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University of North Carolina Athletics
Jae'Lyn Withers
Photo by: ANTHONY SORBELLINI
UNC-Wake Forest Postgame Quotes
January 22, 2024 | Men's Basketball
UNC Men's Basketball Postgame Quotes
Jan. 22, 2024
Chapel Hill, N.C.
North Carolina 85, Wake Forest: 64
UNC head coach Hubert Davis
On RJ Davis' performance:
"We need that from RJ every game. He's been that in practice. He plays that way in preparation for a game. He has an incredible ability to do a lot of things, especially scoring. He can score with the ball, he can move off the ball, he has a great ability to score at the rim. He was able to get to that midrange."
On the halftime adjustments:
"I challenged them at halftime. I felt like we were getting good shots. In the second half I felt like defensively they were making defensive mistakes that allowed for us to be able to score and I challenged them at halftime to step it up defensively and they did."
On the transition game:
"We were really good in transition. All five guys were running. We pitched the ball ahead. We've got great spacing so we can get to the basket. We can spray trees. We can hit our bigs in the middle of the post and once we started, that got us going."
On Seth Trimble's defense:
"Seth is our most gifted on-ball defender. He just is with his athleticism and strength. He can pick up full court and make it hard for you to get across half court. He can play on the ball and he can get through screens off the ball."
On seeing the team's growth:
"I see all the hard work and the effort come out in the game. It's like seeing your kids do something and do it well and it gives them a smile on their face."
RJ Davis
What are you feeling when in the zone:
"I feel like I'm in my backyard just out there I think it's like a zone that every hooper knows and it is hard to get out. You don't hear anything, you just see the ball and the basket."
Elliot [Cadeau] and RJ [Davis] conversation when he reached 30:
"He told me, 'You have to get 32,' and I told him, 'I'm trying to get 40.'"
On his 36 point performance:
"The credit is to my teammates. They did a great job of knowing when to find me and vice versa. The chemistry is definitely real for us."
"They were in a drop cover (on the screen), so I was able to get to my spots, whether it was a pull up, floater, or strong to the rim."
"My first two shots I settled for three and Coach Davis told me to work the curl pin down and I was able to get to the rim."
"I was able to get downhill all game."
Breaking Hansborough scoring record (points in a game at Dean Dome):
"It means a lot. Just to know a lot of great players came through here and just to know that I am on that list. I mean all glory to God. I'm super fortunate and grateful for the opportunity and the game I had today."
"Leaving a legacy, not for myself but also for the next generation. I just gotta stay humble and know what got me here."
Harrison Ingram
On RJ Davis' performance:
"It's the same thing we see every day in practice, every game. He is a bucket. I don't know what else to say. Four for eight from three, 14 for 23 (from the field), 37 minutes, zero turnovers. It speaks for itself. He is the guy on our team I know can get a bucket whenever he wants. There is no team that can stop him. It doesn't matter what defense you run. He can hit floaters, he can finish layups, he can shoot three, shoot mid-range, make the right play. I mean he can hit the step back, he can post up a little bit, he has the whole bag. Having a player like that on your team makes it so much easier for me."
On his 14 rebounds:
"For me it's about trying to impact the game in other ways. R.J. has a legendary scoring night with 36, so somebody has to get the rebounds, somebody has to do the dirty work. I'm playing the small ball four for a little bit, so I have to rebound there. Plus, my wrist has been hurting so I haven't been able to shoot the shots I have to shoot. I am just trying to impact the game and stay on the court"
On UNC's historic start to the season:
"One thing I think is special for our team is that 8-0 in the ACC, undefeated at home, and all that stuff doesn't really mean anything at the end of the day. We are trying to win a national championship, trying to win an ACC regular season title. Every game is just one day at a time. So, it's cool to be undefeated at home, cool to be undefeated on the road, cool to be undefeated in the ACC and set records. But at the end of the day, we have Florida State on Saturday so we have to get ready for them."
Elliot Cadeau
On guarding RJ Davis in practice:
"It's a good challenge for me. One of the things I have been getting better at throughout the year is my defense. Having to guard him and every other guard on the team is making me better everyday."
On RJ Davis' performance:
"I think RJ opened the game up for sure. In every aspect. He was driving and his ability to make shots opened the door for everybody. He was just helping in every aspect. RJ does that every day in practice, and basically every game, so it's just normal RJ
On getting open looks today.
"Me and the coaches have been working on me being more aggressive, especially coming off of ball screens. They feel like nobody can stay in front of me. I've just been really aggressive off ball screens and it has opened up everything for me."
Jae'Lyn Withers
On RJ Davis' performance:
"He's a bad boy. He's a bad boy. His last bucket was real cold."
On RJ Davis' work ethic:
"He's the first one in, last one out kind of guy. He is always working with Marcus (Paige) or doing his own workout. He just gets a lot of reps in. A lot of the stuff he did tonight is what he works on almost every morning. His work ethic is extremely high."
Wake Forest Head Coach Steve Forbes
On the North Carolina team and its effort:
"Carolina had a championship effort tonight, especially in the second half. They're one of the best teams in the country and they played like it tonight. I have a lot of respect for their team and their players"
On the RJ Davis:
"RJ Davis is the best player in our league. He proved it tonight."
On Elliot Cadeau:
"I was really impressed with Elliot Cadeau. He was extremely fast with the ball, can't really speed him up. He gets to his spots and he finds people that are wide open."
His thoughts on UNC:
"We got beat by a really good basketball team tonight. They were better than us tonight and they proved it. No question."
On the defensive effort of the Tar Heels:
"They're one of the best defensive teams. They have a better defensive efficiency than offensive efficiency. Credit to Coach Davis to get them to do that."
On RJ Davis' floaters:
"I knew he'd make them. I was hoping he wouldn't make that many. He's an elite player."
Jan. 22, 2024
Chapel Hill, N.C.
North Carolina 85, Wake Forest: 64
UNC head coach Hubert Davis
On RJ Davis' performance:
"We need that from RJ every game. He's been that in practice. He plays that way in preparation for a game. He has an incredible ability to do a lot of things, especially scoring. He can score with the ball, he can move off the ball, he has a great ability to score at the rim. He was able to get to that midrange."
On the halftime adjustments:
"I challenged them at halftime. I felt like we were getting good shots. In the second half I felt like defensively they were making defensive mistakes that allowed for us to be able to score and I challenged them at halftime to step it up defensively and they did."
On the transition game:
"We were really good in transition. All five guys were running. We pitched the ball ahead. We've got great spacing so we can get to the basket. We can spray trees. We can hit our bigs in the middle of the post and once we started, that got us going."
On Seth Trimble's defense:
"Seth is our most gifted on-ball defender. He just is with his athleticism and strength. He can pick up full court and make it hard for you to get across half court. He can play on the ball and he can get through screens off the ball."
On seeing the team's growth:
"I see all the hard work and the effort come out in the game. It's like seeing your kids do something and do it well and it gives them a smile on their face."
RJ Davis
What are you feeling when in the zone:
"I feel like I'm in my backyard just out there I think it's like a zone that every hooper knows and it is hard to get out. You don't hear anything, you just see the ball and the basket."
Elliot [Cadeau] and RJ [Davis] conversation when he reached 30:
"He told me, 'You have to get 32,' and I told him, 'I'm trying to get 40.'"
On his 36 point performance:
"The credit is to my teammates. They did a great job of knowing when to find me and vice versa. The chemistry is definitely real for us."
"They were in a drop cover (on the screen), so I was able to get to my spots, whether it was a pull up, floater, or strong to the rim."
"My first two shots I settled for three and Coach Davis told me to work the curl pin down and I was able to get to the rim."
"I was able to get downhill all game."
Breaking Hansborough scoring record (points in a game at Dean Dome):
"It means a lot. Just to know a lot of great players came through here and just to know that I am on that list. I mean all glory to God. I'm super fortunate and grateful for the opportunity and the game I had today."
"Leaving a legacy, not for myself but also for the next generation. I just gotta stay humble and know what got me here."
Harrison Ingram
On RJ Davis' performance:
"It's the same thing we see every day in practice, every game. He is a bucket. I don't know what else to say. Four for eight from three, 14 for 23 (from the field), 37 minutes, zero turnovers. It speaks for itself. He is the guy on our team I know can get a bucket whenever he wants. There is no team that can stop him. It doesn't matter what defense you run. He can hit floaters, he can finish layups, he can shoot three, shoot mid-range, make the right play. I mean he can hit the step back, he can post up a little bit, he has the whole bag. Having a player like that on your team makes it so much easier for me."
On his 14 rebounds:
"For me it's about trying to impact the game in other ways. R.J. has a legendary scoring night with 36, so somebody has to get the rebounds, somebody has to do the dirty work. I'm playing the small ball four for a little bit, so I have to rebound there. Plus, my wrist has been hurting so I haven't been able to shoot the shots I have to shoot. I am just trying to impact the game and stay on the court"
On UNC's historic start to the season:
"One thing I think is special for our team is that 8-0 in the ACC, undefeated at home, and all that stuff doesn't really mean anything at the end of the day. We are trying to win a national championship, trying to win an ACC regular season title. Every game is just one day at a time. So, it's cool to be undefeated at home, cool to be undefeated on the road, cool to be undefeated in the ACC and set records. But at the end of the day, we have Florida State on Saturday so we have to get ready for them."
Elliot Cadeau
On guarding RJ Davis in practice:
"It's a good challenge for me. One of the things I have been getting better at throughout the year is my defense. Having to guard him and every other guard on the team is making me better everyday."
On RJ Davis' performance:
"I think RJ opened the game up for sure. In every aspect. He was driving and his ability to make shots opened the door for everybody. He was just helping in every aspect. RJ does that every day in practice, and basically every game, so it's just normal RJ
On getting open looks today.
"Me and the coaches have been working on me being more aggressive, especially coming off of ball screens. They feel like nobody can stay in front of me. I've just been really aggressive off ball screens and it has opened up everything for me."
Jae'Lyn Withers
On RJ Davis' performance:
"He's a bad boy. He's a bad boy. His last bucket was real cold."
On RJ Davis' work ethic:
"He's the first one in, last one out kind of guy. He is always working with Marcus (Paige) or doing his own workout. He just gets a lot of reps in. A lot of the stuff he did tonight is what he works on almost every morning. His work ethic is extremely high."
Wake Forest Head Coach Steve Forbes
On the North Carolina team and its effort:
"Carolina had a championship effort tonight, especially in the second half. They're one of the best teams in the country and they played like it tonight. I have a lot of respect for their team and their players"
On the RJ Davis:
"RJ Davis is the best player in our league. He proved it tonight."
On Elliot Cadeau:
"I was really impressed with Elliot Cadeau. He was extremely fast with the ball, can't really speed him up. He gets to his spots and he finds people that are wide open."
His thoughts on UNC:
"We got beat by a really good basketball team tonight. They were better than us tonight and they proved it. No question."
On the defensive effort of the Tar Heels:
"They're one of the best defensive teams. They have a better defensive efficiency than offensive efficiency. Credit to Coach Davis to get them to do that."
On RJ Davis' floaters:
"I knew he'd make them. I was hoping he wouldn't make that many. He's an elite player."
Players Mentioned
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