.png&width=36&height=36&type=webp)
University of North Carolina Athletics
Hubert Davis
Photo by: NATE SKVORETZ
UNC-Campbell Postgame Quotes
December 29, 2024 | Men's Basketball
POSTGAME QUOTES
UNC 97, CAMPBELL 81
DECEMBER 29, 2024
DEAN E. SMITH CENTER, CHAPEL HILL, N.C.
UNC Head Coach Hubert Davis
Key areas to emphasize for ACC play…
"Success and or lack of success with this team is tied to two things, defense and rebounding. We can score, but can we become the best defensive and rebounding team that we can become, and when I say that, it is in large part the consistency… For us to be able to have success moving forward, not only do we have to become a good defensive and rebounding team, it has to be consistent as well."
On the team's ability to have a solid ACC run…
"I think this year's team is this year's team. The only thing that I focus on is that for this year's team to reach its full potential, we need to be a really good defensive and rebounding team… I have also added one extra thing, and that's taking care of the basketball. We only had seven turnovers at the beginning of the year. I thought we were number one in the country in terms of fewest turnovers. We take care of the basketball, we get shots, and we are a team that can make shots."
On the second half adjustment…
"I want to dominate points in the paint through post and penetration. I want to live in the paint and I want to live at the free throw line. They can recite that because I say it to them every day. In the first half, we only went to the free throw line eight times, but we had 17 threes taken. They were 4/17. I love threes, but we have the ability to put max pressure on the rim and I thought in the second half we did a better job of that."
On Marcus Paige's impact on the team and RJ Davis…
"Coach Paige was a great player and is an unbelievable person. He has done such a great job as a coach, because he knows the game, but he's also able to communicate it in a way where it just resonates with the players… Marcus is the youngest, his freshman year was my first year as an assistant coach, and just the way that he communicates with the players, and especially with RJ. They haven't been in that position before. Both RJ and coach Paige were and are combination guards, they have the ability to distribute and run the offense, but they can also score with the ball in their hands and coming off screens."
On RJ Davis and Ian Jackson's performances in the last few games…
"I do feel like [RJ] is in a better rhythm out there on the floor. I feel like the last three games, he is finding his rhythm, with a new and changing lineup. One of those things is the growth of Ian, you have another scorer out there. When you have another person out there that can go get buckets, it's very similar to what he experienced from last year, where you had Cormac, Harrison and Armando, to have a little bit more space and be able to get into his offensive game."
On Elliot Cadeau's performance…
"I said before the game "I'm expecting a double-double in points and assists." And he said, "I'm also going to have zero turnovers." At halftime I reminded him he had three, but in the second half he had zero. I was really happy for him. His ability to create and instinctively find teammates is elite, and I felt like he played really well today, like under control. His ability to get to the basket, knows when to pass, knows when to shoot and his defense just continues to get better every day… He's a huge piece for us, when the ball is in his hands and he is making consistent plays, it takes us to a different level."
Campbell Head Coach Kevin McGeehan
On Carolina…
"This is a really good team, obviously a historic college basketball program, blue blood. They are super talented, well coached. They play at a pace that is unlike many that you'll see, and that poses a lot of challenges… There are not many ball screen read passers like [Elliot] Cadeau. He is one of the best I've seen. He really took advantage of us, just reading all of that stuff… He did a great job getting the ball to those guys to finish at the rim.
Drake Powell
On balancing dominant performances with making improvements…
"Just gotta finish the game. He was telling us in the huddle, H.D. was, he was telling us to stay disciplined and just don't get, like you said, lackadaisical, and just continue to play the game. We're not good enough yet to take our foot off the gas yet."
On Elliot Cadeau's performance…
"It didn't really like come as a surprise to me. I think Elliot is the best point guard in the country. I think he's very unselfish. I think that's what makes him, you know, so hard to guard, really, if that makes sense. But yeah, I was just excited for him."
On getting the bigs involved…
"I think it's great for J. Wash's confidence going to the ACC play, since he's going to be very key piece for us and Seth. And, yeah, I think them two in the pick and roll — that's pretty deadly."
Ian Jackson
On starting with Drake Powell…
"He's my brother, man. So to be able to go through the grind all the way from summertime up to now, and then go ahead and start the game, have coach start us together. It's great. I know how much work he put in. I know how much work I put in."
On starting as a freshman…
"It's not too much to pay into detail because we all learn together. We all understand each other. They trust my game."
On Seth Trimble's absence…
"Yeah, for sure. Seth is a great player, as we all know. On the defensive end, he's definitely someone that's a presence, and you understand when he's on the floor. You can feel it. So, you know, it's kind of different, but guys stepped up."
RJ Davis
On season high made threes…
"I mean, it's crazy because there's a lot of shooters and scorers that have come through this program that made a lot of threes and shots. So for me, number one, I think that's a surreal moment and something that I wouldn't have dreamed of coming as a freshman up until now, being a senior, well, super senior. I'm just super grateful for everything."
On improvement of his personal play after the second half of the Florida game…
"It's all mental, I mean I know I'm talented enough to do the things I'm able to do. It's really just all my mindset and my mental, so that's what I've really been keen on. I knew coming into this year was going to be more mental than anything and that's a challenge that I had to kind of adjust to…I wouldn't say I didn't digress or anything. I was kind of just adjusting to how things were being played. So it was more mental for me, more than anything. That's really key, no, just making sure I am in a good mindset and getting back to playing with a smile on my face."
On finding his rhythm…
"I felt good going to the game today. I felt like just this Christmas break was a good, like, little reset button for me. And I kind of felt myself coming to, like, old vintage RJ, like, kind of at the Florida game. I've just been in a good mindset, not really putting too much pressure on myself, not really just in my head a lot, because I realized,, I was self sabotaging myself a little bit and just trusting my work and I knew it was gonna even out eventually."
Jalen Washington
On emphasis of post presence…
"It's definitely been a point of emphasis. It helps out our guards. We rely on our guards heavy. So it kind of just goes hand in hand with our offense. You know, us just complimenting them on the offensive end, drawing defenders in, finishing, and creating opportunities for them to score as well."
On rectifying lack of post presence in past games…
"It comes from the coaches telling us the adjustments to make. It also comes from us talking to each other and us being teammates and talking to each other, listening to each other, and letting each other know what we see out there, how our man's guardining us and listening and adjusting."
Elliot Cadeau
On Ian's breakout performance…
"I think he's been waiting for his opportunity like that, and he got it and almost had 30 points. So I feel like that just says a lot by itself… I just told him to keep shooting. I felt like everybody out there was a mismatch partner, so I told him to keep going."
On finding his confidence…
"I definitely felt I had a tough stretch of games, and I felt like starting now I feel like I can flip it around and get back to how I played the first, like five games of the season. I'm really confident that I can get back to that point for sure.
UNC 97, CAMPBELL 81
DECEMBER 29, 2024
DEAN E. SMITH CENTER, CHAPEL HILL, N.C.
UNC Head Coach Hubert Davis
Key areas to emphasize for ACC play…
"Success and or lack of success with this team is tied to two things, defense and rebounding. We can score, but can we become the best defensive and rebounding team that we can become, and when I say that, it is in large part the consistency… For us to be able to have success moving forward, not only do we have to become a good defensive and rebounding team, it has to be consistent as well."
On the team's ability to have a solid ACC run…
"I think this year's team is this year's team. The only thing that I focus on is that for this year's team to reach its full potential, we need to be a really good defensive and rebounding team… I have also added one extra thing, and that's taking care of the basketball. We only had seven turnovers at the beginning of the year. I thought we were number one in the country in terms of fewest turnovers. We take care of the basketball, we get shots, and we are a team that can make shots."
On the second half adjustment…
"I want to dominate points in the paint through post and penetration. I want to live in the paint and I want to live at the free throw line. They can recite that because I say it to them every day. In the first half, we only went to the free throw line eight times, but we had 17 threes taken. They were 4/17. I love threes, but we have the ability to put max pressure on the rim and I thought in the second half we did a better job of that."
On Marcus Paige's impact on the team and RJ Davis…
"Coach Paige was a great player and is an unbelievable person. He has done such a great job as a coach, because he knows the game, but he's also able to communicate it in a way where it just resonates with the players… Marcus is the youngest, his freshman year was my first year as an assistant coach, and just the way that he communicates with the players, and especially with RJ. They haven't been in that position before. Both RJ and coach Paige were and are combination guards, they have the ability to distribute and run the offense, but they can also score with the ball in their hands and coming off screens."
On RJ Davis and Ian Jackson's performances in the last few games…
"I do feel like [RJ] is in a better rhythm out there on the floor. I feel like the last three games, he is finding his rhythm, with a new and changing lineup. One of those things is the growth of Ian, you have another scorer out there. When you have another person out there that can go get buckets, it's very similar to what he experienced from last year, where you had Cormac, Harrison and Armando, to have a little bit more space and be able to get into his offensive game."
On Elliot Cadeau's performance…
"I said before the game "I'm expecting a double-double in points and assists." And he said, "I'm also going to have zero turnovers." At halftime I reminded him he had three, but in the second half he had zero. I was really happy for him. His ability to create and instinctively find teammates is elite, and I felt like he played really well today, like under control. His ability to get to the basket, knows when to pass, knows when to shoot and his defense just continues to get better every day… He's a huge piece for us, when the ball is in his hands and he is making consistent plays, it takes us to a different level."
Campbell Head Coach Kevin McGeehan
On Carolina…
"This is a really good team, obviously a historic college basketball program, blue blood. They are super talented, well coached. They play at a pace that is unlike many that you'll see, and that poses a lot of challenges… There are not many ball screen read passers like [Elliot] Cadeau. He is one of the best I've seen. He really took advantage of us, just reading all of that stuff… He did a great job getting the ball to those guys to finish at the rim.
Drake Powell
On balancing dominant performances with making improvements…
"Just gotta finish the game. He was telling us in the huddle, H.D. was, he was telling us to stay disciplined and just don't get, like you said, lackadaisical, and just continue to play the game. We're not good enough yet to take our foot off the gas yet."
On Elliot Cadeau's performance…
"It didn't really like come as a surprise to me. I think Elliot is the best point guard in the country. I think he's very unselfish. I think that's what makes him, you know, so hard to guard, really, if that makes sense. But yeah, I was just excited for him."
On getting the bigs involved…
"I think it's great for J. Wash's confidence going to the ACC play, since he's going to be very key piece for us and Seth. And, yeah, I think them two in the pick and roll — that's pretty deadly."
Ian Jackson
On starting with Drake Powell…
"He's my brother, man. So to be able to go through the grind all the way from summertime up to now, and then go ahead and start the game, have coach start us together. It's great. I know how much work he put in. I know how much work I put in."
On starting as a freshman…
"It's not too much to pay into detail because we all learn together. We all understand each other. They trust my game."
On Seth Trimble's absence…
"Yeah, for sure. Seth is a great player, as we all know. On the defensive end, he's definitely someone that's a presence, and you understand when he's on the floor. You can feel it. So, you know, it's kind of different, but guys stepped up."
RJ Davis
On season high made threes…
"I mean, it's crazy because there's a lot of shooters and scorers that have come through this program that made a lot of threes and shots. So for me, number one, I think that's a surreal moment and something that I wouldn't have dreamed of coming as a freshman up until now, being a senior, well, super senior. I'm just super grateful for everything."
On improvement of his personal play after the second half of the Florida game…
"It's all mental, I mean I know I'm talented enough to do the things I'm able to do. It's really just all my mindset and my mental, so that's what I've really been keen on. I knew coming into this year was going to be more mental than anything and that's a challenge that I had to kind of adjust to…I wouldn't say I didn't digress or anything. I was kind of just adjusting to how things were being played. So it was more mental for me, more than anything. That's really key, no, just making sure I am in a good mindset and getting back to playing with a smile on my face."
On finding his rhythm…
"I felt good going to the game today. I felt like just this Christmas break was a good, like, little reset button for me. And I kind of felt myself coming to, like, old vintage RJ, like, kind of at the Florida game. I've just been in a good mindset, not really putting too much pressure on myself, not really just in my head a lot, because I realized,, I was self sabotaging myself a little bit and just trusting my work and I knew it was gonna even out eventually."
Jalen Washington
On emphasis of post presence…
"It's definitely been a point of emphasis. It helps out our guards. We rely on our guards heavy. So it kind of just goes hand in hand with our offense. You know, us just complimenting them on the offensive end, drawing defenders in, finishing, and creating opportunities for them to score as well."
On rectifying lack of post presence in past games…
"It comes from the coaches telling us the adjustments to make. It also comes from us talking to each other and us being teammates and talking to each other, listening to each other, and letting each other know what we see out there, how our man's guardining us and listening and adjusting."
Elliot Cadeau
On Ian's breakout performance…
"I think he's been waiting for his opportunity like that, and he got it and almost had 30 points. So I feel like that just says a lot by itself… I just told him to keep shooting. I felt like everybody out there was a mismatch partner, so I told him to keep going."
On finding his confidence…
"I definitely felt I had a tough stretch of games, and I felt like starting now I feel like I can flip it around and get back to how I played the first, like five games of the season. I'm really confident that I can get back to that point for sure.
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
G/F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's BasketballWBB: Post-Elon Press Conference - Nov. 6, 2025
Friday, November 07
Hubert Davis Pre-Kansas Press Conference
Thursday, November 06
UNC Field Hockey: Tar Heels Drop Duke, 5-2, for Spot in ACC Final
Thursday, November 06
MBB: Hubert Davis Pre-Kansas Press Conference
Thursday, November 06