By R.L. Bynum
CHAPEL HILL — Hubert Davis has experienced a full range of emotions as North Carolina’s head coach, and the inconsistency is putting scrutiny on him heading into season five.
It’s been a roller coaster, from a breathtaking run to the national title game in year one, to a stunning collapse of missing the NCAA tournament, then earning the regular-season ACC title and a No. 1 seed before barely making the NCAA tournament last season.
The pressure that comes with being Carolina’s coach isn’t anything new to Davis, but it seems sharper this time around as he tries to bring together a team with 10 newcomers and keep the program at a consistently high level.
“There is a pressure and expectation for us to be good this year,” he said Tuesday at his summer press conference. “But that pressure and that expectation for us to be good is no different than any other year.”
The standard is high every year, and the expectation is that the Tar Heels will consistently be at that level. The pressure, Davis admits, is not only to get back to that championship level but to stay there.
Davis discussed a range of topics during the press conference as he talked about the offseason and his outlook for the upcoming season. Here are some of the questions he got and his responses.
On guard wing Luca Bogavac (pronounced BO-guh-vahts):
Q: What’s your take on Luca so far as a player, and what was the process of recruiting him?
“He’s been great, getting to know and also coaching him. He’s been fantastic in the classroom and also on the court as a player. He’s somebody who can do a number of different things on both ends of the floor. He’s got great size. He can handle it, make plays with the ball in his hands. Can shoot, score at many different levels, mid-range, get to the bucket. Excellent passer, and somebody who had a burning desire to be here and to be a part of this program. And as soon as he walks into a room, it just brightens up. He just has that type of personality. And I’ve really enjoyed being around him.”
Q: Can he play one through three?
“[Players] have to play on both ends of the floor, and have to be able to be impactful in a number of different areas. And Luca can do that. His ability to handle a basketball and pass and score many different ways, his versatility is something that is going to be fun to watch this year.”
Q: How did you find him?
“It’s the same as anything when you’re evaluating talent, whether it’s high school, transfer portal internationally, the same type of evaluation and also in regards to recruiting, whether it’s high school or transfer portal or international, it’s the two boxes that need to be checked. And I’ve told you this before, it has to be a want and a need. And Luca, from a basketball standpoint, and also his personality, was a want and need for our program. I’m very thankful that he’s here.”
On building the roster:
Q: What was the checklist for putting this roster together?
“I thought we needed to be bigger — positional size. We needed more size. I think the number one determining factor of an outcome of the game is rebounding. I thought defensively we were OK, rebounding-percentage wise, but offensive rebounding was nothing near where we needed to be. I wanted to become more versatile. We have different types of lineups, and I feel like with this roster, we’ve been able to identify both of those things.”
Q: What are you doing to help this group jell together?
“Well, the biggest thing for me is relationships. I tell guys all the time in recruiting that you can’t play for me unless you know me, and I can’t coach you unless I know you, and so the only way I can get to know you and you and you can get to know me is we got to spend a ton of time together. That’s not on the phone, on TikTok or Twitter or anything like that. It’s face-to-face, being able to talk to each other, and we spend a ton of time together. One of the things that’s different than when I was in school, we have the ability to be on the court during the summer, and so we’ve had a number of practices, individual workouts, in combination with spending time together off the court, that has put us in a position where I really like the chemistry and the makeup of this team.”
On Seth Trimble’s leadership:
“He has stepped into that leadership role. Seth, throughout his career, has been an accomplished player, and for him to stay at one institution is not normal. His leadership has been off the chart this summer, not only verbally, but also just the way that he has led on the court in regards to extra workouts, conditioning, drill, work, practice. It feels really good to have Seth be our leader of our team, and I’m so thankful that he’s here.”
On Arizona transfer center Henri Veesaar (pronounced VEH-sar) and defensive versatility:
“He’s got tremendous size, and it’s not just blocking shots, but it’s altering shots as well. He’s a really good rebounder. Throughout his career, he’s been able to play a number of different defenses, whether it’s different coverages on ball screens or being able to switch and guard guards out on the perimeter. Teams and individuals that have the ability to do that make a really good defensive team. That’s something that’s a high priority for us. I’ve talked about rebounding, but you’ve got to defend. We’ve got to be a really good defensive team. And when you have someone like Henri, who also is older and he’s very vocal, which allows us to have really good communication, that’s something that’s a huge benefit for us.
“The added height that we have in regards to defensively, but I’ll also say the versatility to be able to do different things on the defensive end. In order to be good, you’ve got to defend and rebound and take care of basketball. But being in a position to be elite defensively on both ends of the floor. I’ve talked about defensive rebounding percentage. But a huge staple of Carolina basketball, even before I coached with Coach [Roy] Williams, was offensive rebounding. And so that’s an area that’s a major emphasis for us. And having that positional height, having that height in the front court, just allows us to be able to do that and do the things that we want to do.”
On working with General Manager Jim Tanner:
Q: How has having a GM changed the transfer portal process?
“Jim is a part of our team and a part of our program, and I’m really thankful that he’s here. We were friends prior to him becoming the general manager. We work extremely well together. There’s a number of great things about him, but his burning desire is because, just like all of us as coaches, he has gone here to Carolina. He just has a burning desire for this program and this university to be successful, and so we work extremely well together. And just like all of us on the staff, we want us to be successful.”
Q: Did it make your job easier having someone like him as a wingman?
“Our entire staff being able to navigate the changes in college basketball. I think you know, as I said before, we all really work well together. In terms of evaluation, it’s as simple as a want and a need. And those are the things that we evaluate, whether it’s in a transfer portal, from high school [and] you guys talked about internationally, and in terms of the makeup of the team, those are things that we’ve done in the past, and those are things that we’ve continued to do.”
Q: Where does he have the biggest impact?
“He brings something to the table. For 27 years he was an agent and a lawyer. So this is someone who obviously has connections with a number of different other agents, his connections to the NBA, he’s someone that can write and read and understand contracts. And so those are a skill set that is a huge benefit for us. And as I said before, it has worked really well, and I’ve enjoyed and loved him being a part of this team.”
Q: Who handled those responsibilities before he came?
“That’s a hard question to answer, because the rules have changed every year. So many things have changed from the five years that I’ve been head coach. The only thing that I can talk about is in reference to Jim being here now, and he’s just been a huge support, and I’m glad that he’s here.”
On freshman forward Caleb Wilson’s maturity:
“As much as I can talk about how impressed I am of him on the court, I’m even more impressed of him as a kid and a teammate. Everything that he talks about is never about him. I mean that. Everything that he talks about is about the team, and it’s about North Carolina, everything, and for someone highly ranked coming in here to not only talk about it, but only really be concerned about the welfare and the benefit of the team, is something that is rare, and it’s something that I really enjoy and love being around every day.”
On Jarin Stephenson transferring to UNC after picking Alabama after attending high school in Pittsboro:
“I’ve known Jarin and his family for a very long time. So thankful that Jarin decided to come back here and to come back home. He’s a great kid. He’s someone else that you know had a burning desire to be a part of this program and a part of this team. Him being at 6–10, one of the things that really impressed me last year when we played him was his ability on the defensive end. They put him on RJ [Davis], and he did a really good job getting around screens at 6–10, and so his versatility defensively, of being able to guard multiple positions. He’s a really good 3-point shooter, terrific size and so very hard to find that in your town. And so I’m glad. I’m so happy he’s here.”
On West Virginia transfer Jonathan Powell’s game:
“The versatility, just his ability to be able to, from an offensive standpoint, make plays, whether it’s with the ball in his hand, coming off ball screens or off-the-ball actions, whether it’s flares or staggers or wide pins, and just his versatility on offensive end, being able to do that. He’s an excellent defensive player. You talk about him already being in college for two years, and the success that he had in the NCAA tournament. So him coming here not only brings a high level of skill from a basketball standpoint, but also experience, and it’s something that we were looking for.
Subscribe to read Tar Heel Tribune ad-free
Subscribe for a cleaner, smoother reading experience without the flashing banners, slow-loading elements, or those especially annoying pop‑up ads that interrupt the flow of the story. You’ll also get the first version of each story emailed to you. The only ads you’ll see are static, non-intrusive ads for UNC‑related books, and there are none currently on the site.
Roster assuming all players with eligibility other than Caleb Wilson, Henri Veesaar and the seven players who entered the transfer portal return, which would put UNC one under the 15-player limit. The class for next season is listed.
| No./ Stars | Class | Player | Pos. | Hgt | Wgt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 star | Freshman | Maximo Adams | SF | 6–7 | 205 |
| 3 star | Freshman | Malloy Smith | CG | 6–5 | 190 |
| 5 star | Freshman | Sayon Keita | C | 7–0 | 215 |
| 4 star | Freshman | Kevin Thomas | W | 6–7 | 190 |
| Freshman | Alexandros Samodurov | C | 6–11 | 212 | |
| RS freshman | Cade Bennerman — W | C | 7–0 | 205 | |
| Sophomore | Neoklis Avdalas — X | G | 6–9 | 215 | |
| Sophomore | Isaiah Denis | G | 6–4 | 180 | |
| Sophomore | Matt Able — Y | G | 6–5 | 196 | |
| 1 | Senior | Terrence Brown — Z | G | 6–3 | 174 |
| 4 | Senior | Jaydon Young | G | 6–4 | 200 |
| 15 | Senior | Jarin Stevenson | 4 | 6–10 | 215 |
| Walk-ons | |||||
| 25 | Junior | John Holbrook | 4 | 6–8 | 230 |
| 32 | Senior | Evan Smith | 2 | 6–1 | 195 |
W — Northwestern transfer. X — Virginia Tech transfer; Y — N.C. State transfer; Z — Utah transfer
Michael Malone’s coaching staff: Chuck Martin, Bryan Tibaldi, Sean May and Pat Sullivan; Deon Thompson will be a graduate assistant, and Brandon Robinson will reportedly have a support staff position.
Players who left for the transfer portal
| Player | Class next season | Pos. | Hgt | Wgt | Next school |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Luka Bogavac | Senior | W | 6–6 | 215 | Oklahoma State |
| James Brown | Senior | C | 6–10 | 240 | Howard |
| Derek Dixon | Sophomore | G | 6–5 | 200 | Arizona |
| Kyan Evans | Senior | G | 6–2 | 175 | Minnesota |
| Zayden High | Junior | C | 6–10 | 230 | South Florida |
| Jonathan Powell | Junior | G | 6–6 | 190 | Pittsburgh |
| Ivan Matlekovic | Junior | C | 7–0 | 255 |
Key offseason dates
June 13 — Deadline for international players to withdraw from NBA draft and maintain college eligibility
June 23–24 — NBA draft at Barclays Center in Brooklyn
Schedule so far
(Other than the ACC/SEC Challenge, games without links revealed from reporting by Alex Rosinski or Rocco Miller)
(11 of 14 games)
Nov. 2 — vs. Western Carolina
Nov. 6 — vs. Wofford
Nov. 10 — vs. Wyoming
Nov. 13 — vs. Georgia
Nov. 20 — vs. Marshall
Nov. 27 — vs. West Virginia at the Dick Vitale Invitational at Charlotte’s Spectrum Center
Dec. 1 or 2 — vs. SEC team in ACC/SEC Challenge (announced last year on June 12)
Dec. 12 — at Georgetown
Dec. 19 — vs. Kentucky in CBS Sports Classic at Madison Square Garden, 2:30 p.m.
Dec. 21 — vs. The Citadel
November or December — vs. Butler
ACC games
Home and away: Duke, Louisville
Home only: California, Georgia Tech, Miami, N.C. State, SMU, Stanford, Virginia
Away only: Boston College, Florida State, Notre Dame, Pitt, Syracuse, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest
Photo via @UNC_Basketball
