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University of North Carolina Athletics
Elliot Cadeau
Photo by: Maggie Hobson
Lucas: In The Fight
January 3, 2024 | Men's Basketball, Featured Writers, Adam Lucas
Carolina's feistiness was the deciding factor in Tuesday's win.
By Adam Lucas
PITTSBURGH—In the first half of a one-point Atlantic Coast Conference road game, against a team that has been a thorn in recent seasons, a loose ball trickled out near midcourt. Freshman Elliot Cadeau didn't have the inside path to the ball, and it looked like Pittsburgh was going to retain possession.
It was also the exact kind of play that Hubert Davis had highlighted to his team in practice last week. "Those plays," he said after a similar ball had gone unrecovered, "are the ones we have to get better at. That's the play we're missing. That's the play we have to get better at."
On Tuesday night, that play unfolded directly in front of the Carolina head coach. So you know it made his heart soar when Cadeau, with no regard for his own body, threw himself on the ground and appeared to have secured possession. Unexpectedly, a whistle blew—foul on Cadeau.
You might have wondered, in that moment, just what Davis was saying as he stormed up and down the UNC sideline, clapping his hands together and shouting.
The answer: he wasn't arguing the dubious call or using any questionable language. In fact, he was as pleased with the effort as he was frustrated with the call. And this is what he said: "HE FOUGHT FOR IT!"
Which is the perfect description of how Carolina beat Pitt, 70-57. Just as they had in their wins in five of the last six meetings, the Panthers wanted to make it a fight. That strategy has worked brilliantly for them in recent matchups, including a regular season sweep last year.
It failed on Tuesday.
"Because we're a tougher team," said Seth Trimble, who provided ten big points and six rebounds off the bench. "All 14 or 15 on this team are tough. And we wanted to make sure we showed it for all 40 minutes."
Don't misunderstand. They didn't show it by committing hard fouls or playing dangerously. They showed it by getting to the offensive glass, like Jae'Lyn Withers tipping out a missed free throw in one sequence and then ramming home a teammate's miss later in the second half. They showed it by frustrating Pitt centerpiece Blake Hinson into a 4-for-16 performance, and you could almost watch his competitiveness melt away as the game progressed and every catch and shot continued to be a challenge for him.
Much of that defense on Hinson was provided by Harrison Ingram, who had one of the best bad nights in recent Tar Heel memory. According to the box score, Ingram was 2-for-14 from the field, his only two made baskets coming late in the second half.
But he still played 35 minutes, second most on the team, because he was playing defense, cleaning up on the glass (15 rebounds) and providing exactly the kind of snarl Carolina needed against this particular opponent. Midway in the second half, some chatter began during a dead ball in the UNC backcourt. A couple Panthers had some words for the UNC guards, and then Hinson and Armando Bacot began a discussion.
Instantly, Ingram was in the middle of it. Nothing resulted from the back-and-forth, but it was another reminder that Ingram—no matter what he's shooting—is a key part of setting the tone of this team.
It had been a purposeful but confident couple days of practice since the win over Charleston Southern. Intense, yes; Davis made sure his team was aware of their success—or lack thereof—against Pitt recently. But this group has a confidence that goes beyond their 10-3 record.
They're even establishing a unique identity; it's become tradition in the last couple of weeks, for example, to dance in the locker room after a big win. Players pick the music (Davis originally picked the song in Charlotte after the win over Oklahoma but his choice was widely panned; control then passed to the players), it blasts through the locker room, and Davis joins in a freestyle dance party. It's very much the latest iteration of what used to be the locker room jump-around session for a Roy Williams-coached team after a big win, but it developed organically and is something this group has made its own. That type of seemingly insignificant detail makes a group of individuals a team.
On Monday, the head coach drew up a play during a halfcourt offense drill for the white team (the starters). Almost as soon as they began running it, Rob Landry diagnosed and blew up the play, creating a turnover.
A couple teammates and coaches raised their eyebrows at Landry. "I knew what the play was going to be," he said matter of factly, which qualifies as major trash talking for perhaps the quietest Tar Heel on the roster, one who still rues an A- he made in high school.
"Talk to them, Rob!" Ingram chirped from the sideline, where he cackled with enjoyment.
Davis went back to the white board and drew up another play. This time, with Ingram back in the lineup, the white team immediately moved the ball with precision and created an easy basket.
"Scout that one, Rob!" Ingram shouted with glee.
There's just something about this group. It's not to say that bad stretches won't occur; Carolina began the game 0-for-10 from the field. But they dug in enough defensively to ensure that they were only down 6-0 when they broke the drought. The game was still winnable, solely because they had competed when they were playing poorly.
"We continued to play our game," said Trimble. "We didn't let things get bad, and that was huge."
Carolina coasted through the final minute, able to enjoy the silence from the occasionally profane Petersen Events Center crowd. On the sideline, the head coach methodically folded his glasses and put them in the case he keeps beside the bench. Behind him, his team was closing out the final seconds. He glanced around, and mouthed the words that perhaps made him happier than any other description of the victory.
"We fought," he said. "WE FOUGHT."
PITTSBURGH—In the first half of a one-point Atlantic Coast Conference road game, against a team that has been a thorn in recent seasons, a loose ball trickled out near midcourt. Freshman Elliot Cadeau didn't have the inside path to the ball, and it looked like Pittsburgh was going to retain possession.
It was also the exact kind of play that Hubert Davis had highlighted to his team in practice last week. "Those plays," he said after a similar ball had gone unrecovered, "are the ones we have to get better at. That's the play we're missing. That's the play we have to get better at."
On Tuesday night, that play unfolded directly in front of the Carolina head coach. So you know it made his heart soar when Cadeau, with no regard for his own body, threw himself on the ground and appeared to have secured possession. Unexpectedly, a whistle blew—foul on Cadeau.
You might have wondered, in that moment, just what Davis was saying as he stormed up and down the UNC sideline, clapping his hands together and shouting.
The answer: he wasn't arguing the dubious call or using any questionable language. In fact, he was as pleased with the effort as he was frustrated with the call. And this is what he said: "HE FOUGHT FOR IT!"
Which is the perfect description of how Carolina beat Pitt, 70-57. Just as they had in their wins in five of the last six meetings, the Panthers wanted to make it a fight. That strategy has worked brilliantly for them in recent matchups, including a regular season sweep last year.
It failed on Tuesday.
"Because we're a tougher team," said Seth Trimble, who provided ten big points and six rebounds off the bench. "All 14 or 15 on this team are tough. And we wanted to make sure we showed it for all 40 minutes."
Don't misunderstand. They didn't show it by committing hard fouls or playing dangerously. They showed it by getting to the offensive glass, like Jae'Lyn Withers tipping out a missed free throw in one sequence and then ramming home a teammate's miss later in the second half. They showed it by frustrating Pitt centerpiece Blake Hinson into a 4-for-16 performance, and you could almost watch his competitiveness melt away as the game progressed and every catch and shot continued to be a challenge for him.
Much of that defense on Hinson was provided by Harrison Ingram, who had one of the best bad nights in recent Tar Heel memory. According to the box score, Ingram was 2-for-14 from the field, his only two made baskets coming late in the second half.
But he still played 35 minutes, second most on the team, because he was playing defense, cleaning up on the glass (15 rebounds) and providing exactly the kind of snarl Carolina needed against this particular opponent. Midway in the second half, some chatter began during a dead ball in the UNC backcourt. A couple Panthers had some words for the UNC guards, and then Hinson and Armando Bacot began a discussion.
Instantly, Ingram was in the middle of it. Nothing resulted from the back-and-forth, but it was another reminder that Ingram—no matter what he's shooting—is a key part of setting the tone of this team.
It had been a purposeful but confident couple days of practice since the win over Charleston Southern. Intense, yes; Davis made sure his team was aware of their success—or lack thereof—against Pitt recently. But this group has a confidence that goes beyond their 10-3 record.
They're even establishing a unique identity; it's become tradition in the last couple of weeks, for example, to dance in the locker room after a big win. Players pick the music (Davis originally picked the song in Charlotte after the win over Oklahoma but his choice was widely panned; control then passed to the players), it blasts through the locker room, and Davis joins in a freestyle dance party. It's very much the latest iteration of what used to be the locker room jump-around session for a Roy Williams-coached team after a big win, but it developed organically and is something this group has made its own. That type of seemingly insignificant detail makes a group of individuals a team.
On Monday, the head coach drew up a play during a halfcourt offense drill for the white team (the starters). Almost as soon as they began running it, Rob Landry diagnosed and blew up the play, creating a turnover.
A couple teammates and coaches raised their eyebrows at Landry. "I knew what the play was going to be," he said matter of factly, which qualifies as major trash talking for perhaps the quietest Tar Heel on the roster, one who still rues an A- he made in high school.
"Talk to them, Rob!" Ingram chirped from the sideline, where he cackled with enjoyment.
Davis went back to the white board and drew up another play. This time, with Ingram back in the lineup, the white team immediately moved the ball with precision and created an easy basket.
"Scout that one, Rob!" Ingram shouted with glee.
There's just something about this group. It's not to say that bad stretches won't occur; Carolina began the game 0-for-10 from the field. But they dug in enough defensively to ensure that they were only down 6-0 when they broke the drought. The game was still winnable, solely because they had competed when they were playing poorly.
"We continued to play our game," said Trimble. "We didn't let things get bad, and that was huge."
Carolina coasted through the final minute, able to enjoy the silence from the occasionally profane Petersen Events Center crowd. On the sideline, the head coach methodically folded his glasses and put them in the case he keeps beside the bench. Behind him, his team was closing out the final seconds. He glanced around, and mouthed the words that perhaps made him happier than any other description of the victory.
"We fought," he said. "WE FOUGHT."
Players Mentioned
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