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UNC coach Courtney Banghart and guard Lanie Grant after the Tar Heels' loss at Duke.
Feb 28, 2025
UNC coach Courtney Banghart and guard Lanie Grant after the Tar Heels' loss at Duke.
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0:00
just another great college basketball
0:02
environment you know it's this is why
0:04
you do rivalry games you know it's so
0:06
fun to have there were a lot of Carolina
0:07
fans there um on a week night uh so that
0:11
was really fun um I hope our group
0:13
obviously we were pretty under
0:15
undermanned and short-handed as we try
0:17
to get healthy for our uh or get to our
0:19
best for the playoff uh the playoffs
0:22
that are coming up um so I think the
0:24
fatigue sort of settled in there in the
0:26
in the third quarter into the into the
0:28
fourth um but if we got a little bit
0:30
deeper tonight a little bit more
0:31
experience then uh it's a good thing for
0:33
our group moving
0:35
forward
0:37
questions yeah yeah just we give an
0:39
update I oh yeah she's she's minute to
0:42
minute she'll be
0:44
back I gu just follow up just an update
0:48
on you saw her I mean she was almost
0:51
subbed herself in it looked like uh
0:53
she'll be back too you know it's it's a
0:55
long season it's a really physical game
0:57
obviously we put a lot of miles on those
0:59
kids and you know um and you just want
1:01
to make sure that you put don't put them
1:03
in a position where they're they're
1:04
going when they're not ready right um
1:06
and so you know if this was if this was
1:09
an NCA Tournament game might be a little
1:11
bit different but we've got some more
1:12
season left and we want to make sure
1:13
we're at our B when we need to be when
1:15
did you know you would do it without R
1:16
ey was something that you you had to
1:18
make because we made that decision uh
1:21
pretty early in the day yesterday um you
1:23
know um and you know Grace is more than
1:25
capable right and she got some really
1:27
good minutes tonight in a great
1:28
environment um and so you know the
1:31
adjustment is that you're you had to
1:32
really you shortened your bench right
1:34
and so you've got two guys that are
1:35
averaging you know over 26 minutes a
1:37
game that you've now have to kind of
1:39
spread out um so had to use a lot of
1:42
younger guys um what a great environment
1:44
to do it right if you're trying to grow
1:46
your group quickly I think this is a
1:47
pretty special group and so the deeper
1:49
we can be the better um and so it just
1:51
meant that you know Laney's young she's
1:53
got a lot of energy so I'm not going to
1:55
sit I'm not going to I'm not worried
1:56
about her fatigue going into the
1:57
postseason she's a child so she's got
1:59
plenty of energy uh but the other guys
2:01
were just these old ladies were just
2:03
trying to keep them keep them fresh lady
2:05
with um you know Rach called you start
2:09
line I think first time this season so
2:12
first time in your career you stepped up
2:14
team
2:15
exploring big three pointers how did it
2:18
feel just kind of being on this
2:20
stage EnV yeah I mean this is how much
2:24
taller I am than you this is amazing oh
2:25
my gosh she not going to shut up about
2:27
that oh no but uh this is a sage you
2:30
want to do it on I mean packs loud that
2:32
that was definitely the loudest gym I've
2:34
ever played in um special environment
2:36
special rivalry so to be able to do it
2:38
on that stage it meant a lot um and it
2:40
shows the trust that she has for me and
2:41
I really appreciate that and obviously I
2:44
wish we could have gotten out of here
2:45
with it win but you turn the ball over
2:49
as much as we did and I had the ball in
2:50
my hands quite a lot so I take
2:52
responsibility um for most of those but
2:55
just continuing to learn and grow and
2:57
knowing that you know it might be close
2:59
to you know you know end of the season
3:00
tournament but like this is a stuff that
3:02
we can continue to grow and learn from
3:03
and it's just going to make us better
3:05
and like she said we got a lot more
3:06
experience tonight and I think that's
3:08
going to take us farther in the long run
3:10
L I have a quick question for you first
3:12
off good game tonight you scor 17 points
3:14
can you talk about scoring 17 points
3:16
were such a lock down you saying with
3:18
the turnovers yeah you know with Ria out
3:21
she brings some points as well as Alyssa
3:23
so I knew that that Gap is going to have
3:24
to be filled somewhere and I feel like
3:26
I've heard it about 30 times in the past
3:28
72 hours just attack be aggressive take
3:30
space you know she pours so much
3:32
confidence into me so it was just like
3:34
finding the flow within the offense you
3:36
know I think that we were having trouble
3:40
moving the ball at some points in the
3:41
game and so that maybe hindered some
3:43
like some looks that Lexi normally gets
3:45
or some looks that Maria normally gets
3:47
so if we continue to go in with like
3:49
this type of lineup like learning and
3:51
watching the film this is going to be a
3:52
crucial game to go back and watch the
3:54
film back and learn a lot so you
3:57
mentioned the fatigue at what point do
3:58
you feel like that said in and how do
4:00
you get affect of the game like
4:02
specifically um I thought you know it
4:06
it's it takes a lot of a lot of energy
4:08
on that's what's so great about
4:09
basketball is it's a two-way sport right
4:11
so you're playing you've got to you
4:13
don't get to like sub out because it's a
4:15
new play like in football and your
4:16
coaches tell you something and you get
4:17
to do that one thing right so the
4:19
fluidity of a game especially for you
4:22
know we you know you're asking guys to
4:24
play 30 more minutes than maybe they
4:26
usually do or you know something like
4:27
that so I I think the the faue sort of
4:30
set in halfway through I mean I at half
4:32
timee I felt like they they were locked
4:33
in but you you can you spend this much
4:35
time with them you can tell when they're
4:37
a little bit fatigued right so you know
4:39
some mental energy mistakes some some
4:41
lack of quickness and separation the
4:43
things that we we know we need um you
4:46
know so we I don't know exactly when but
4:50
you know it was a a big push for for a
4:53
lot of lot of young guys just as a
4:54
follow do you feel like that was the
4:55
biggest contributor to the turnovers or
4:57
was that something else to do so oh I
4:59
mean Duke and us are two of the best
5:01
teams in the league we forced them
5:02
turnovers all the time I think Alyssa
5:04
had 11 the last time we played them
5:05
herself so I think we actually had what
5:07
26 the last time so this is an
5:09
improvement so that's good I think we
5:11
average about 12 but 20 is an
5:14
improvement even without Alissa you guys
5:16
are do holding your own under under the
5:18
boards and is that kind of what catch
5:20
you in as long as you
5:21
did uh no I mean they had 14 offensive
5:24
rebounds so I don't know if that's
5:25
holding your own I think we just got a
5:26
lot of defensive rebounds um so you know
5:30
we don't get our rim run quite as much
5:31
when Alyssa's not in and we obviously
5:33
she's such a great rebounder for us um
5:36
so I thought they're and also you're
5:37
you're you're shorter on that rotation
5:41
too right so there were times where we
5:42
had two freshman posts in and you know
5:45
and and they're so used to you know
5:47
being able to play for each other and
5:49
stuff so you know we weren't great on
5:51
the glass I thought that was actually I
5:53
thought an area that they score almost
5:54
50% of their points off transition and
5:56
on the o glass on the year U so those
5:58
were sort of this the statistics we were
6:00
caring about is how can we take care of
6:01
the ball in this type of environment and
6:03
can we keep them off the glass and I
6:05
thought we were okay not good enough
6:08
Courtney to go off that you mentioned
6:09
having the you know two freshman in at
6:11
the same time I know you said you knew
6:13
you would be without Rah pretty early on
6:15
Wednesday but I guess what was some of
6:17
the the challenges of you know adjusting
6:19
to some of the different lineup
6:20
combinations and the fact that it is as
6:22
late in the season as it is like what
6:24
are the I guess advantages you get
6:26
having seen so many of them play I guess
6:28
in different context yeah I mean there's
6:30
a rhythm to your offense right that's
6:32
just especially when you're I'm not good
6:34
at numbers but I think we're 30 or so
6:35
games in or maybe I don't know you guys
6:37
know better than me but you know there's
6:39
a rhythm to your offense right and so
6:41
then when you take someone who's sort of
6:43
runs the tempo of the team and you have
6:44
her on the side line that rhythm is
6:46
already a bit disrupted right and then
6:48
you have young guys in that are usually
6:51
kind of the fifth guy um and the other
6:53
four can kind of operate around um now
6:55
you need them to be the one initiating
6:57
whether that's a screen or a you what is
6:59
the secondary look if they take away the
7:01
primary look I mean that's all pretty
7:02
advanced stuff right um and so you know
7:06
going from your primary to your
7:07
secondary look seamlessly is kind of a
7:09
rhythm um and a maturity that that we
7:11
didn't have at all lineups tonight quite
7:13
honestly cordney Finly related to the
7:15
game 30 minutes beforehand the final top
7:18
16 came out before the selection Sunday
7:20
yeah um the three triangle teams are all
7:23
in that top 11 top 12 range yeah what
7:25
would it mean just for college
7:27
basketball in this area to have three
7:29
host sites at first weekend I mean it's
7:31
how lucky to be in an area where as a
7:34
fan you can watch three top 15
7:36
legitimate top 15 teams right play um
7:38
and that's how the that's how the
7:39
seating works in the NCA tournament so
7:42
um we should have have all we should all
7:44
three be hosting and you know I know the
7:46
women's tournament is still sometimes an
7:47
economical save on the SPN so also you
7:50
save a lot of money on your travel you
7:52
can send them on down and you can you
7:54
fly into the same airport and you can
7:55
have the same crew to all three places
7:57
right um but you know I I know it hasn't
8:00
happened in a while um but to have three
8:02
top 15 teams in a half hour radius you
8:05
know there's basketball's pretty is
8:07
pretty healthy in in the Triangle for
8:08
sure and I hope that the the the
8:10
proximity doesn't it shouldn't deter
8:13
right it should only help I mean I'm
8:14
kind of joking on the cost saving you
8:16
I'm kind of not right but then also um
8:19
you you look at the body of work right
8:21
and so you look at um the winds that
8:23
you've had and the losses that you've
8:25
had right like we haven't lost to anyone
8:26
outside the top 25 right um and we
8:29
beaten some teams that are ahead of us
8:31
right and so when you look at the body
8:33
of work it sort of that's the that's the
8:35
charge of the committee to look at the
8:36
body of work is is we're not upper body
8:38
lower body whatever and and if this was
8:41
an incident T of the game would you have
8:43
likely made a different decision whether
8:46
this place um I think yeah I think you
8:48
want to you don't want to take the
8:49
opportunity away from anyone playing at
8:51
any time right and so these are not kids
8:53
that are like rolling over and saying
8:54
coach I don't want to play but they do
8:55
see the big picture right and so what
8:57
you do instead is you use all the
8:58
metrics that you have to make sure that
9:00
their explosivity and their balance and
9:02
their strength comparisons are the same
9:04
and if they're not that means fatigue
9:05
has really set in and that doesn't put
9:06
them in the best position to be
9:07
successful and it puts them at an injury
9:08
risk right and so you make decisions um
9:12
these are young people that have a lot
9:13
ah head so you make decisions for them
9:16
the day by day right and I know it's
9:18
really easy to it's so much easier to
9:20
have kind of a timeline and and to have
9:22
a a written kind of this is what's going
9:24
on but you know we we really use the
9:26
sport Science program that we have and
9:28
and game two games in to the until the
9:31
tournament then you have a week like
9:32
it's just you got to be smart and that's
9:33
what we're doing how special last
9:36
question how special do you think the
9:37
ACC tournament will be next week uh
9:39
battle test at five I believe five
9:41
ranked teams yeah um how special you
9:43
think it'll be yeah I mean it's it's
9:44
such a premier basketball conference
9:46
right and so then you have them all in
9:47
one place and and even the teams that
9:49
aren't ranked are really solid right and
9:51
so they they have a chance to play for
9:53
something and play their way in in a lot
9:54
of ways um and so you know it's I
9:58
remember my first year went to the NCA
10:00
tournament I I really feel like I was
10:01
the first game like I felt like it was
10:04
morning and I was playing on like a
10:06
Tuesday um and so I just said to myself
10:09
just get me out a Tuesday and then get
10:11
me out a Wednesday or maybe it was a
10:12
Wednesday game get me out a Thursday get
10:13
me out a you know and so I'm glad that
10:15
these guys are batt battling enough to
10:17
get us out of some of those first rounds
10:19
great thanks everyone
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