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University of North Carolina Athletics
Hubert Davis
Photo by: Jerome M. Ibrahim
UNC-NC State Postgame Quotes
March 2, 2024 | Men's Basketball
North Carolina vs. N.C. State
Men's Basketball
3/2/2024
Dean E. Smith Center
Chapel Hill, N.C.
UNC 79 - N.C. State 71
UNC Head Coach Hubert Davis
On the difference in spirit in the second half:
"Always for this year, it has always been the defense that fuels offense. That's something I talk about. That's something that I preach… to be the best that we can be, we have to step it up on the defensive end. We have to rebound and take care of the basketball.
"We stepped up in the second half. NC State in the first half was shooting 60% from the field. They're running their offense like they do in shootaround and getting wide open shots… Something we had talked about before the game is being competitive on the ball, whether it's a one-on-one situation or an open ball screen in the post, and in the second half we stepped up and I felt like we were making them work hard to get a shot… I was really happy with how the guys responded in the second half."
On whether UNC needs to be chippy to succeed:
"We don't need that, but I mean, I just felt like in this particular game that chipiness ignited us even more. We talked about having that competitive fire but also keeping your composure, and I felt like we did that also in our ability to get to the free throw line and make free throws."
On UNC players that allow Carolina to respond to effectively:
"Our guys from the start have always enjoyed competition and competing. Our practices are spirited, competitive, and physical, and that's the way that this group has played in practice all season. What you saw out there at the game, that's what I see every day at practice so that we are not out of character when we respond out on the floor. To hold them to 22% in the second half, as good as NC State is and as good as they are, especially on the offensive end. That was an elite performance by the guys defensively in the second half."
On Coach Keatts' comment about Elliot Cadeau being the most impactful player for UNC:
"I feel like he was very impactful, Elliot from an offensive standpoint, his ability whether it's one-on-one or on a ball screen to actually be able to get into the lane and make plays. He's strong and he can penetrate through contact, he can score, he can find guys to distribute to. He can find the guys from three while cutting to the basket. His ability to be able to get into the paint really opened a lot of things for us… He has played really well in back-to-back games against State and I was really proud of him."
On Harrison Ingram feeding off physicality and competition:
"He does. Harrison was Harrison today. Having a guy on your team that as soon as he walks into the locker room, everyone is just smiling and laughing… And then on the court, he just changes, he's a guy that can guard multiple positions. He can rebound, he can post, he can hit threes, offensive rebound, make free throws, he also adds another ball handler for us. He can bring it up and initiate offense and you never have to tell Harrion, 'Let's play hard.' He just instinctively in anything, practice or shoot around, he brought tremendous energy for today."
On RJ having the ball in clutch moments, regardless of performance:
"He has gotten defensive pressure and coming off a 42-point performance, I'm sure they weren't going to allow him to get clean looks out there… We can come from different areas, at Virginia it came from Cormac, the next game it came from RJ, and this game it started off and came from Harrison… There are a number of parts to this team that allow us to be successful and that's a sign of a pretty good team."
Harrison Ingram
On his performance:
"There is no shot on the court that I don't feel is a good shot for me. I know that if I run hard, my teammates like Elliot and R.J. will find me if I am open."
On his offensive dominance:
"I don't think they had anyone on the court, I don't want to sound cocky, but that was suited to guard me. They had a four man that was tall. They were playing guards. They were switching everything. We were just trying to take advantage of the miss match. Their switching put me into a lot of ball screens and posting up."
On the team's depth:
"We are a complete team. We have 14 guys who are all really good. We have nine starters who could start for nine out of 10 teams in college basketball. It is much easier because if I have an off night, if RJ has an off night, if Armando has an off night, and teams are doubling, you can't really double us because we have so many different weapons."
Elliot Cadeau
On his growth this season:
"I think I've grown pretty much in every aspect. I think I am a lot more comfortable out there and my role is more defined. I have learned how to play within this system, and I just feel more comfortable."
On the importance of winning today:
"It was very satisfying to get a win. The crowd was crazy and there was definitely a higher energy. But we have bigger goals for the season. Our goal is to hang a banner and win the ACC regular season. So it was really nice to come out there and win that game."
Armando Bacot
On the quality of team play today:
"I left a lot of points on the board today, but we pulled it out. It really speaks on our team. Harrison went out and scored a season high. We have so many guys that can step up, and I think that really showed today just how versatile our team is. Look at me and RJ, I shoot four for twelve and RJ shoots four for eleven, but we got guys like Harrison stepping up and Elliot playing a big role. It just shows how good of a team we really are.
On the possibility of winning the ACC regular season:
"When you come to a school like this, you want to be remembered as a team that hangs some sort of banner. It is definitely exciting because we want it to be one of those things where we come back 30 years from now and see that we won the ACC in 2024. It is super exciting, and we definitely want it."
R.J. Davis
On halftime adjustments:
"We got to fight on the defensive end. Limit our turnovers. They scored 13 points off our turnovers in the first half. We weren't applying pressure on the defensive end in the first half. It's all about our response. Coach always talks about response. How do we respond? We did a good job making those adjustments.
"We did a good job of just coming out more ready to play. Cormac got us going with that three. We set the tone on the defensive end, getting stops and limiting their shots."
Seth Trimble
On Elliot Cadeau's growth this year
"He's been great. I think he's just shut out the negativity and focused on doing what he is best at. When Elliot gets downhill, it opens up so much for our team. He literally just blows past his player, so the defense has to help. His confidence has skyrocketed throughout this year. We're glad to see it."
On Cormac getting the team going
"When Cormac got that double foul, it lit the whole gym up. It lit up the coach, it lit up the bench. I know we were on a run before that, but I've got to give kudos to Cormac for taking one because that definitely got us going in the second half."
On winning tough games:
"We want to be as perfect as we can tonight because our first half was nowhere near one of our perfect games. But it is what it is. When you're playing, you have to find whatever you can to win, and that's what you do in March."
NC State Head Coach Kevin Keatts:
"What a heck of a boxing match. Some very competitive guys out there today. I thought we got the best of them in the first half, but obviously they did a really good job in the second half of getting the best of us."
Men's Basketball
3/2/2024
Dean E. Smith Center
Chapel Hill, N.C.
UNC 79 - N.C. State 71
UNC Head Coach Hubert Davis
On the difference in spirit in the second half:
"Always for this year, it has always been the defense that fuels offense. That's something I talk about. That's something that I preach… to be the best that we can be, we have to step it up on the defensive end. We have to rebound and take care of the basketball.
"We stepped up in the second half. NC State in the first half was shooting 60% from the field. They're running their offense like they do in shootaround and getting wide open shots… Something we had talked about before the game is being competitive on the ball, whether it's a one-on-one situation or an open ball screen in the post, and in the second half we stepped up and I felt like we were making them work hard to get a shot… I was really happy with how the guys responded in the second half."
On whether UNC needs to be chippy to succeed:
"We don't need that, but I mean, I just felt like in this particular game that chipiness ignited us even more. We talked about having that competitive fire but also keeping your composure, and I felt like we did that also in our ability to get to the free throw line and make free throws."
On UNC players that allow Carolina to respond to effectively:
"Our guys from the start have always enjoyed competition and competing. Our practices are spirited, competitive, and physical, and that's the way that this group has played in practice all season. What you saw out there at the game, that's what I see every day at practice so that we are not out of character when we respond out on the floor. To hold them to 22% in the second half, as good as NC State is and as good as they are, especially on the offensive end. That was an elite performance by the guys defensively in the second half."
On Coach Keatts' comment about Elliot Cadeau being the most impactful player for UNC:
"I feel like he was very impactful, Elliot from an offensive standpoint, his ability whether it's one-on-one or on a ball screen to actually be able to get into the lane and make plays. He's strong and he can penetrate through contact, he can score, he can find guys to distribute to. He can find the guys from three while cutting to the basket. His ability to be able to get into the paint really opened a lot of things for us… He has played really well in back-to-back games against State and I was really proud of him."
On Harrison Ingram feeding off physicality and competition:
"He does. Harrison was Harrison today. Having a guy on your team that as soon as he walks into the locker room, everyone is just smiling and laughing… And then on the court, he just changes, he's a guy that can guard multiple positions. He can rebound, he can post, he can hit threes, offensive rebound, make free throws, he also adds another ball handler for us. He can bring it up and initiate offense and you never have to tell Harrion, 'Let's play hard.' He just instinctively in anything, practice or shoot around, he brought tremendous energy for today."
On RJ having the ball in clutch moments, regardless of performance:
"He has gotten defensive pressure and coming off a 42-point performance, I'm sure they weren't going to allow him to get clean looks out there… We can come from different areas, at Virginia it came from Cormac, the next game it came from RJ, and this game it started off and came from Harrison… There are a number of parts to this team that allow us to be successful and that's a sign of a pretty good team."
Harrison Ingram
On his performance:
"There is no shot on the court that I don't feel is a good shot for me. I know that if I run hard, my teammates like Elliot and R.J. will find me if I am open."
On his offensive dominance:
"I don't think they had anyone on the court, I don't want to sound cocky, but that was suited to guard me. They had a four man that was tall. They were playing guards. They were switching everything. We were just trying to take advantage of the miss match. Their switching put me into a lot of ball screens and posting up."
On the team's depth:
"We are a complete team. We have 14 guys who are all really good. We have nine starters who could start for nine out of 10 teams in college basketball. It is much easier because if I have an off night, if RJ has an off night, if Armando has an off night, and teams are doubling, you can't really double us because we have so many different weapons."
Elliot Cadeau
On his growth this season:
"I think I've grown pretty much in every aspect. I think I am a lot more comfortable out there and my role is more defined. I have learned how to play within this system, and I just feel more comfortable."
On the importance of winning today:
"It was very satisfying to get a win. The crowd was crazy and there was definitely a higher energy. But we have bigger goals for the season. Our goal is to hang a banner and win the ACC regular season. So it was really nice to come out there and win that game."
Armando Bacot
On the quality of team play today:
"I left a lot of points on the board today, but we pulled it out. It really speaks on our team. Harrison went out and scored a season high. We have so many guys that can step up, and I think that really showed today just how versatile our team is. Look at me and RJ, I shoot four for twelve and RJ shoots four for eleven, but we got guys like Harrison stepping up and Elliot playing a big role. It just shows how good of a team we really are.
On the possibility of winning the ACC regular season:
"When you come to a school like this, you want to be remembered as a team that hangs some sort of banner. It is definitely exciting because we want it to be one of those things where we come back 30 years from now and see that we won the ACC in 2024. It is super exciting, and we definitely want it."
R.J. Davis
On halftime adjustments:
"We got to fight on the defensive end. Limit our turnovers. They scored 13 points off our turnovers in the first half. We weren't applying pressure on the defensive end in the first half. It's all about our response. Coach always talks about response. How do we respond? We did a good job making those adjustments.
"We did a good job of just coming out more ready to play. Cormac got us going with that three. We set the tone on the defensive end, getting stops and limiting their shots."
Seth Trimble
On Elliot Cadeau's growth this year
"He's been great. I think he's just shut out the negativity and focused on doing what he is best at. When Elliot gets downhill, it opens up so much for our team. He literally just blows past his player, so the defense has to help. His confidence has skyrocketed throughout this year. We're glad to see it."
On Cormac getting the team going
"When Cormac got that double foul, it lit the whole gym up. It lit up the coach, it lit up the bench. I know we were on a run before that, but I've got to give kudos to Cormac for taking one because that definitely got us going in the second half."
On winning tough games:
"We want to be as perfect as we can tonight because our first half was nowhere near one of our perfect games. But it is what it is. When you're playing, you have to find whatever you can to win, and that's what you do in March."
NC State Head Coach Kevin Keatts:
"What a heck of a boxing match. Some very competitive guys out there today. I thought we got the best of them in the first half, but obviously they did a really good job in the second half of getting the best of us."
Players Mentioned
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/ Men's Basketball
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