UNC-Pitt Quotes

POSTGAME QUOTES
UNC 79, PITTSBURGH 65
FEBRUARY 14, 2026
DEAN E. SMITH CENTER, CHAPEL HILL, N.C.

UNC Head Coach Hubert Davis
On Zayden High's performance and staying ready…
"I mean, last week, at this time, he didn't play in the Duke game, and a week later, he's starting, and he's playing 32 minutes, and so the job that he did, defensively, rebounding the basketball, staying out of foul trouble, giving us a post presence, didn't turn the ball over. I'm just really happy for him."

On Caleb Wilson's response to his injury…
"I mean, even during practice, he can't even sit down. He's dribbling with his right hand. He's shooting hooks with his right hand. He's on the bike and in the huddles. He was vocal in the locker room."

On adjusting offensively without Caleb and Henri Veesaar…
"From an offensive standpoint, one of the things that I emphasized the most was that we have to go even faster. I said, you know, not that Henri and Caleb were slow, but I was like, we with this group, we actually have to go even faster. And they really bought into it. I mean, we had 18 fast break points. I mean, we've been getting out in transition, but we hadn't been converting over the last couple weeks. Today, we got out and we converted."

On how the team processed the last few days and responded without Caleb and Henri…
"We met here early in the morning just to talk over stuff so everybody's on the same page, just to make sure everybody was clear what was happening, because it looked like Henri wasn't going to play, and they just executed, I said tonight was a was a clear example what Carolina basketball is about than any other time where, you know, you had two teammates out and for them to react and respond this way."

Pitt Head Coach Jeff Capel
On North Carolina's performance…
"Congrats to North Carolina. They played really well tonight. You know, they were going through some adversity. Their two leading scorers out, a guy stepped up and played really well for him. Zayden High had career high, was really good, and [Seth] Trimble was very good. I don't know how to pronounce [Bogavac's] name, but he got off to a great start and played well."

UNC Forward Zayden High
On starting against Pitt…
"So you know, going into the game, I was just trying to match [Caleb and Henri's] energy, that they bring every game. Like I said, it was everything. I mean, it's a dream come true to start North Carolina. So I'm just thankful for my teammates and my coaches for believing in me."

On energy from Henri and Caleb on the bench…
"Yeah, you go back and watch the energy that they possess on the bench. You know, it was unmatched. They got the crowd involved. That's probably how we started the game so well, you could hear them on the sideline just cheering for us."

On the biggest lesson learned in the past year…
"I mean, probably to just stick through whatever. Stick through the hard times. You know, obviously you guys know I didn't play [last season]. I haven't been playing as much. I got a couple DNPs in conference play, but you know I kept my head down. Unfortunately, like I said, Caleb and Henri were out, but you know, I stepped into a plate, and I'm thankful for the opportunity."

On turning stops into points…
"Playing hard on defense. Coach always preaches defense. If we get stops and we can run in transition. So I feel like we got a lot of stops today. We were out. We were able to get out in transition and run the break. So I feel like that's what worked for us today."

On delivering down the stretch…
"I mean, my teammates trust me down the stretch a few possessions to give me the ball. So, you know, I capitalized for them, and I just feel me, just the energy of the game, I can't even control it. It just happened."

UNC Guard Luka Bogavac
On mentality with Caleb and Henri not on Court…
"We played beautiful basketball. In my eyes, it was fun to watch. We shared the ball. We're very good."

On a positive outlook despite missing key players…
"I think it's just bringing us more together than before without them. Now we have to do this, we must do this. So for me, it isn't this bad thing for us, we can find also some good things in this,"

On embracing the unpredictability of gameday…
"I mean, this is the part of the sport. You know, you will never know what the team will be like on the game day. Like, if it'll be, the whole squad, or no, and I think that we performed really good — I mean, I just play my game, and it's all"

On Zayden High's Performance…
"I hope that he will get chance in the future, because he can be also a good part for our team,"

UNC Guard Derek Dixon
On the loss of Caleb Wilson for the team…
"Yeah, I mean, Caleb and I are tight. We talk all the time, so I knew after he got the result, and obviously, that hurts. He's a big loss for the team. But Coach said, "Carolina plays on Saturday." Doesn't matter who's out there. We gotta come out here ready to play. And I thought we did that."

On the team's fast tempo throughout the game…
"For sure, that was an emphasis for us all week, just trying to use our speed, because we don't necessarily have the same size, but trying to get out and play fast and play in transition."

On the team stepping up…
"Yeah, I think you know it wasn't going to come from one person. Everybody had to step up. I thought Jarin was really good. I thought Luca was good. Zayden, can't say enough great things about him when he's confident, aggressive, like that. It's great to see, and he plays like that in practice every day. So it's good to see it come to fruition in the game."

UNC Guard Seth Trimble
On losing Caleb Wilson to injury…
"It really sucked, but we've been through it before. You know, these guys went through it when I got hurt. So we knew that it's not time just to be sad and sob. We know we gotta push through and try to find light."

On the bench stepping up…
"Coach always talks about, you may not know when your number will be called, but it's going to be called at this point of the season. Zayden tonight, he was incredible — played 32 minutes and didn't look too tired to me. I mean, Jarin was incredible. Luka was great. Everybody was really, really good. It was very much well-rounded basketball."

On playing guard-heavy rotations…
"We were definitely playing with more tempo. Caleb and Henri aren't slow — when you have more guards in the court, you're going to be a faster team. So we wanted to take advantage of that. Us guards, the way we score in the paint, usually we look to get a lot of paint touches from post entries, a lot. But without Caleb and Henri, of course, you can't do it to the same amount that we usually do. So us guards did a good job of penetrating, getting the ball in the paint."

On Zayden High…
"When Zayden is going against Henri and Caleb and Jarin, he's incredible, he's giving them trouble, his footwork. I don't think you've seen his full arsenal yet, but Zayden is a super talented player. You know, we were raving about him in the preseason, and I think you guys saw who we've been talking about."

UNC Forward Jarin Stevenson
On the depth off of the bench…
"I feel like it shows that we do have a lot of depth on the team, and a lot of different people can step up and make plays. A lot of people care about this program and want it to do well, so a lot of different people stepped up. I was seeing them put in the work behind the scenes…I'm not surprised they stepped up."

On filling in for Caleb Wilson and Henri Veesaar…
"Those are big shoes to fill, Caleb and Henri. But again, just goes back to my work, I feel like it creates a sense of pride just putting work in late at night. Just having the opportunity to play and make different plays like that. Zayden also stepped up big time, Luka, Derek, and Seth, a lot of different people stepped up."

On the improvements in his game…
"[I've been] working on different footwork and stuff like that…in the game, I feel like just emphasizing running the floor, creating opportunities that way, whether it's posting up or just drawing two defenders against somebody else to open up. Working on my post game too, post hooks, post jump shots and stuff like that, just doing different things that I do in the game and just trying to help the team."

Scoreboard Slider

University of North Carolina Athletics

Related News

Players Mentioned

Luka Bogavac

Derek Dixon

Zayden High

Jarin Stevenson

Seth Trimble

Henri Veesaar

Caleb Wilson

Related Videos