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University of North Carolina Athletics
Cormac Ryan
Photo by: ANTHONY SORBELLINI
UNC-Radford Postgame Quotes
November 6, 2023 | Men's Basketball
Press Conference Transcript
Nov. 6, 2023
Chapel Hill, N.C.
North Carolina: 86, Radford 70
North Carolina Head Coach Hubert Davis
On the shooting ability:
"We have guys that can consistently make shots from the outside and what that does is it gives us spacing to be able to throw the ball into the post. It gives us spacing to be able to penetrate and get to the basket."
On the depth:
"We've got 11 starters. Guys can come in at any time and contribute and not only can contribute but can make impactful plays on both ends of the floor to give us a chance to be the best team that we can possibly become."
On the chemistry:
"Chemistry and togetherness is not indicative of whether it's a sunny day with no wind and no rain.You're either together or you're not. So whether it's a sunny day or a rainy day, whether you're up or behind. That doesn't matter."
On Armando Bacot:
"One of the things I really love about Armando is that he has the ability to move his feet so that he can guard the perimeter. There were a number of times in the game where he was matched up against a guard and forced them into a tough three."
On his uncle, Walter Davis:
"I told the team that the reason I'm here is because of Uncle Walt. I don't get a scholarship, I don't get a chance to go here without Uncle Walt. And so because of that everything significant in my life has happened because of Uncle Walt. I told the team 'Uncle Walt has given me a number of gifts and that was one of the gifts that he has given me. You guys have been given a gift as well. You guys have been given the gift of still being able to play with this uniform on and to run out of that tunnel and play on that floor and play together as a team. So what are you going to do with this gift?'"
RJ Davis
On Carolina's ball movement:
"We are just willing to move the ball. I'm open. Cormac is open. Paxson is open. We are all willing to make the next play and look out for each other."
On his last first home game:
"It felt great. Just to come out and play in front of the best fans ever as a senior and cherish my last first home game."
On making second half-adjustments:
"We took care of the ball. I know in the first half we allowed a lot of turnovers, a lot of silly ones. We just learned from our defense as well. Just talking early on the ball screen and being in rotation got better in the second half. We are going to grow as a team and we have a lot of experience, maturity, and a lot of talented players."
Armando Bacot
On improving in the second half
"I think our confidence never waivered. We knew they were a great team, they won 21 games last year. I knew they were going to come in on fire and hit shots early. We really just had to settle in. It was all of our first games. I mean I was tired as crap in the first half. I think we all were tired, and just getting those jitters out, playing in front of 20,000 people for what was for some of us their first time. I think in the second half we stayed together and just stuck to the game plan. We knew we would wear them out eventually."
On playing well in the first game of the season:
"This is my year and this is our year. I knew I had to go out playing hard and really set the tone, because it really starts with me. Going in I knew I wanted to have a big game. And like I said, they are undersized, so I had to go in early and set the tone to open up the floor for everybody."
On what he liked from today's performance:
"We want to defend at a high rate and get a lot of turnovers. Not turn the ball over as much as we did in the first half. But in the second half, we only had three turnovers. We dominated the ball and dominated the paint with points and rebounds."
Cormac Ryan
On translating skills in practice to games:
"I think we did a good job sharing the ball. We had a couple of turnovers but once you kind of reigned it in a little bit, Elliot did a great job finding guys, RJ had a great job, Armando was passing in the post well, Harrison was moving the ball really well. Getting out and running and sharing the ball, I think we did a great job."
On Armando Bacot having 25pts, 13 rebounds:
"That's what he does. Armando Bacot is the best big in the country, I don't think that's a crazy hot take. I think that's pretty well known. He's our guy, we are going to keep feeding him especially against teams that are undersized. That's a great weapon for us."
On Carolina's fans:
"It's definitely better playing for them than against them."
On pregame nerves:
"This was my 117th game played. The nerves are out the window now."
Paxson Wojcik
On Radford:
"I want to give a lot of credit to their guards, they made some tough shots. Shots that we were ok giving up. They made them. Towards the end of the game they stopped falling. They have great guards. That is a really good basketball team."
Harrison Ingram
On Team Performance and Further Improvements:
"I think we are a championship caliber team."
On the team having 18 assists on the night:
"We're all IQ players. Elliot is one of the best passers that I have ever seen, Cormac is a shooter but also a good passer, Armando can pass, R.J. can pass, and I can pass. I feel like it is a lot of playing together and enjoying each other off the court."
Elliot Cadeau
On Coming Off the Bench and RJ:
"It was an adjustment for me coming off the bench, I've never really done that before and so it was an adjustment… I'm looking at everything. Like how the ball screen is being guarded, when RJ is doing well, when RJ is struggling, I try to learn from him because he plays my position out there and I'm just looking at him most of the time."
On His First College Game:
"It was really different - I've never played in front of a crowd like this and I've never even played in front of a student section before. It's kind of different and it was really exciting."
On seeing the intro video:
"It's just crazy, it's just something we've dreamed about as kids. Every kid wants to play at UNC. It's just crazy to have your face up there."
Radford Head Coach Darris Nichols
The first 30 minutes versus the second 30 minutes
"I think guys ran out of gas. Guys were missing shots. Defensively, one on one defense towards the end and you know guys get tired and not getting there as much as they were earlier on."
On containing Armando Bacot:
"You know two of our bigger front court guys down. I remember recruiting Armando when I was at Florida. Seeing how much better he has gotten over the years. We knew he was going to be a mismatch for us."
The biggest takeaway from the game:
"How much better we have gotten since the exhibition game, but how much better we can be over the course of the season. Playing against Carolina. The amount of times we were in the game, how do you sustain that? That's the biggest question."
Nov. 6, 2023
Chapel Hill, N.C.
North Carolina: 86, Radford 70
North Carolina Head Coach Hubert Davis
On the shooting ability:
"We have guys that can consistently make shots from the outside and what that does is it gives us spacing to be able to throw the ball into the post. It gives us spacing to be able to penetrate and get to the basket."
On the depth:
"We've got 11 starters. Guys can come in at any time and contribute and not only can contribute but can make impactful plays on both ends of the floor to give us a chance to be the best team that we can possibly become."
On the chemistry:
"Chemistry and togetherness is not indicative of whether it's a sunny day with no wind and no rain.You're either together or you're not. So whether it's a sunny day or a rainy day, whether you're up or behind. That doesn't matter."
On Armando Bacot:
"One of the things I really love about Armando is that he has the ability to move his feet so that he can guard the perimeter. There were a number of times in the game where he was matched up against a guard and forced them into a tough three."
On his uncle, Walter Davis:
"I told the team that the reason I'm here is because of Uncle Walt. I don't get a scholarship, I don't get a chance to go here without Uncle Walt. And so because of that everything significant in my life has happened because of Uncle Walt. I told the team 'Uncle Walt has given me a number of gifts and that was one of the gifts that he has given me. You guys have been given a gift as well. You guys have been given the gift of still being able to play with this uniform on and to run out of that tunnel and play on that floor and play together as a team. So what are you going to do with this gift?'"
RJ Davis
On Carolina's ball movement:
"We are just willing to move the ball. I'm open. Cormac is open. Paxson is open. We are all willing to make the next play and look out for each other."
On his last first home game:
"It felt great. Just to come out and play in front of the best fans ever as a senior and cherish my last first home game."
On making second half-adjustments:
"We took care of the ball. I know in the first half we allowed a lot of turnovers, a lot of silly ones. We just learned from our defense as well. Just talking early on the ball screen and being in rotation got better in the second half. We are going to grow as a team and we have a lot of experience, maturity, and a lot of talented players."
Armando Bacot
On improving in the second half
"I think our confidence never waivered. We knew they were a great team, they won 21 games last year. I knew they were going to come in on fire and hit shots early. We really just had to settle in. It was all of our first games. I mean I was tired as crap in the first half. I think we all were tired, and just getting those jitters out, playing in front of 20,000 people for what was for some of us their first time. I think in the second half we stayed together and just stuck to the game plan. We knew we would wear them out eventually."
On playing well in the first game of the season:
"This is my year and this is our year. I knew I had to go out playing hard and really set the tone, because it really starts with me. Going in I knew I wanted to have a big game. And like I said, they are undersized, so I had to go in early and set the tone to open up the floor for everybody."
On what he liked from today's performance:
"We want to defend at a high rate and get a lot of turnovers. Not turn the ball over as much as we did in the first half. But in the second half, we only had three turnovers. We dominated the ball and dominated the paint with points and rebounds."
Cormac Ryan
On translating skills in practice to games:
"I think we did a good job sharing the ball. We had a couple of turnovers but once you kind of reigned it in a little bit, Elliot did a great job finding guys, RJ had a great job, Armando was passing in the post well, Harrison was moving the ball really well. Getting out and running and sharing the ball, I think we did a great job."
On Armando Bacot having 25pts, 13 rebounds:
"That's what he does. Armando Bacot is the best big in the country, I don't think that's a crazy hot take. I think that's pretty well known. He's our guy, we are going to keep feeding him especially against teams that are undersized. That's a great weapon for us."
On Carolina's fans:
"It's definitely better playing for them than against them."
On pregame nerves:
"This was my 117th game played. The nerves are out the window now."
Paxson Wojcik
On Radford:
"I want to give a lot of credit to their guards, they made some tough shots. Shots that we were ok giving up. They made them. Towards the end of the game they stopped falling. They have great guards. That is a really good basketball team."
Harrison Ingram
On Team Performance and Further Improvements:
"I think we are a championship caliber team."
On the team having 18 assists on the night:
"We're all IQ players. Elliot is one of the best passers that I have ever seen, Cormac is a shooter but also a good passer, Armando can pass, R.J. can pass, and I can pass. I feel like it is a lot of playing together and enjoying each other off the court."
Elliot Cadeau
On Coming Off the Bench and RJ:
"It was an adjustment for me coming off the bench, I've never really done that before and so it was an adjustment… I'm looking at everything. Like how the ball screen is being guarded, when RJ is doing well, when RJ is struggling, I try to learn from him because he plays my position out there and I'm just looking at him most of the time."
On His First College Game:
"It was really different - I've never played in front of a crowd like this and I've never even played in front of a student section before. It's kind of different and it was really exciting."
On seeing the intro video:
"It's just crazy, it's just something we've dreamed about as kids. Every kid wants to play at UNC. It's just crazy to have your face up there."
Radford Head Coach Darris Nichols
The first 30 minutes versus the second 30 minutes
"I think guys ran out of gas. Guys were missing shots. Defensively, one on one defense towards the end and you know guys get tired and not getting there as much as they were earlier on."
On containing Armando Bacot:
"You know two of our bigger front court guys down. I remember recruiting Armando when I was at Florida. Seeing how much better he has gotten over the years. We knew he was going to be a mismatch for us."
The biggest takeaway from the game:
"How much better we have gotten since the exhibition game, but how much better we can be over the course of the season. Playing against Carolina. The amount of times we were in the game, how do you sustain that? That's the biggest question."
Players Mentioned
F/C
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
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