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University of North Carolina Athletics
Hubert Davis
Photo by: ANTHONY SORBELLINI
UNC-Louisville Postgame Quotes
January 18, 2024 | Men's Basketball
Postgame Quotes
Jan. 17, 2024
Chapel Hill, N.C.
North Carolina: 86, Syracuse: 70
Head coach Hubert Davis
On Jae'Lyn Withers
"I thought his activity on the defensive end and his athleticism, being able to guard multiple players, and rebounding the basketball were impressive. He was able to score around the basket, get to the free throw line, and make free throws. We don't win this game without J-Wit (Jae'Lyn Withers). He was fantastic. We needed him to have his best game of the season and I'm just really happy and really proud of him."
On responding to Louisville's run
"The only thing you really have control over is how you react and respond. So when they cut it to five, I loved how we reacted and we responded. We got stops and didn't put them on the free throw line. We rebounded the basketball. We got good shots on the offensive end and got to the free throw line and got into the penalty. And we played the type of basketball that got us the 18-point lead in the first half, and then we were able to extend the lead and come away with the win."
On coaching this group
"I love working with the kids. I love the school and I love the opportunity to be in a position to help these kids be the best that they can be on the court and in the classroom. It's something that I've enjoyed whether I've been an assistant coach or a head coach. But, I think there's always growth in anything that you do and you become more comfortable at it in terms of ways to get better. I've always said that the best place to be is in a position of listening and learning and I've been that way for two and a half years. Whether it's as a player or an announcer or an assistant coach or a head coach, I've never felt like I've arrived or been there. I feel like I can always grow and learn and I'm in that position right now continuing to grow as a head coach."
Armando Bacot
On the performance of Jae'Lyn Withers:
"It was huge for him. I told him today I was gonna do a lot of boxing out and letting him get rebounds. If y'all wonder why I didn't get a double-double that is why. I could have easily gotten a double-double. That's why I got on him on the last few possessions where they got these rebounds. I'm boxing out, I could get the rebound. But I'm trying to make sure he gets as many rebounds and plays as best he can against his old team. I was hype for him. I thought he played great today. I mean I think he's been playing great the last two to three games. It's huge for us having a guy like him because he does the things a lot of people on our team can't do. Him playing great is going to take us to the next level."
On first- versus second-half performances
"I thought in the first half we did a great job of defending and I thought in the second half we kind of got away from it a little bit. It's conference play, it gets ugly at times. When they cut it to five we responded, so I'm happy with that. We just had to get back to our principles. I thought in the second half they did a great job of taking us one on one, we didn't really defend well, so coach called a time out. We talked about it and said we were going to put our foot down. I think that's what led to us going on that second half run."
RJ Davis
On Louisville's second half performance:
"I told them I wanted to be up by 30 points going into halftime. I think we got a little too comfortable. We have to do a better job of sustaining our lead, confidence, and energy."
"Basketball is a game of runs. Things happen, you get tired, and then you look up at the score, and it's a five-point game."
On team confidence and identity:
"Something about this team is just having a chip on our shoulder, it doesn't matter who we play, we're just gonna go out there and get these kinds of great wins. We have been doing a good job of knowing our identity and I think we know our identity this season. We just have to continue to do the things that make us great. All of the little things that don't show up in the stat sheet."
Jae'Lyn Withers
On impressive performance against his former team:
"It was great. I think the nerves were a little on edge at first, but then as the game went on I was joking around with them. The ball started to go in and played good defense. We got out of that tight game we were in after halftime and then the nerves were not there anymore."
On Louisville's early second half run:
"I know KP (Kenny Payne) instills that dog fight mentality in everybody. I knew it wasn't going to be easy. I knew it was going to be a dog fight. I was trying to tell everybody that before the game, too."
On what he has learned from Armando this year:
"A whole lot. How to be greedy down low and how to bully everybody. I take a little bit of footwork from him as well. As he is really good at getting positioning for rebounds and I have taken some of that."
On if this was a special or normal performance:
"It was definitely special. It was great, not only to have my first double-double as a Tar Heel but to have that against my former team. I think that alone says it all."
Cormac Ryan
On starting the game with energy:
"They made some tough shots and we made a few costly defensive mistakes, especially right out of the gate. I think we came out a little bit lackadaisical… which is something that hasn't been the case in the past couple games. It's important to come out and play with energy especially after halftime."
On shooting the three ball well:
"It felt great, a couple shots went down and I'm glad we shot well to the end to win this game."
On advanced rankings and ratings:
"I am a smart guy, but I don't know anything about these algorithms, and frankly, I'm not looking to find out about them. All I'm worried about is winning these basketball games and playing the way we know how to play. If we do that, these rankings and ratings will take care of themselves."
On Louisville's early second half performance:
"That's a great basketball team. They've got talent. We need to continue to work on staying hungry and staying active defensively to not have those let downs… I know everyone on the team takes the defensive end personally and we take a lot of accountability for that. They came out and shot 90% from the field for the first 10 or so minutes and that's unacceptable."
Louisville Head Coach Kenny Payne
Opening Statement:
"I felt like we played one of the premium programs in the country. They've got great players all over the court, and the difference is they play for each other and they play to win. Any time we were a step off, they burned us. They dominated us on the boards. We had our hands on balls and we didn't come up with them. They are a team that could easily win a championship this year. We knew that coming in. We knew we had to play lights out to come in here and get a win. I thought we played hard. I thought we fought, but there are no good efforts and moral victories with this program that I'm at. I want to win games and I want these guys in that jersey to know what it feels like to go into North Carolina and really win a game."
Jan. 17, 2024
Chapel Hill, N.C.
North Carolina: 86, Syracuse: 70
Head coach Hubert Davis
On Jae'Lyn Withers
"I thought his activity on the defensive end and his athleticism, being able to guard multiple players, and rebounding the basketball were impressive. He was able to score around the basket, get to the free throw line, and make free throws. We don't win this game without J-Wit (Jae'Lyn Withers). He was fantastic. We needed him to have his best game of the season and I'm just really happy and really proud of him."
On responding to Louisville's run
"The only thing you really have control over is how you react and respond. So when they cut it to five, I loved how we reacted and we responded. We got stops and didn't put them on the free throw line. We rebounded the basketball. We got good shots on the offensive end and got to the free throw line and got into the penalty. And we played the type of basketball that got us the 18-point lead in the first half, and then we were able to extend the lead and come away with the win."
On coaching this group
"I love working with the kids. I love the school and I love the opportunity to be in a position to help these kids be the best that they can be on the court and in the classroom. It's something that I've enjoyed whether I've been an assistant coach or a head coach. But, I think there's always growth in anything that you do and you become more comfortable at it in terms of ways to get better. I've always said that the best place to be is in a position of listening and learning and I've been that way for two and a half years. Whether it's as a player or an announcer or an assistant coach or a head coach, I've never felt like I've arrived or been there. I feel like I can always grow and learn and I'm in that position right now continuing to grow as a head coach."
Armando Bacot
On the performance of Jae'Lyn Withers:
"It was huge for him. I told him today I was gonna do a lot of boxing out and letting him get rebounds. If y'all wonder why I didn't get a double-double that is why. I could have easily gotten a double-double. That's why I got on him on the last few possessions where they got these rebounds. I'm boxing out, I could get the rebound. But I'm trying to make sure he gets as many rebounds and plays as best he can against his old team. I was hype for him. I thought he played great today. I mean I think he's been playing great the last two to three games. It's huge for us having a guy like him because he does the things a lot of people on our team can't do. Him playing great is going to take us to the next level."
On first- versus second-half performances
"I thought in the first half we did a great job of defending and I thought in the second half we kind of got away from it a little bit. It's conference play, it gets ugly at times. When they cut it to five we responded, so I'm happy with that. We just had to get back to our principles. I thought in the second half they did a great job of taking us one on one, we didn't really defend well, so coach called a time out. We talked about it and said we were going to put our foot down. I think that's what led to us going on that second half run."
RJ Davis
On Louisville's second half performance:
"I told them I wanted to be up by 30 points going into halftime. I think we got a little too comfortable. We have to do a better job of sustaining our lead, confidence, and energy."
"Basketball is a game of runs. Things happen, you get tired, and then you look up at the score, and it's a five-point game."
On team confidence and identity:
"Something about this team is just having a chip on our shoulder, it doesn't matter who we play, we're just gonna go out there and get these kinds of great wins. We have been doing a good job of knowing our identity and I think we know our identity this season. We just have to continue to do the things that make us great. All of the little things that don't show up in the stat sheet."
Jae'Lyn Withers
On impressive performance against his former team:
"It was great. I think the nerves were a little on edge at first, but then as the game went on I was joking around with them. The ball started to go in and played good defense. We got out of that tight game we were in after halftime and then the nerves were not there anymore."
On Louisville's early second half run:
"I know KP (Kenny Payne) instills that dog fight mentality in everybody. I knew it wasn't going to be easy. I knew it was going to be a dog fight. I was trying to tell everybody that before the game, too."
On what he has learned from Armando this year:
"A whole lot. How to be greedy down low and how to bully everybody. I take a little bit of footwork from him as well. As he is really good at getting positioning for rebounds and I have taken some of that."
On if this was a special or normal performance:
"It was definitely special. It was great, not only to have my first double-double as a Tar Heel but to have that against my former team. I think that alone says it all."
Cormac Ryan
On starting the game with energy:
"They made some tough shots and we made a few costly defensive mistakes, especially right out of the gate. I think we came out a little bit lackadaisical… which is something that hasn't been the case in the past couple games. It's important to come out and play with energy especially after halftime."
On shooting the three ball well:
"It felt great, a couple shots went down and I'm glad we shot well to the end to win this game."
On advanced rankings and ratings:
"I am a smart guy, but I don't know anything about these algorithms, and frankly, I'm not looking to find out about them. All I'm worried about is winning these basketball games and playing the way we know how to play. If we do that, these rankings and ratings will take care of themselves."
On Louisville's early second half performance:
"That's a great basketball team. They've got talent. We need to continue to work on staying hungry and staying active defensively to not have those let downs… I know everyone on the team takes the defensive end personally and we take a lot of accountability for that. They came out and shot 90% from the field for the first 10 or so minutes and that's unacceptable."
Louisville Head Coach Kenny Payne
Opening Statement:
"I felt like we played one of the premium programs in the country. They've got great players all over the court, and the difference is they play for each other and they play to win. Any time we were a step off, they burned us. They dominated us on the boards. We had our hands on balls and we didn't come up with them. They are a team that could easily win a championship this year. We knew that coming in. We knew we had to play lights out to come in here and get a win. I thought we played hard. I thought we fought, but there are no good efforts and moral victories with this program that I'm at. I want to win games and I want these guys in that jersey to know what it feels like to go into North Carolina and really win a game."
Players Mentioned
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