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Hubert Davis
Photo by: ANTHONY SORBELLINI
UNC-NC State Postgame Quotes
January 21, 2023 | Men's Basketball
Press Conference Transcription vs NC State
Jan. 21, 2023
Chapel Hill, N.C.
North Carolina 80 - NC State 69
NC State Head Coach Kevin Keatts
Q: How hard was it to regroup after Terquavion Smith went down?
Keatts: Well it's hard. If you look at the… Our guys are really close. It's a close knit bunch. I thought we handled it as best as we could. I thought our guys did a great job of coming together. I think we may have cut the lead to possibly six at that point.
Q: This is a kid who could have gone in the first round last year but came back because he wanted to help the program. Is that the reason why you are so emotional?
Keets: It has nothing to do with the draft.
Q: Well because, I'm just saying because the kid thinks so much of the program.
Keatts: No, no, no. It could be anybody. When I sit in a kid's house and their family is turning them over to me to be their coach and dad while they are here. I don't care who it is. I don't care what his draft status is. I don't care if he plays three minutes a game. My son is on the team, he's a walk on. It doesn't matter, all these kids are my kids. I am not lashing out at you, I just want you to know that. It has nothing to do with what type of player he is.
Q: A lot of the players said they expected this game to be physical. Is that something that you talked about and are you surprised with just how physical this game was?
Keatts: No I wasn't. Listen, every game that we've been in, most of them on the road are going to be physical. If you play us, it's physical also. So I expected some of that, no surprise that it was that way.
Q: What was the plan going in on Bacot? Did you get a sense when it was slipping and not working?
Keatts: Well, I thought, I got the same plan that everybody else does in the conference. It is hard to stop him. He's had 20 and 16 last game and 23 and 18 this game. You can double him, or you can pick your poison. What he's become really good at is, when you double him, those other guards tend to get off. So we picked our poison, saying let's stay with him, and I think that's why the game was in range because we didn't have two doubling him where he could throw the ball out to the other guys who can make shots.
UNC Head Coach Hubert Davis
Davis: First of all, I just want to talk about Terquavion [Smith], who is just an unbelievable kid and unbelievable player. You never want to see anybody get hurt or injured, and my hope and my prayers are that he's not hurt and injured.
Q: What do you say to Armando in the locker room or when you embraced off the court after his two records today?
Davis: In regards to Armando, it's very hard, it's not very hard, to describe. I've said to you guys before that one of the greatest feelings as a coach is to know what a player or team and what they're bringing to the table every day. And for Armando, that's what I have in him. Every day and practice, shootaround, game, you know that he's gonna give his best on both ends of the floor for himself for the team for this program. And for him to pass Tyler Hansbrough, Billy Cunningham for all time double-doubles in points and rebounds, it's unbelievable. He's a fantastic player. He's one of the best players in Carolina history and I'm just really really proud.
Q: *On RJ Davis's performance*
Davis: You know, 26 points. I think it was on eight shots and I can feel well he's playing at an extremely high level. You know, I talked about at the beginning of the year, he didn't mention that he was dealing with a finger injury on the shooting hand and you know, that that affected him in terms of being able to shoot the ball percentage wise. Like we all felt like he could shoot but over the last month and a half, he's played at an all-american level. His ability to score and distribute. The thing that I was most impressive about was his defense today. Every time he picked up full court, and he talked about NC State, and one of the things that they're great at is defensive pressure and making you turn the ball over and make it very difficult for you to get into your offense. I felt the pressure of RJ really set our defense in terms of being aggressive and being able to make them run their offense a little bit further out than they do in shoot around. An all around game out there. So I just thought RJ was fantastic.
Q: On the Smith play, what did you talk to Leaky about whether on the court or after?
Davis: I talked to Leaky after the game because Leaky is such a sweet, kind, kid, you know and he was worried about Terquavion. You know, that's for both teams. Today was a contest between two unveliebaly great programs and great teams and nobody wants anybody to ger hurt and injured and Leaky went over there when they were taking Terquavion off the court and Leaky alreasy asked for Terquavion's phone number so he can call and check up on Terquavion and make sure he's okay.
Armando Bacot:
Q: When you grabbed the record-setting rebound, obviously you knew it. You told us yesterday you were keeping track, the crowd knew it too. Instantly what was your mind with that play still going on?
Bacot: I would say just probably a weight was off my shoulders. I mean all game I was just trying to go out there. Early on, I think I got a good start, getting a good amount of rebounds and then I picked up that second foul. I was trying not to get in foul trouble but trying to stay in the game and be aggressive. And then, I got lucky. They missed a couple shots and then I got it.
Q: What does it actually feel like to have the record?
Bacot: I think now it is starting to sink in and to greet Tyler Hansbrough after just meant everything to me. Growing up, seeing how great of a player he was. Not just at UNC, but just in college in general, he is one of the greatest players of all time. To be able to pass him just means a lot.
Q: What did Tyler say to you when he greeted you?
Bacot: He just told me he was proud of me, just that I have been working hard and that he was proud of me. So, it was great to gain the respect of Tyler Hansbrough.
Q: First time you played pick up with Tyler, you ended up in the hospital. Did you think you would be here in your career during that day?
Bacot: Definitely not, you all saw it. My whole career I have been just growing and growing as a player. Freshman year I had a lot of struggles. I started off really good then struggled throughout the season. I never gave up. Coach Davis, Coach Williams, they all stayed hard on me and told me to work hard. Coming back our next year, Coach brought in Dayron Sharpe and Walker Kessler and those two guys are in the NBA right now. I didn't look at it as something like coach just recruited two All-American bigs over me. I just looked at it as a challenge. That whole summer during the pandemic I just worked my tail off all summer and I just got a lot better. It shows.
Q: Was this the most intense and focused you all have been since the NCAA tournament?
Bacot: I would definitely say one of them. It was a big rivalry game and we knew coming in what was at stake this game. It was a game we can't lose. They have a great team this year. We just knew coming in we had to come locked in. As you saw in the first half, they got up 6 to 8 points and started pressuring the ball. That is something we have struggled with all year. I thought after the first five, ten minutes, the guard did a phenomenal job handling the ball and we started putting pressure on them and it really changed the game.
Pete Nance:
Q: Tell us about that dunk.
Nance: It was a good one. You know I got to get more dunks, but it was good to see that I still have Nance blood in me for sure.
Q: Coach Davis said he wanted to see you be more aggressive. Is that the mentality you are taking into the games?
Nance: For sure. Trying to be. I'm not trying to force anything, but definitely just trying to make the right play for the team. Sometimes me looking to be aggressive is the right play, so just trying to continue that for sure.
Q: What was it like in the locker room with Bacot?
Nance: It was awesome. It is an amazing thing to have, to be the all-time rebounder at a school where there have been some of the greatest college basketball players of all time. So, we were all just really proud of him. Threw water on him, just a heavy congratulations, because it is a heck of an accomplishment.
RJ Davis
Q: What do you think of Bacot's historic night?
Davis: Mando is spectacular. He is a special talent. For him to go ahead and break the record and be in the history book, I'm super happy for him. He spent the night down in the paint, so just super happy for him.
Q: Did you think the three you banked with the shot clock expiring was going in?
Davis: Nah, honestly, the way the angle was going, I thought it was off to the right, but I banked it in and had my little Steph Curry moment, so that felt good.
Jan. 21, 2023
Chapel Hill, N.C.
North Carolina 80 - NC State 69
NC State Head Coach Kevin Keatts
Q: How hard was it to regroup after Terquavion Smith went down?
Keatts: Well it's hard. If you look at the… Our guys are really close. It's a close knit bunch. I thought we handled it as best as we could. I thought our guys did a great job of coming together. I think we may have cut the lead to possibly six at that point.
Q: This is a kid who could have gone in the first round last year but came back because he wanted to help the program. Is that the reason why you are so emotional?
Keets: It has nothing to do with the draft.
Q: Well because, I'm just saying because the kid thinks so much of the program.
Keatts: No, no, no. It could be anybody. When I sit in a kid's house and their family is turning them over to me to be their coach and dad while they are here. I don't care who it is. I don't care what his draft status is. I don't care if he plays three minutes a game. My son is on the team, he's a walk on. It doesn't matter, all these kids are my kids. I am not lashing out at you, I just want you to know that. It has nothing to do with what type of player he is.
Q: A lot of the players said they expected this game to be physical. Is that something that you talked about and are you surprised with just how physical this game was?
Keatts: No I wasn't. Listen, every game that we've been in, most of them on the road are going to be physical. If you play us, it's physical also. So I expected some of that, no surprise that it was that way.
Q: What was the plan going in on Bacot? Did you get a sense when it was slipping and not working?
Keatts: Well, I thought, I got the same plan that everybody else does in the conference. It is hard to stop him. He's had 20 and 16 last game and 23 and 18 this game. You can double him, or you can pick your poison. What he's become really good at is, when you double him, those other guards tend to get off. So we picked our poison, saying let's stay with him, and I think that's why the game was in range because we didn't have two doubling him where he could throw the ball out to the other guys who can make shots.
UNC Head Coach Hubert Davis
Davis: First of all, I just want to talk about Terquavion [Smith], who is just an unbelievable kid and unbelievable player. You never want to see anybody get hurt or injured, and my hope and my prayers are that he's not hurt and injured.
Q: What do you say to Armando in the locker room or when you embraced off the court after his two records today?
Davis: In regards to Armando, it's very hard, it's not very hard, to describe. I've said to you guys before that one of the greatest feelings as a coach is to know what a player or team and what they're bringing to the table every day. And for Armando, that's what I have in him. Every day and practice, shootaround, game, you know that he's gonna give his best on both ends of the floor for himself for the team for this program. And for him to pass Tyler Hansbrough, Billy Cunningham for all time double-doubles in points and rebounds, it's unbelievable. He's a fantastic player. He's one of the best players in Carolina history and I'm just really really proud.
Q: *On RJ Davis's performance*
Davis: You know, 26 points. I think it was on eight shots and I can feel well he's playing at an extremely high level. You know, I talked about at the beginning of the year, he didn't mention that he was dealing with a finger injury on the shooting hand and you know, that that affected him in terms of being able to shoot the ball percentage wise. Like we all felt like he could shoot but over the last month and a half, he's played at an all-american level. His ability to score and distribute. The thing that I was most impressive about was his defense today. Every time he picked up full court, and he talked about NC State, and one of the things that they're great at is defensive pressure and making you turn the ball over and make it very difficult for you to get into your offense. I felt the pressure of RJ really set our defense in terms of being aggressive and being able to make them run their offense a little bit further out than they do in shoot around. An all around game out there. So I just thought RJ was fantastic.
Q: On the Smith play, what did you talk to Leaky about whether on the court or after?
Davis: I talked to Leaky after the game because Leaky is such a sweet, kind, kid, you know and he was worried about Terquavion. You know, that's for both teams. Today was a contest between two unveliebaly great programs and great teams and nobody wants anybody to ger hurt and injured and Leaky went over there when they were taking Terquavion off the court and Leaky alreasy asked for Terquavion's phone number so he can call and check up on Terquavion and make sure he's okay.
Armando Bacot:
Q: When you grabbed the record-setting rebound, obviously you knew it. You told us yesterday you were keeping track, the crowd knew it too. Instantly what was your mind with that play still going on?
Bacot: I would say just probably a weight was off my shoulders. I mean all game I was just trying to go out there. Early on, I think I got a good start, getting a good amount of rebounds and then I picked up that second foul. I was trying not to get in foul trouble but trying to stay in the game and be aggressive. And then, I got lucky. They missed a couple shots and then I got it.
Q: What does it actually feel like to have the record?
Bacot: I think now it is starting to sink in and to greet Tyler Hansbrough after just meant everything to me. Growing up, seeing how great of a player he was. Not just at UNC, but just in college in general, he is one of the greatest players of all time. To be able to pass him just means a lot.
Q: What did Tyler say to you when he greeted you?
Bacot: He just told me he was proud of me, just that I have been working hard and that he was proud of me. So, it was great to gain the respect of Tyler Hansbrough.
Q: First time you played pick up with Tyler, you ended up in the hospital. Did you think you would be here in your career during that day?
Bacot: Definitely not, you all saw it. My whole career I have been just growing and growing as a player. Freshman year I had a lot of struggles. I started off really good then struggled throughout the season. I never gave up. Coach Davis, Coach Williams, they all stayed hard on me and told me to work hard. Coming back our next year, Coach brought in Dayron Sharpe and Walker Kessler and those two guys are in the NBA right now. I didn't look at it as something like coach just recruited two All-American bigs over me. I just looked at it as a challenge. That whole summer during the pandemic I just worked my tail off all summer and I just got a lot better. It shows.
Q: Was this the most intense and focused you all have been since the NCAA tournament?
Bacot: I would definitely say one of them. It was a big rivalry game and we knew coming in what was at stake this game. It was a game we can't lose. They have a great team this year. We just knew coming in we had to come locked in. As you saw in the first half, they got up 6 to 8 points and started pressuring the ball. That is something we have struggled with all year. I thought after the first five, ten minutes, the guard did a phenomenal job handling the ball and we started putting pressure on them and it really changed the game.
Pete Nance:
Q: Tell us about that dunk.
Nance: It was a good one. You know I got to get more dunks, but it was good to see that I still have Nance blood in me for sure.
Q: Coach Davis said he wanted to see you be more aggressive. Is that the mentality you are taking into the games?
Nance: For sure. Trying to be. I'm not trying to force anything, but definitely just trying to make the right play for the team. Sometimes me looking to be aggressive is the right play, so just trying to continue that for sure.
Q: What was it like in the locker room with Bacot?
Nance: It was awesome. It is an amazing thing to have, to be the all-time rebounder at a school where there have been some of the greatest college basketball players of all time. So, we were all just really proud of him. Threw water on him, just a heavy congratulations, because it is a heck of an accomplishment.
RJ Davis
Q: What do you think of Bacot's historic night?
Davis: Mando is spectacular. He is a special talent. For him to go ahead and break the record and be in the history book, I'm super happy for him. He spent the night down in the paint, so just super happy for him.
Q: Did you think the three you banked with the shot clock expiring was going in?
Davis: Nah, honestly, the way the angle was going, I thought it was off to the right, but I banked it in and had my little Steph Curry moment, so that felt good.
Players Mentioned
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UNC Players Press Conference, Post-Richmond
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Bill Belichick Post-Richmond Press Conference, 9/13/25
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