University of North Carolina Athletics
Armando Bacot
Photo by: Jerome M. Ibrahim
UNC-Clemson Postgame Quotes
February 11, 2023 | Men's Basketball
Press Conference Transcription vs Clemson
Feb. 11, 2023
Chapel Hill, N.C.
North Carolina 91 - Clemson 71
Coach Hubert Davis
Q: Coach, how do you bottle up that performance? Moving forward, maintaining consistency with this play today?
A:Well, first, I think the important thing is to enjoy today. You know, I was emotional during the game and after the game because they were playing with the sense of joyfulness, and you just see it in the way that they were playing. And it wasn't just for when personally they made their play it was also when one of their teammates made a play. They were just as or even more excited and happy and joyful for their teammates. I just think it's always a wonderful, beautiful trait to be able to celebrate other people's success. It really translated into how we shared the basketball that we had 17 assists. I thought it translated to us defensively, how I felt like we were really good defensively. And it'd be nice if we could bottle it up. But I'm just very thankful I told them to enjoy today. It was it was fun to have a front row seat to see them do that. And tomorrow we'll start our preparation on getting ready for a really really good Miami team.
Q:The response we've seen since the Wake [Forest] game, a lot of it seems player led, whether it be you know what Armando Bacot said to the team after that game, and then RJ [Davis] told us he led a players-only meeting, what does all that do for you just see your players respond like they have to that loss at Wake [Forest]?
A: It doesn't surprise me at all. We are a team. This is a program. I mean, we're in this together. All year I've talked to them about a hunger and thirst. I've talked to them about discipline and details all year, I've talked to them having a love for the game and for your teammates and for the themselves. And also yesterday at practice, at times, I made, some of the guys put them on a 15 pound heavy vest. And so throughout all of practice, they were trying to figure out why I was singling out certain players to practice with a 15 pound weighted vest. So as I told you before, one of the things that I do is I required guys to stop by the office in the summer at least three times during the year, because of school and stuff at least once. So they thought that these guys forgot to stop by the office. Like 'what's up with the weighted vest?' And I told them, This is what we're playing with. I said you got to put that stuff down. I said all the noise from the phone, the family, the friends, the fans just just put the weight down and I said I would like you to play a game without this weighted vest and just allow you to be able to play freely and having fun and so the guys have met a number of times since we played Wake Forest and it showed in the way that they played together today.
Q: You speak so often about the consistency of your message to them. This was a little bit of a different tactic. Was the other night sort of the final straw you realized you had to do something different perhaps?
A: I think that's consistent. I don't see that message being different because you come at it a little different direction. But the message has always been consistent. Our closeness our togetherness, our team, and focusing on this year's team to see how good we can become.
Q: How much does a healthy Puff Johnson, giving you what he gave you the last two games now, add to this team kind of element does that give you?
A:Well, it's huge. I mean, because you know Puff [Johnson], because of his size, he's versatile. So he can play the small forward, power forward position. He's a guy that can stretch the floor he can rebound. He's an excellent offensive rebounder. Also, when he gets a defensive rebound, he has the ability to bring up the ball and be able to make a play. And so having him in the lineup and being able to plug him in many different ways. It's huge. And so it hurts us when Puff [Johnson] is out of the rotation or he's injured. But when he's healthy, and he's able to play he gives us you know, he gives us some really good minutes coming up.
Clemson Coach Brad Brownell
Opening Statement: Congratulations to those guys, Hubert [Davis], staff, and their team. They just played great today. We knew today they were going to be highly motivated and on point and play with great energy and togetherness. And they did. They shot the fire out of the ball, which always helps. I need to look at what we did defensively, we weren't very good. And some of that's gotta be my fault. So I've got to do better with that. I didn't think we played poorly in the first half. But in the second half, we did not play well. They came out and started well, and we just we got out of character. We've got a little individualistic, tried to do too much one-on-one and just did not play very well. And it's no ball on us. And, again, credit to Hubert and his team, they just were on point played with a lot of confidence. And when you get a lead like that, and you're up 12, 15, most of the day, it's easier to play well and to make it hard on somebody and they certainly made it really hard on us today. Congratulations to them.
Q: You talked about how you'll have to look at it again, after the fact. But of course, they were hot from the arc. Did you see anything in your rotations that might give you any leeway to what happened?
A: You know, when they're shooting it like that, I mean, when Caleb [Love] was coming off handoffs and ball screens and jumping up at 22 feet, and shooting them in. It's a hard cover. They made some high level shots. I think there were a couple of times they got past us, behind us. We got a couple of rotations. Obviously, we tried to trap, Armando [Bacot], he's just such a good player and a physical presence. And we knew that like hey, they're gonna they're gonna try to get the ball to him someday. And you know, the honest with you, I was trying to protect PJ [Hall] I didn't want it to be a foul deal. And maybe one or maybe one or two out of that. I don't think that was the be all end all though. I think there were a couple of times we over helped, you know, just gave them some rhythm shots that he came in, and they made some some high level plays as well.
Q: Can you elaborate on the challenge that [Armando] Bacot presents on defense, especially given the 11 second chance points for UNC?
A: I mean, he's probably the best offensive rebounder in the country. He's big and strong and he's got quick feet to spin off of you, and he's experienced. He's seen everything now. He's been in the league. He's been double teamed. He's he's been single coverage. I think he does a nice job and transition trying to single early and get good position. And then, you know, it works well when they're in some of their balls great stuff. You know, you're a big man is helping. And so then they're moving the ball and now your guy's in a position to where he's got to go recover to eliminate and that's not easy.
Caleb Love
Q: What were the last couple of days like leading up to this?
A: We took that L at Wake Forest, and we had a long talk after the game. We also had another players-only meeting. I feel like we addressed things that we need to work on, things that was holding us back. I feel like once we did that, we cleared the air and had a different mindset coming into practice the next day. Coming into this game we felt great because we had two good practices. We want to play hard, play smart, and play together.
Q: Did you feel like you guys kinda had to hit a low like Wake Forest to finally click in?
A: I feel like everything happens for a reason. We probably did need that, for us to hit rock bottom, to feel what we were feeling, address certain problems that needed to be addressed. I feel like it worked out for the best and we just gotta build off this win.
Armando Bacot:
On "bottling up this performance":
"Pray. I mean, I'm just praying that we can put this together for the rest of the season and hopefully it can carry on. Because, I mean, Clemson, they're a good team, they shoot the ball extremely well and they defend. And it's hard to beat a team like that, but, we beat them pretty badly."
On the couple days of practice post-Wake Forest:
"I don't even think it's anything really like in terms of practicing, it's more of just our mindset and really just honing in on what the coaches have been teaching us and being locked in on those principles. I mean, we got the talent but like I said, we'll have some great days of practice and go out there and not translate that. But, I thought today we did a good job of translating that, I mean, the reality is like, our back is against the wall. Our only choice is to fight out."
On the team's improved performance:
"I think it was huge step. I thought today we really played with each other and played for each other. I think we really had a lot of fun out there today. I mean, we were connected and we were talking to each other. But like I said after the Wake game, we had a lot of talks and we kinda did some soul searching; I think that really helped us."
On playing Miami on a quick turnaround:
"I mean, if I could play a game everyday I would. So I think it's great that we get to go out there and play it. I mean, we've got another big-time matchup with Miami. A lot of great guards, and I mean they can really drive the ball, they've got everything. So really we just gotta come more focused in and lock down on defense like we did today."
RJ Davis
Q: How would you describe Caleb Love's performance?
A: I loved it. His ability to score on a high clip, to take the side step he needs for him to score. That's something that's great to see.
Q: How does it feel to respond with a statement win today?
A: I mean it feels great. You are going to have doubters your whole life, you are going to have haters. People try and breed narratives and opinions. Just to know that and go out there and have a statement win feels good on our side. We just have to keep it up.
Puff Johnson:
On remaining consistent:
"We just got to take it one game at a time, that's what we were preaching, that we've got to take it one game at a time one step at a time. Like we said in the locker room we've gotta build off of this and this has gotta be a stepping block for our next. And we just have to get ready for our next game on Monday."
On how coming back to the Smith Center helped the team's performance:
"It's a big first step just because we got to come back home and we played two road games. Just coming back home to our fans, the best fans in the country, they just rallied us and it was great. It was a good game to build off of and we have another home one on Monday. It's a good one to build off of, just keep on getting ready for each and every game."
Feb. 11, 2023
Chapel Hill, N.C.
North Carolina 91 - Clemson 71
Coach Hubert Davis
Q: Coach, how do you bottle up that performance? Moving forward, maintaining consistency with this play today?
A:Well, first, I think the important thing is to enjoy today. You know, I was emotional during the game and after the game because they were playing with the sense of joyfulness, and you just see it in the way that they were playing. And it wasn't just for when personally they made their play it was also when one of their teammates made a play. They were just as or even more excited and happy and joyful for their teammates. I just think it's always a wonderful, beautiful trait to be able to celebrate other people's success. It really translated into how we shared the basketball that we had 17 assists. I thought it translated to us defensively, how I felt like we were really good defensively. And it'd be nice if we could bottle it up. But I'm just very thankful I told them to enjoy today. It was it was fun to have a front row seat to see them do that. And tomorrow we'll start our preparation on getting ready for a really really good Miami team.
Q:The response we've seen since the Wake [Forest] game, a lot of it seems player led, whether it be you know what Armando Bacot said to the team after that game, and then RJ [Davis] told us he led a players-only meeting, what does all that do for you just see your players respond like they have to that loss at Wake [Forest]?
A: It doesn't surprise me at all. We are a team. This is a program. I mean, we're in this together. All year I've talked to them about a hunger and thirst. I've talked to them about discipline and details all year, I've talked to them having a love for the game and for your teammates and for the themselves. And also yesterday at practice, at times, I made, some of the guys put them on a 15 pound heavy vest. And so throughout all of practice, they were trying to figure out why I was singling out certain players to practice with a 15 pound weighted vest. So as I told you before, one of the things that I do is I required guys to stop by the office in the summer at least three times during the year, because of school and stuff at least once. So they thought that these guys forgot to stop by the office. Like 'what's up with the weighted vest?' And I told them, This is what we're playing with. I said you got to put that stuff down. I said all the noise from the phone, the family, the friends, the fans just just put the weight down and I said I would like you to play a game without this weighted vest and just allow you to be able to play freely and having fun and so the guys have met a number of times since we played Wake Forest and it showed in the way that they played together today.
Q: You speak so often about the consistency of your message to them. This was a little bit of a different tactic. Was the other night sort of the final straw you realized you had to do something different perhaps?
A: I think that's consistent. I don't see that message being different because you come at it a little different direction. But the message has always been consistent. Our closeness our togetherness, our team, and focusing on this year's team to see how good we can become.
Q: How much does a healthy Puff Johnson, giving you what he gave you the last two games now, add to this team kind of element does that give you?
A:Well, it's huge. I mean, because you know Puff [Johnson], because of his size, he's versatile. So he can play the small forward, power forward position. He's a guy that can stretch the floor he can rebound. He's an excellent offensive rebounder. Also, when he gets a defensive rebound, he has the ability to bring up the ball and be able to make a play. And so having him in the lineup and being able to plug him in many different ways. It's huge. And so it hurts us when Puff [Johnson] is out of the rotation or he's injured. But when he's healthy, and he's able to play he gives us you know, he gives us some really good minutes coming up.
Clemson Coach Brad Brownell
Opening Statement: Congratulations to those guys, Hubert [Davis], staff, and their team. They just played great today. We knew today they were going to be highly motivated and on point and play with great energy and togetherness. And they did. They shot the fire out of the ball, which always helps. I need to look at what we did defensively, we weren't very good. And some of that's gotta be my fault. So I've got to do better with that. I didn't think we played poorly in the first half. But in the second half, we did not play well. They came out and started well, and we just we got out of character. We've got a little individualistic, tried to do too much one-on-one and just did not play very well. And it's no ball on us. And, again, credit to Hubert and his team, they just were on point played with a lot of confidence. And when you get a lead like that, and you're up 12, 15, most of the day, it's easier to play well and to make it hard on somebody and they certainly made it really hard on us today. Congratulations to them.
Q: You talked about how you'll have to look at it again, after the fact. But of course, they were hot from the arc. Did you see anything in your rotations that might give you any leeway to what happened?
A: You know, when they're shooting it like that, I mean, when Caleb [Love] was coming off handoffs and ball screens and jumping up at 22 feet, and shooting them in. It's a hard cover. They made some high level shots. I think there were a couple of times they got past us, behind us. We got a couple of rotations. Obviously, we tried to trap, Armando [Bacot], he's just such a good player and a physical presence. And we knew that like hey, they're gonna they're gonna try to get the ball to him someday. And you know, the honest with you, I was trying to protect PJ [Hall] I didn't want it to be a foul deal. And maybe one or maybe one or two out of that. I don't think that was the be all end all though. I think there were a couple of times we over helped, you know, just gave them some rhythm shots that he came in, and they made some some high level plays as well.
Q: Can you elaborate on the challenge that [Armando] Bacot presents on defense, especially given the 11 second chance points for UNC?
A: I mean, he's probably the best offensive rebounder in the country. He's big and strong and he's got quick feet to spin off of you, and he's experienced. He's seen everything now. He's been in the league. He's been double teamed. He's he's been single coverage. I think he does a nice job and transition trying to single early and get good position. And then, you know, it works well when they're in some of their balls great stuff. You know, you're a big man is helping. And so then they're moving the ball and now your guy's in a position to where he's got to go recover to eliminate and that's not easy.
Caleb Love
Q: What were the last couple of days like leading up to this?
A: We took that L at Wake Forest, and we had a long talk after the game. We also had another players-only meeting. I feel like we addressed things that we need to work on, things that was holding us back. I feel like once we did that, we cleared the air and had a different mindset coming into practice the next day. Coming into this game we felt great because we had two good practices. We want to play hard, play smart, and play together.
Q: Did you feel like you guys kinda had to hit a low like Wake Forest to finally click in?
A: I feel like everything happens for a reason. We probably did need that, for us to hit rock bottom, to feel what we were feeling, address certain problems that needed to be addressed. I feel like it worked out for the best and we just gotta build off this win.
Armando Bacot:
On "bottling up this performance":
"Pray. I mean, I'm just praying that we can put this together for the rest of the season and hopefully it can carry on. Because, I mean, Clemson, they're a good team, they shoot the ball extremely well and they defend. And it's hard to beat a team like that, but, we beat them pretty badly."
On the couple days of practice post-Wake Forest:
"I don't even think it's anything really like in terms of practicing, it's more of just our mindset and really just honing in on what the coaches have been teaching us and being locked in on those principles. I mean, we got the talent but like I said, we'll have some great days of practice and go out there and not translate that. But, I thought today we did a good job of translating that, I mean, the reality is like, our back is against the wall. Our only choice is to fight out."
On the team's improved performance:
"I think it was huge step. I thought today we really played with each other and played for each other. I think we really had a lot of fun out there today. I mean, we were connected and we were talking to each other. But like I said after the Wake game, we had a lot of talks and we kinda did some soul searching; I think that really helped us."
On playing Miami on a quick turnaround:
"I mean, if I could play a game everyday I would. So I think it's great that we get to go out there and play it. I mean, we've got another big-time matchup with Miami. A lot of great guards, and I mean they can really drive the ball, they've got everything. So really we just gotta come more focused in and lock down on defense like we did today."
RJ Davis
Q: How would you describe Caleb Love's performance?
A: I loved it. His ability to score on a high clip, to take the side step he needs for him to score. That's something that's great to see.
Q: How does it feel to respond with a statement win today?
A: I mean it feels great. You are going to have doubters your whole life, you are going to have haters. People try and breed narratives and opinions. Just to know that and go out there and have a statement win feels good on our side. We just have to keep it up.
Puff Johnson:
On remaining consistent:
"We just got to take it one game at a time, that's what we were preaching, that we've got to take it one game at a time one step at a time. Like we said in the locker room we've gotta build off of this and this has gotta be a stepping block for our next. And we just have to get ready for our next game on Monday."
On how coming back to the Smith Center helped the team's performance:
"It's a big first step just because we got to come back home and we played two road games. Just coming back home to our fans, the best fans in the country, they just rallied us and it was great. It was a good game to build off of and we have another home one on Monday. It's a good one to build off of, just keep on getting ready for each and every game."
Players Mentioned
F/C
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G
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