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#UNC coach Courtney Banghart and guard Indya Nivar after the Tar Heels' loss to UConn
Nov 16, 2024
#UNC coach Courtney Banghart and guard Indya Nivar after the Tar Heels' loss to UConn
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0:00
know we Gino and I wanted this game to
0:03
happen um we were obviously uh I wanted
0:06
to bring a game to Greensboro that would
0:08
matter a ton to people got a lot of fans
0:10
in this area um and I really want to
0:12
give a shout out to the people that
0:13
showed up a lot of people showed up um
0:16
you know we have a men's game tonight we
0:18
know it's a a Friday at 6 kind of an odd
0:20
time um really grateful for the Tar Hill
0:22
Community from all over who showed up
0:24
for this game that's what we that's what
0:26
we envisioned and I'm really proud that
0:27
it's it came to fruition um play with a
0:30
lot of tenacity yeah great right we got
0:32
to get those possessions back we cannot
0:35
leave so many possessions where we just
0:37
didn't make the right decision I know I
0:39
got a a lot of Youth in the clock has
0:41
started right so that that's a bummer um
0:43
good to have India back obviously she's
0:45
a really Dynamic Athlete who's just uh
0:49
gotten better and better and she'll
0:50
continue to be a real bright spot for us
0:52
um as she's gotten healthy and ready to
0:55
roll uh congratulations to Gino I know
0:57
he's getting real close um to uh just a
1:00
really special milestone in our game um
1:04
and then obviously Paige what a pleasure
1:05
it is to continue to see her Brilliance
1:07
uh she's a hard matchup made a lot of
1:09
contested shots made a lot of her
1:11
teammates better um you know I wish we
1:14
had played better quite honestly but
1:16
it's game four a game that should have
1:17
happened in in December didn't a lot of
1:19
takeaways that will continue to to pound
1:22
get this group
1:26
better who wants to go first yeah Mitch
1:28
Courtney um yeah fourth quarter you guys
1:30
start off with a 10 three run um that
1:32
was a group you had out there that was
1:34
IND and a bunch of new guys and young
1:36
guys um how did you like the fight that
1:39
you
1:39
saw yeah I thought the fight was pretty
1:42
consistent kind of I'm actually I think
1:44
a top across the roster right the fact
1:47
that our seniors didn't play well
1:48
doesn't mean they didn't play hard
1:50
there's a difference right um but quite
1:52
honestly they need to be responsible for
1:54
the way they performed they didn't they
1:55
didn't perform at the level we need them
1:56
to perform they know that I reminded
1:58
them of that in case they weren't paying
2:00
attention to that um but I I think the
2:03
effort across the roster was pretty good
2:05
you know you know and our young guys
2:07
they wouldn't put them in and I wouldn't
2:08
have recruited him if I didn't that's a
2:10
baseline expectation so yeah it's good
2:12
to see them in this environment where
2:13
they are at game four in their careers
2:15
um but there's a how hard they play was
2:17
an expectation I thought they also you
2:20
know they they did well in 2V1 they did
2:24
well getting into hips and being
2:25
physical with the ball in their hands um
2:28
they did well at uh sliding over to the
2:31
right spots in zones they actually did
2:32
some some of the right basketball things
2:34
um but I thought across the roster
2:36
there's no one who I can single out and
2:37
say didn't play hard enough to help our
2:39
team is that the difference last season
2:42
if you had a couple of veterans not
2:43
played well you can have a lot of the
2:45
options you got a lot of options yeah I
2:48
mean it's that should be a good equation
2:50
right there a lot of good experienced
2:51
players that are you can lean on India
2:53
being one of them and then exper
2:55
inexperienced guys that will continue to
2:57
gain experience as the season goes on
2:59
right you don't get get better in life
3:01
uh without a little adversity but you
3:03
also you only either get better or worse
3:04
there's no like staying the same so game
3:07
four is where we are right now we have
3:09
to be better in game five right and then
3:11
um that's a little bit more experience
3:13
for our younger guys and our older guys
3:15
um they've got to make an adjustment to
3:17
play better not harder better Courtney I
3:19
know you said you wanted to play this
3:20
game in December instead of November but
3:23
do you view it as sort of the Silver
3:24
Lining positive that you have going out
3:26
of this game you still have 30 odd games
3:28
left this and also going into the battle
3:31
for Atlantis where you'll have more
3:33
Prime competition yeah and then we've
3:34
got right after battle atlis we've got
3:35
Kentucky coming our way yeah so you know
3:38
that's the thing is that it's a great
3:39
game to play whenever you can play it
3:41
right um the ACC expanded there were
3:42
some things outside of our control that
3:44
kind of changed the date hats off that
3:45
they were willing to switch that Yukon
3:47
was willing to switch the date with us
3:49
uh because we both wanted to keep the
3:50
game um but yeah we're we're not we're
3:53
not thinking that this is like okay so
3:55
good now everything gets easier just
3:56
gets harder right but now you've gotten
3:59
you've gotten another test to grow from
4:01
uh grow from we have gotten better game
4:03
to game we are better this game than we
4:04
were the last game we were better the
4:05
third game we were the second game right
4:07
and so I just keep imploring you don't
4:09
get better you don't get you don't stay
4:10
the same and like we're just not getting
4:12
worse we're just going to keep getting
4:14
better I know you're still testing but
4:16
can you talk about your point guard
4:18
strategy yeah it's good to have multiple
4:20
ball handlers you know I thought Ria
4:21
handled pressure really well um you know
4:24
mo for most of the time um we she really
4:26
trust her there you know Grace was a you
4:28
know Grace we I'm really high on Grace I
4:30
think her speed and her her you know
4:32
pound-for-pound strength really helps
4:33
our program um she was a little lacad
4:35
isical today um and when we we you know
4:38
we were kind of riding uh Rah and then
4:40
Laney was able to have the ball in her
4:41
hands a bit um Laney's got a lot of
4:43
international experience I know she's
4:44
young it doesn't matter her clock has
4:45
started um her you know her um so it's
4:49
nice to have multiple options there it's
4:51
a physical game to to have to car the
4:53
load which again are things we didn't
4:54
have last year multiple guys to kind of
4:56
carry the ball um which was which was
4:58
great you know India's been out as you
4:59
know so for her to be able to put up 32
5:02
minutes and play as hard as she did so I
5:03
give a lot of credit to our sport
5:04
performance team um because I didn't
5:06
know how much we'd get from her from a
5:08
physical standpoint I thought she did a
5:09
lot of good things going to P you know
5:11
you said she said she wanted to come
5:12
into the season playing more aggressive
5:14
play more intensity you know the
5:16
difference of her now versus when you
5:17
got last year no Paige is good Paige is
5:20
really good yeah uh and what she you
5:23
know obviously Sarah we were in to fight
5:25
for that one um the first thing my son
5:27
said when I hugged him before the game
5:28
is is what where's Sarah I was like come
5:31
on bud um so the uh you know she's got a
5:35
great running mate now but you know
5:36
Paige is really special you know we've
5:38
got we've got an opportunity to watch a
5:39
generational player for a couple more
5:41
couple more games before she goes on to
5:42
the pros um but it's just the health of
5:44
our game yeah she's she's an exceptional
5:46
player she's unselfish and we focus our
5:48
defense on her so I think she doesn't
5:50
push she doesn't Force she she has
5:52
teammates she trusts and utilizes them
5:53
Well India can you talk about uh your
5:55
emotions coming in starting and starting
5:57
out very hot and really providing a
6:00
spark early for your team yeah I was
6:02
just super excited to get back to my
6:04
team get back playing with them um I
6:06
know I put in a lot of work in the
6:07
offseason so I was just excited to show
6:09
everybody what I've been working on what
6:12
now um this college basketball players
6:15
are never 100% unfortunately I was good
6:17
enough to almost get a double double but
6:20
do everything I can for my team at what
6:23
they needed to what I needed to do for
6:25
them so what worked well for you tonight
6:27
um just being aggressive
6:29
um getting on the boards like I usually
6:31
do and then just playing control I know
6:33
a couple possessions I did get a little
6:34
bit out of control but just um staying
6:37
mellow in my mindset as well and just
6:39
being aggressive like the player I am he
6:42
from your perspective I know you guys
6:44
cut it you had the lay to cut it to nine
6:46
late before halftime uh it was R had the
6:49
three to cut it the 12 going at halftime
6:51
I guess kind of you know in those
6:52
moments you guys kind of cut into the
6:54
lead from your perspective what kind of
6:55
kept you guys from I guess cutting into
6:57
it further as the the game no like coach
7:00
said I feel like um we just didn't take
7:02
advantage of the opportunities we had um
7:04
we had some misls on defense or we
7:06
didn't hit the shots that we usually
7:07
make and I feel like those possessions
7:09
are they're very valuable in those
7:11
moments cuz you really need them to um
7:13
when you're fighting back
7:14
especially coach got a question about
7:17
strategy yeah you guys were down it was
7:20
18 and then you may have switched to
7:21
Zone kind of that 3-2 player out um was
7:25
that conscious or was that something
7:26
that you were going to implement
7:27
regardless just feel like it slowed them
7:29
down yeah yeah it did yep we have we had
7:31
we knew we were going to need some
7:33
multiple kind of um secondary coverages
7:36
per se um so whether that was some
7:39
trapping in the middle of the floor
7:40
whether that was you know after the
7:42
second pass you're in zone whether that
7:44
was you know some full court stuff um
7:47
you know they're just too good of a team
7:48
and too rhythmed of a team to to not
7:50
disrupt um and then uh so our guys did
7:53
that well again the expectation is is
7:54
that they will defend well right that is
7:56
the expectation right um it's some of
7:58
those possessions when we get the O
7:59
board and then we force a contested shot
8:02
if you get that out and that's a three
8:04
now they're really on the ropes right
8:05
cuz now it's a six-point game you know
8:07
it's those possessions that you know
8:09
that we we have to you have to learn
8:12
from that the getting people on the
8:13
roades so it's hard for me to really
8:15
think beyond that but yes defensively I
8:17
thought the adjustments that they these
8:18
guys were able to execute helped us a
8:20
lot India you all had seven turnovers in
8:23
the first quarter you know what you kind
8:25
of attribute to um to those M qes early
8:30
um I think we were just trying to be
8:31
aggressive push the pace and we just
8:33
kind of got a little bit out of control
8:35
but you know we settled down we knew
8:38
that we can't keep making those
8:39
turnovers and we just got back to it cuz
8:41
once it happens you just have to next
8:43
play it's a bit of a two-part problem
8:45
too right some of it's decision- making
8:47
with facilitators and some of it is the
8:48
idea of winning the catch you know if
8:50
someone throws it to you you got to win
8:53
the catch right and so it's a little bit
8:55
of I don't know where the turnovers who
8:56
ended up getting them um but it's a
8:59
two-part problem and that win the catch
9:00
I don't think was at an elite level
9:01
either Cy what you see from Sierra it
9:03
seems like that conf boage for her yeah
9:06
I mean I'm kind of seeing from Sierra
9:08
the same things y'all are seeing which
9:09
is every game that she's getting more
9:11
comfortable she's more impactful right
9:13
um play the play call sheet I'll be
9:15
quite honest is very slim when she's in
9:17
because you don't want to overload a
9:18
freshman who's who's coming back and and
9:20
and doing all that um and so you know
9:23
she's got a really bright feature
9:24
competitive she's she's she really wants
9:26
to learn um she's got a great skill set
9:28
um so she gets better and better and
9:30
that you know I hope she's better in a
9:31
month than she is right now going back
9:33
to that zone it was SRA and Le hole
9:36
quarter how big were the minutes from
9:38
Leila down in the post and then also
9:40
that three on the other end yeah you
9:42
know we you know that was you know
9:43
Lila's learning the zone so we're we not
9:46
we we couldn't sit in it as long we had
9:47
to go back to the man when she was in
9:49
because she's sort of learning that spot
9:50
last year she was a red shirt kid and so
9:52
she got to play the top because that's
9:53
where we didn't have any bodies so last
9:55
year as a red shirt she had to be what
9:56
we didn't have right and now she's
9:58
playing to help us so she's kind of
9:59
learning a different position um so you
10:03
know we needed her to rebound a little
10:05
bit more from that position um you know
10:07
that doesn't hasn't come naturally
10:08
enough to her yet so we kind of had to
10:10
shift I would imagine that after five
10:13
years you don't necessarily worry about
10:14
Alissa uh but it is three straight games
10:17
under you know double digits and things
10:19
like that I guess in those situations
10:20
when you do have a veteran that's going
10:22
through a slump in that way what type of
10:24
things do you communicate to them and
10:25
what kind of things you kind of
10:26
communicate to specific yeah I think
10:29
some of the conversations a lot of those
10:30
conversations are what makes coaching
10:32
special right is that the conversations
10:33
I have with India are between India and
10:35
I right the conversations I have with
10:36
Alyssa are between Lissa and I having
10:38
said that I'll put the the the seniors
10:40
as a whole um they need to they need to
10:43
be better quite frankly and they need to
10:45
take responsibility for for that they
10:47
weren't better as a whole right um so
10:50
it's easy to single out Alyssa because
10:52
she's kind of done so much for us and
10:53
she continues to do so much for us I I
10:55
wouldn't put you know Lexi and Maria and
10:57
Grace in like the really played great
10:58
category either um so you know yeah
11:01
there's no I don't panic about them
11:03
they've got a lot of experience and
11:04
partly they got to figure it out right
11:06
um and and part of that is you your
11:08
emotions are managing your emotions
11:10
might be a hard thing um and I get that
11:12
right but you got to trust the work you
11:14
put in and trust your skill set um and
11:16
she's got more pieces around her now so
11:18
she can um we don't need as much from
11:20
her but we we need better than we got
11:22
today for sure coach you talked about
11:24
winning the catch from that would have
11:26
been great um initial takeway I mean is
11:29
that more of a positioning communication
11:31
thing it sounds like you were you know
11:34
satisfied just as an example on that
11:35
past on uh two different times we threw
11:37
the ball into Maria and I don't know
11:39
what happened right but that's a win to
11:41
catch if it's in your area and and and
11:44
you've asked for the ball that's a win
11:45
the catch I don't know how much more
11:46
simple to make it why it didn't get
11:48
caught where it got
11:49
fumbled those are not my I'm not able to
11:51
see that yet until I see film but
11:53
against a pressure team where the
11:54
possessions matter you know it's a it's
11:57
a there's a trust element of India's Got
11:59
to make better decisions at times with
12:00
the ball in her hands but I think other
12:02
times I don't know I think at least one
12:04
of those passes I don't I think that's a
12:06
win the catch right so it's just a
12:07
two-part problem coach what do you carry
12:11
forward from this game and what do you
12:13
want to leave here in the
12:15
Coliseum I mean I take everything
12:17
forward like literally everything you
12:19
know I I think back already I don't know
12:21
when it was you guys are better at
12:22
numbers and details but the first game
12:24
of the season there's a lot I took from
12:26
that game right and then the second game
12:28
I took more from that game and uh the
12:30
day this the day that this program the
12:32
day that this team doesn't get better
12:33
we'll have a real problem right they've
12:35
gotten better in the four games we've
12:36
played um and we have b a really good
12:38
Ball State team next and we'll be better
12:40
right that's an absolute requirement of
12:42
this program that we get better uh game
12:44
by game um so we'll take everything the
12:46
good the bad the fans the energy the
12:48
opportunity the Heartbreak you know the
12:51
love that um people showed up for this
12:53
team and I'm really grateful for that
12:55
that's I'm humbled by that right um I
12:58
I'll take the offense rebound crap shot
13:00
that we took after that I'll take the um
13:03
the India's great attack finish with her
13:04
La I'll take it all and I'll watch it
13:06
and I'll watch it again these guys know
13:08
and I'll watch it again and they'll
13:10
watch it again but yeah you got to take
13:11
it all this is game four it's it is a
13:14
this this season is a absolute marathon
13:16
and um we will continue to get better
13:18
into game five do you know you know Tai
13:20
the colle went for today and you talked
13:21
earlier this week about what he meant to
13:23
you in your early career what's probably
13:25
it's an impossible question to answer
13:26
but what just his impact on his game
13:28
even as an
13:29
yeah it's what I told the TV you were
13:31
here so you didn't get to hear it um is
13:33
uh you know the thing that I learned
13:36
from Gino in my time doing my graduate
13:37
work um and interviewing him um was one
13:40
of the most valuable things I had heard
13:41
as I was trying to figure out if
13:42
coaching was a what is coaching and
13:44
because my parents made sure I it wasn't
13:46
a vocation right so now I'm the most
13:48
expensively educated coach in the world
13:50
um but the second part of that is is
13:52
that would I be any good at it right um
13:54
and I learned from him that his his
13:56
authenticity is his superpower right
13:58
Gino is Gino like this whether he's
13:59
drinking wine whether he's coaching and
14:02
when I'm when I'm with him at USA this
14:04
is Gino you guys know that um and it
14:07
gave me a young coach who was still
14:08
figuring out what I was going to do with
14:10
these expensive degrees um real
14:12
validation that like me being me I was
14:15
going to I'll be able to figure it out
14:16
right um and so I think when he was
14:18
first winning all his championships it
14:19
was just kind of a two-horse race um and
14:22
he better take pride and I told him that
14:23
he better take pride in that it's no
14:25
longer a two- horse race right never
14:27
does anyone lose the respect people have
14:29
for what he's done and what Yukon is for
14:31
our game um but you know there are a lot
14:34
of teams that can win a National
14:36
Championship now um and you know he's
14:39
he's been a huge him and T Tara have
14:40
been a huge part of that because it's
14:42
made people want to get into coaching
14:43
it's made kids want to choose basketball
14:45
it's made media want to show up it's
14:46
made um this the Pinnacle of women's
14:49
sports in my opinion and I'm at a school
14:50
where we win national championships and
14:52
all the other ones too but um so yeah
14:54
he's he's he deserves his flowers and he
14:57
Has Lifted others as he's sometimes in
14:59
the in the women's game I'll be honest
15:01
when it's a guy it's easy to be like H
15:04
right he he lifts others up he he has
15:07
brought people with them right um and so
15:09
I'm you're you're talking to a Gino fan
15:12
here you say also about that one two
15:15
punch of Gino and chrisy being able to
15:18
do it together for so long I mean do you
15:20
think we'll see that again I mean it's
15:22
hard to be married that long right I
15:24
mean I so I don't that's hard to coach
15:27
I'm telling you I'm not coaching for 40
15:28
years I don't know if that's a secret
15:29
but I'm not that I'm definitely not
15:31
doing so I think it's hard enough to
15:33
find someone who will do one person
15:34
who's dumb enough to do this for 40
15:35
years and then to find two um so I don't
15:38
know I I don't know I think there's
15:39
people who are the head coaching role is
15:41
very different than the assistant
15:42
coaching role I give her a lot of uh I I
15:45
just love that about her that she knows
15:46
where she's really really good right
15:48
it's not like she hasn't had
15:49
opportunities to be a head coach right
15:51
it's that they're totally different jobs
15:53
actually at times um and so you have to
15:55
find um a head coach long enough who
15:58
will do it long and then um someone who
16:01
is in her skill set as well so I don't
16:03
know it'll happen again um back to the
16:05
game coach paig exploded for 16 in the
16:07
first first half first quarter she sure
16:09
did yeah and then and then you guys Li
16:11
only seven at the most quarters
16:13
following is there anything specifically
16:15
that you went over in the Huddle or just
16:17
talk to your players about to limit her
16:19
offense we were I mean India moved over
16:22
to her a little bit we went over some
16:24
more coverages um we went into our kind
16:27
of secondary coverages own and things
16:29
like that um so he crowded the middle of
16:31
the floor um you know you do what you
16:33
can to manage her quite honestly um and
16:36
throughout the game you're making these
16:38
adjustments and I don't I don't remember
16:40
the details of it enough because I still
16:42
want those few offensive possessions
16:43
back and I told you that's all I can
16:44
think about but um yeah she had 16 in
16:47
the first quarter she had two in the
16:48
second so she had 18 total at half still
16:50
too many right and she ended up with 29
16:52
so somewhere in the third and fourth she
16:53
scored 11 I'll watch him back any other
16:57
questions for coacher India
16:59
come on India's here guys she's very
17:02
articulate what did you like about you
17:04
that that fourth quarter rug where you
17:06
were out
17:07
there new guys or
17:11
young I feel like they responded pretty
17:14
well um we got in our huddle like after
17:16
the timeout and we said we trust in each
17:18
other we believe in in each other and I
17:20
felt like that it showed on the court
17:22
and it showed in that run that we went
17:23
on and I just I'm proud of them but we
17:25
still have things that we need to work
17:26
on yeah
17:29
everyone cool thanks guys thanks for
17:30
showing up
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