UNC-UNCW Postgame Quotes

North Carolina 69, UNCW 56
Monday, Nov. 7, 2022, Chapel Hill, N.C.
Postgame Quotes

UNC Head Coach Hubert Davis

Question: What were your general thoughts?
Hubert Davis: "I was really proud of our guys because UNCW is very physical. Heading into the game, we knew they were a physical team. We had to match and be able to handle that physicality. Especially in the first half offensively, they just took us out of our rhythm. We didn't do a good job on handling how physical they were."

Question: Was that physicality showing up on your offensive glass?
Davis: "I really think for whatever reason that it was a combination for our guys. They were nervous and they were anxious. I just felt like especially on the offensive end, we were moving at such a nervousness, anxiousness type of pace that at times we couldn't even catch the basketball. I know we have a veteran group, but it was our first game and I just felt like a lot of it was just a combination of being nervous and being anxious. I told them the thought of the day that Rome was not built in a day but worked on every day. This was a great opportunity and we got to get to work and get better as a team."

Question: We were just told that 4 assists was the lowest in a game since 1980 for a Tar Heel team. What was UNCW doing to shut down those offensive opportunities?
Coach Davis: "I think the reason we only had four assists didn't have anything to do with UNCW. It had everything to do about us. You know one of the things we pride ourselves on is passing up good shots to get great shots. We always talk about having spacing and balance and movement and a combination of player and ball movement. For the most part, the first half was just not there. When I talk about anxiousness, from a standpoint of just wanting to do something good and make something happen instead of being the facilitator. My hope is that it was just the first game, anxiousness and nervousness that uncharacteristically put us in a position where we weren't sharing the ball like we usually do."

UNC Player Quotes
Armando Bacot
"UNCW they're a good team, I think we all came out a little rusty. I mean, it's not easy winning games, and I thought they were physical. The way that they played was a lot different than we're used to every game and in practice [when we] just up and down up and down. They did a good job of just holding clock and taking the whole clock away and we were rushing and taking bad shots—but it's a marathon not a sprint."

"They held me to nine rebounds. I would say that's probably a bad game for me and I didn't think any of us played good today, specifically the starting five. We all kinda struggled with things, but we're gonna build on that. It definitely starts with me. I kinda set the tone and we go as I go."

Pete Nance
On the atmosphere and his first game in the Smith Center: "It was awesome, it was awesome. I couldn't have asked for anything better. I thought the fans really brought it tonight. I heard there were over like 4,000 students here tonight, which is just unbelievable. I've been on that side of that energy, and I know it's a really hard thing to tune out when you're the opposing team with all these fans screaming at you. It was awesome, it was a crazy environment, and I'm just glad they're on my side."

"In the huddle, I remember just right before the game during the starting lineups and everything like that. I just remember not being able to stop smiling. There was so much energy and so much adrenaline in the building that I'm just not used to at all."

Caleb Love
"I feel like they were taking us out of our offense by denying the ball and pressuring us. So we couldn't really get our offense far and couldn't really create for many people. But we're just getting our feet under us and our chemistry back together, and we'll be just fine."

RJ Davis
On the consistent pressure and aggressiveness of UNCW: "They had a great press, kinda slowed us down a little bit, but I kinda brought it back to my New York roots a little bit with the pressure picking up full-court whole game. And I enjoyed it, it was a fun game we got it done. A win's a win."

On the close game: "It will definitely help us a lot, just moving forward. Fix up the little mistakes, the little details, dialing on that. Missed box outs, careless turnovers, but I think this is a learning lesson for us moving forward and we'll be more than fine."

"We have so many athletic and great, talented players that can play one through the five. And we improved that all offseason being in the gym, pickup, practice, that's something that's we're gonna go moving forward."

Leaky Black
"I'm not going to lie. There were a little more people there than I expected to be or more than I was accustomed to for game one. You know, I just feel like, hopefully we will all get the jitters out. I feel like some of the guys were a little nervous out there. Like I said, this is game one. It's a long season."

Seth Trimble
"You know, I've never really had that experience…Staying energized and staying vocal on the bench and just patiently waiting for your turn and providing the same energy that you provide on the bench on the court."

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