half and then they go out there and apply them the way you want it done?
Davis: Yeah, and I think it's even more encouraging because at the beginning of the year, I think it was a three or four game stretch, where we were going into halftime and we were down. So at least we're tied. That's better. You know, I'll take that. I'll take positive things every time. And so no, it's great that we have the ability to change, especially on the defensive end. I think someone told me this is the fifth straight game that we've held somebody under 63 points. Before the game, the last time a North Carolina team has held a team four straight games under 63 points was, I think it was, in 2011-12 season. And so like, it's been a while since defensively, we've locked in for a four or five game stretch like we have. And so that's really encouraging. Offensively, that can go up and down. Shots go in, shots miss. But one of the things that I always think that should be consistent is defense and effort and will and want to. And what's been consistent through the first 10 games, with the exception of Tennessee, has been our will and our want to and our effort, and I'm very, very proud of them.

Players Press Conference
Armando Bacot and Dawson Garcia

Armando Bacot
Q: This is Dawson's first time putting consecutive double figure games together. What are you seeing from him that is different?
Bacot: I feel like he is just able to find his spots in the offense. Him being a tweener and being able to play all around the floor I feel like just starting off it was kind of tough for him just figuring out where to find his spots and get easy points. I feel like now he is getting his swagger and it is helping him. When he is scoring the ball like that we are a dangerous team.

Q: That's five straight wins for you guys now, how much do you think you guys have improved since Thanksgiving and how much are you looking forward to seeing what you have against UCLA in a couple of days?
Bacot: I would say mainly, based on improvement, we have kind of been finding ourselves as a team and defining our roles. I also feel like we have been doing a great job on the defensive end. All season we have been knocking down three point shots and I feel like that has been huge on our improvement. I would just say we need to keep getting better. We can be even better on defense and tidying up our offense. I feel like our offense hasn't been as good as it was starting off the season, but now our defense is better. We need to find a balance and get both of those better.

Q: Do you feel like UCLA is another one of those validation matchups that you all have been talking about?
Bacot: One hundred percent. A top three or four team would be a huge win for us. I feel like we can put just everyone on notice.

Dawson Garcia
Q: That's a couple of twenty point games for you back to back, what has been working for you in these last couple of games and where are you as far as being comfortable with the guys and everything you guys are doing out there?
Garcia; Well I am very comfortable. To answer your first question I would say I'm just being very aggressive early, that's what's helped me out.

Q: Is that a mindset change from earlier or is that how you've always approached things? Is there a difference from earlier in the season perhaps?
Garcia: I wouldn't say that there was a mindset change. I would just say that I am putting more emphasis on being super aggressive early in all facets of the game because I know that it will get me up.

Q: When you can have games like these past two, this is the first time this season you have scored double figures in back to back games, how do you feel like that makes this team? What do you feel like you bring when you are able to score like that?
Garcia: I feel like I bring somebody that just scores the ball and does what the defense gives him. If they come up on me I'm going to dish it off, and just continue to play hard on both sides of the ball because that's all you can really control. Scoring is going to come and go, everything really is going to come and go besides just playing hard, rebounding, and just doing all of those things.

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University of North Carolina Athletics

Players Mentioned

Armando Bacot

Dawson Garcia

Justin McKoy

Kerwin Walton

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