.png&width=36&height=36&type=webp)
University of North Carolina Athletics
Puff Johnson
Photo by: ANTHONY SORBELLINI
UNC-Notre Dame Postgame Quotes
January 7, 2023 | Men's Basketball
Press Conference Transcription vs Notre Dame
Jan. 7, 2023
Chapel Hill, N.C.
North Carolina 81 - Georgia Tech 64
Coach Mike Brey
"I have the utmost respect for them, I mean they're just so physical and so athletic and even when you do get an advantage, their athletic recovery to block shots or deflect passes is almost freakish and we haven't really played anybody like that in a while, but they had the bodies."
Q: *on turnovers*
Brey: Those were killers, and we had some layups you know, but we only turned it over eight and it felt a lot more than that. They blocked some shots too, right? They blocked six of them, you know? And then you get it to get seven, and we could never get stops. They're just so explosive around the bucket. You know, great atmosphere, unbelievable atmosphere. I thought at times, I've seen it in the past, your team plays a little fast and gets a little excited when the Carolina crowd is in it instead of being a little more patient, but it's all par for it. What an unbelievable college atmosphere. They're a hell of a team and we'll go back to work tomorrow.
Coach Hubert Davis
Q: *On the bench*
Davis: I thought they brought energy, they brought life, consistent energy and consistent production coming off the bench. D'Marco, Jalen, Justin, whoever came off the bench, I just thought they brought energy, they brought life, solid plays on both ends of the floor. And you know, that's exactly what we need. And they played extremely well today andn I was really proud of them.
Q: What went into the decision to start Seth Trimble?
Davis: One of the things we thought about was how we can match up with them defensively. My decision on who to start doesn't for me really mean much. You know, I don't put a lot into starting at all. I was thinking what could start off in the best position for us defensively in terms of matchup with him. Seth is a gifted defender. He played extremely well in the Wake Forest game and we felt like we wanted to start the game like that.
Q: *on Puff Johnson*
Davis: For him, he made shots today. We need him to consistently bring that energy and that effort on both ends of the floor. He's one of those guys that gets those 50/50 loose balls. He's a great offensive rebounder. That's an area where we desperately need to improve in terms of getting second chance opportunities. He's a guy with size that can play multiple positions and we need him out there to play consistently and play well.
Q: *On Pete Nance & lower back injury*
Davis: He gets dramatically better every day but he wasn't well enough to play today. So my hope is, that he'll be ready to practice tomorrow. If not tomorrow, my expectation and hope is for practice on Monday and then be ready Tuesday [at Virginia]. The thing with his back, there's two things. One, they had to get it in place where the muscles would relax where they are now. Now we're just trying to keep his hips stable and aligned. They are held in place and if they can continue to be held in place, that's the final step for him to play. My hope is it will be ready against Virginia on Tuesday night.
Q: *on defense carrying over from Wake Forest*
Davis: We have to win our one-on-one matchups. And there has to be a competitive nature of a pride that I can guard my guy and I don't need any help. I felt like everybody that played today took that challenge and really won their one-on-one matchup.
Q: *on Seth Trimble*
Davis: We've talked about how good he is on the defensive end and how gifted he is in guarding the ball. He's extremely athletic and quick and he has the ability to defend...I think he's becoming more comfortable and more confident in terms of his ability to get to the basket. And once he gets to the basket, he can use his athleticism to be able to create a shot for himself and also his teammates. And so when he's on the floor with RJ and Caleb, now you've got three playmakers, guys off the bounce in one-on-one situations, they can create a shot for themselves and for their teammates. That's good news for us offensively and bad news for the opponent.
Q: *On Caleb Love standing up for Puff Johnson*
Davis: I don't like technical fouls, but I love our team standing up for each other. And Caleb standing up for Puff, I support that and I encourage that every day. And that's one of the many things that makes Caleb such a great teammate.
Q: *about the response to the Pitt game*
Davis: You know, one of the things that I love about our guys is that we always get back up. And it's something that I talked to him about a lot that in basketball this year with this team, and in life, you're going to get knocked down and you are going to have rainy days and speed bumps and pot holes. And you can whine and complain and make excuses and point fingers, or you can get back up and continue to compete, continue to fight and continue to get better. And this team always has responded in that way. And so I would take it even further, you know, not just the response from the Pitt game, I would take it even further from the four games that we lost, and now we've won six out of seven. And so does that mean to stop? No. But that's a sign of a tough team, a resilient team. And that's the type of team that I love being associated and being around.
Puff Johnson
Q: What did you work on for the last couple of weeks that led to this performance? Did you wake up and feel like this would happen?
Johnson: Every single day I do my best to further myself in basketball and just further myself as a person. That's kinda the motto I live by, be a better person every day, and that translates to the court, just become a better basketball player every day. If that's coming in extra to just work on my body to get stronger or coming in extra just to shoot. Just every single day through the highs, through the lows, through the mediums, I just try to be the best person I can be.
Q: Caleb came to your defense when you got kicked in the head down there. Can you walk me through that play?
Johnson: For sure, the amount of time that we spend, not just me, him and other players, just the time this team spends together just really shows on the court. Cuz I didn't really know what happened but you could see that he had my back even though I was confused about what happened. I haven't even watched the replay, I hadn't even seen what happened. The most I saw was the replay on the big board up top. Yeah just knowing he has my back and the whole team, not just him, has everyone's back. We are very, very, connected, and it really shows.
Q: There's a lot of talk about the bench not getting enough minutes, but you guys have been really stepping up lately.
Johnson: Just like I said we have to stay ready, that's the biggest thing. Just treat every single practice and every single game like it is your last.
Armando Bacot
Q: You limited Laszewski to only one three point attempt today, what did you all do to take that aspect away from his game?
Bacot: We made an emphasis all week to kinda limit him because he's had lots of games, he still played a good game today. We were able to switch everything and I think that kinda threw him off. Usually you don't get five players that can switch and guard everybody, and I thought today we did a good job switching.
Q: Just a few minutes into the game you had six points and six rebounds, almost all the way to a double-double. Did you wake up today knowing that would happen.
Bacot: Yeah I mean today I knew I would get a double-double because Notre Dame, they never really crash the boards on offense, so I know there would be a lot of rebounds for me. I was trying to get 20 rebounds today, I thought I would. I mean I don't know, I guess in the second half I didn't get to the boards well enough.
Caleb Love
Q: How did you reestablish yourself offensively?
Love: Just trying to get back in my groove. You know, it's been a tough past couple of games for me offensively. So just trying to get in the groove, and then just letting the game come to me.
Q: Describe the incident that resulted in the ejection of Notre Dame's Cormac Ryan.
Love: I saw all of it, I saw it. And then when I saw him extend his foot, I acted in defense of my teammate. That's just the type of player I am. That's the type of teammate I am. Anybody that goes against me or does anything against my teammates, I'm gonna stand up.
Jan. 7, 2023
Chapel Hill, N.C.
North Carolina 81 - Georgia Tech 64
Coach Mike Brey
"I have the utmost respect for them, I mean they're just so physical and so athletic and even when you do get an advantage, their athletic recovery to block shots or deflect passes is almost freakish and we haven't really played anybody like that in a while, but they had the bodies."
Q: *on turnovers*
Brey: Those were killers, and we had some layups you know, but we only turned it over eight and it felt a lot more than that. They blocked some shots too, right? They blocked six of them, you know? And then you get it to get seven, and we could never get stops. They're just so explosive around the bucket. You know, great atmosphere, unbelievable atmosphere. I thought at times, I've seen it in the past, your team plays a little fast and gets a little excited when the Carolina crowd is in it instead of being a little more patient, but it's all par for it. What an unbelievable college atmosphere. They're a hell of a team and we'll go back to work tomorrow.
Coach Hubert Davis
Q: *On the bench*
Davis: I thought they brought energy, they brought life, consistent energy and consistent production coming off the bench. D'Marco, Jalen, Justin, whoever came off the bench, I just thought they brought energy, they brought life, solid plays on both ends of the floor. And you know, that's exactly what we need. And they played extremely well today andn I was really proud of them.
Q: What went into the decision to start Seth Trimble?
Davis: One of the things we thought about was how we can match up with them defensively. My decision on who to start doesn't for me really mean much. You know, I don't put a lot into starting at all. I was thinking what could start off in the best position for us defensively in terms of matchup with him. Seth is a gifted defender. He played extremely well in the Wake Forest game and we felt like we wanted to start the game like that.
Q: *on Puff Johnson*
Davis: For him, he made shots today. We need him to consistently bring that energy and that effort on both ends of the floor. He's one of those guys that gets those 50/50 loose balls. He's a great offensive rebounder. That's an area where we desperately need to improve in terms of getting second chance opportunities. He's a guy with size that can play multiple positions and we need him out there to play consistently and play well.
Q: *On Pete Nance & lower back injury*
Davis: He gets dramatically better every day but he wasn't well enough to play today. So my hope is, that he'll be ready to practice tomorrow. If not tomorrow, my expectation and hope is for practice on Monday and then be ready Tuesday [at Virginia]. The thing with his back, there's two things. One, they had to get it in place where the muscles would relax where they are now. Now we're just trying to keep his hips stable and aligned. They are held in place and if they can continue to be held in place, that's the final step for him to play. My hope is it will be ready against Virginia on Tuesday night.
Q: *on defense carrying over from Wake Forest*
Davis: We have to win our one-on-one matchups. And there has to be a competitive nature of a pride that I can guard my guy and I don't need any help. I felt like everybody that played today took that challenge and really won their one-on-one matchup.
Q: *on Seth Trimble*
Davis: We've talked about how good he is on the defensive end and how gifted he is in guarding the ball. He's extremely athletic and quick and he has the ability to defend...I think he's becoming more comfortable and more confident in terms of his ability to get to the basket. And once he gets to the basket, he can use his athleticism to be able to create a shot for himself and also his teammates. And so when he's on the floor with RJ and Caleb, now you've got three playmakers, guys off the bounce in one-on-one situations, they can create a shot for themselves and for their teammates. That's good news for us offensively and bad news for the opponent.
Q: *On Caleb Love standing up for Puff Johnson*
Davis: I don't like technical fouls, but I love our team standing up for each other. And Caleb standing up for Puff, I support that and I encourage that every day. And that's one of the many things that makes Caleb such a great teammate.
Q: *about the response to the Pitt game*
Davis: You know, one of the things that I love about our guys is that we always get back up. And it's something that I talked to him about a lot that in basketball this year with this team, and in life, you're going to get knocked down and you are going to have rainy days and speed bumps and pot holes. And you can whine and complain and make excuses and point fingers, or you can get back up and continue to compete, continue to fight and continue to get better. And this team always has responded in that way. And so I would take it even further, you know, not just the response from the Pitt game, I would take it even further from the four games that we lost, and now we've won six out of seven. And so does that mean to stop? No. But that's a sign of a tough team, a resilient team. And that's the type of team that I love being associated and being around.
Puff Johnson
Q: What did you work on for the last couple of weeks that led to this performance? Did you wake up and feel like this would happen?
Johnson: Every single day I do my best to further myself in basketball and just further myself as a person. That's kinda the motto I live by, be a better person every day, and that translates to the court, just become a better basketball player every day. If that's coming in extra to just work on my body to get stronger or coming in extra just to shoot. Just every single day through the highs, through the lows, through the mediums, I just try to be the best person I can be.
Q: Caleb came to your defense when you got kicked in the head down there. Can you walk me through that play?
Johnson: For sure, the amount of time that we spend, not just me, him and other players, just the time this team spends together just really shows on the court. Cuz I didn't really know what happened but you could see that he had my back even though I was confused about what happened. I haven't even watched the replay, I hadn't even seen what happened. The most I saw was the replay on the big board up top. Yeah just knowing he has my back and the whole team, not just him, has everyone's back. We are very, very, connected, and it really shows.
Q: There's a lot of talk about the bench not getting enough minutes, but you guys have been really stepping up lately.
Johnson: Just like I said we have to stay ready, that's the biggest thing. Just treat every single practice and every single game like it is your last.
Armando Bacot
Q: You limited Laszewski to only one three point attempt today, what did you all do to take that aspect away from his game?
Bacot: We made an emphasis all week to kinda limit him because he's had lots of games, he still played a good game today. We were able to switch everything and I think that kinda threw him off. Usually you don't get five players that can switch and guard everybody, and I thought today we did a good job switching.
Q: Just a few minutes into the game you had six points and six rebounds, almost all the way to a double-double. Did you wake up today knowing that would happen.
Bacot: Yeah I mean today I knew I would get a double-double because Notre Dame, they never really crash the boards on offense, so I know there would be a lot of rebounds for me. I was trying to get 20 rebounds today, I thought I would. I mean I don't know, I guess in the second half I didn't get to the boards well enough.
Caleb Love
Q: How did you reestablish yourself offensively?
Love: Just trying to get back in my groove. You know, it's been a tough past couple of games for me offensively. So just trying to get in the groove, and then just letting the game come to me.
Q: Describe the incident that resulted in the ejection of Notre Dame's Cormac Ryan.
Love: I saw all of it, I saw it. And then when I saw him extend his foot, I acted in defense of my teammate. That's just the type of player I am. That's the type of teammate I am. Anybody that goes against me or does anything against my teammates, I'm gonna stand up.
Players Mentioned
F/C
/ Men's Basketball
F/G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballUNC Football: Tar Heels Hold Off Stanford, 20-15
Sunday, November 09
Hubert Davis Post-Kansas Press Conference
Saturday, November 08
UNC Men's Basketball: Dominant Second Half Leads Tar Heels By Kansas, 87-74
Saturday, November 08
UNC Field Hockey: Carolina Wins Ninth Straight ACC Championship
Saturday, November 08