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#UNC coach Hubert Davis pre-Kansas press conference
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0:00
is what makes Darren Peterson unique and
0:02
what he brings to Kansas?
0:05
Um, he, you know, he is, uh, obviously
0:07
he's he's gifted, but, uh, just his
0:10
ability to be impactful and dominant on
0:14
both ends of the floor. I mean,
0:15
obviously he can score. Um, he's a
0:18
fourle, can shoot from three mid-range,
0:20
get to the bucket, uh, get fouled, get
0:23
to the free throw line. I've also been
0:25
impressed um
0:28
um just from a defensive standpoint, you
0:30
know, his ability to get steals and
0:32
deflections, uh rebound the basketball,
0:35
and so um he's more than just a score.
0:38
He's a complete basketball player and
0:39
obviously he's playing at extremely high
0:41
level with tremendous confidence.
0:43
Hubert, it's not often that a game like
0:45
this gets played in November on a campus
0:47
site. As someone who loves this
0:50
university, loves this town, how excited
0:53
are you for fans to get to see a game
0:56
like this play here in the Smith Center
0:58
as opposed to on court?
1:00
Yeah, I mean it was, you know,
1:04
it was significant for us to play at
1:06
Kansas last year, you know, and um, you
1:10
know, for them to come here early in the
1:12
season. Um there's a lot of excitement
1:15
and um there's also a lot of history
1:18
between both of our programs and so um I
1:21
think that adds to it and adds to the
1:23
excitement and um I know they're fired
1:26
up and you know we're fired up as well.
1:29
Last year your your season high for
1:32
assists was 24 in a game. You had 23 in
1:34
the first game the other day.
1:36
team's length is obvious when they show
1:38
up on the floor, but how apparent has it
1:40
been to you that this bunch with so many
1:42
good players has gotten along and moved
1:44
the ball so well early on?
1:46
Yeah, you know, that's one of the many
1:49
things that I was really encouraged
1:50
about against Central Arkansas was just
1:53
our ability to share the basketball. I
1:56
felt, you know, consistently we were
1:58
passing up good shots to get great
2:01
shots. I felt like in some instances we
2:04
were even overpassing. You know, I
2:07
mentioned before and we all laughed
2:08
about the double lob, you know, and
2:10
that's something that um I had never
2:13
seen before, but just instinctively and
2:16
that's this is something that we've
2:17
talked about is that uh just making the
2:20
extra pass, move the ball, share the
2:21
ball, and it was nice to see everybody
2:24
do that. Um this past Monday,
2:27
you talked about the matchup last year
2:28
at Kansas. Is there anything you can
2:31
take away from that matchup? I know
2:32
there are different players, different
2:34
completely different roster. Are there
2:36
any things you can take away, maybe
2:37
scheme or anything as far as the way
2:39
Kansas plays?
2:40
Um, not necessarily in terms of schemes,
2:43
but um,
2:45
you know, I do remember we're up four
2:47
with three minutes to go, you know, and
2:49
one of the things that we talk about as
2:51
a team is discipline and details. The
2:53
little things that make big things
2:55
happen. And you know, down the stretch,
2:57
you just got to be tight defensively
2:58
getting stops, rebounds. We didn't stop
3:01
them down the stretch. Uh we gave up an
3:03
offensive rebound and just execution on
3:05
the offensive end. Um taking care of the
3:08
basketball, getting the right shots. Um
3:11
getting the right shots by the right
3:12
guys and um not that we would have won,
3:17
but just a missed opportunity last year,
3:19
you know, down the stretch.
3:21
What were some of the things that you
3:22
took away from Luca the other night?
3:24
also how he handled that handle the
3:27
whole situation. Luka.
3:29
Yeah. Um,
3:33
you know, it's it's
3:38
pretty remarkable for him to have
3:41
um been notified that, you know, he was
3:44
cleared to play right before the game.
3:46
and for him to be able to play and to
3:50
play as well as he
3:53
um as well as he did it. But uh I think
3:59
um it shows his maturity in terms of
4:01
being able to um stay locked in and stay
4:05
ready when your number is called. Um,
4:09
kind of reminds me when I got traded
4:12
from Dallas Mavericks to uh the
4:15
Washington Wizards and I had to be there
4:18
within 48 hours and I remember landing
4:21
in Washington DC and having my suitcase
4:24
roll across the court during warm-ups
4:27
and I I met my teammates and met coach
4:30
um Leonard Hamilton for the first time
4:32
and wow
4:33
he asked me can I dribble the basketball
4:36
because we have a number of shooting
4:38
guards and I said yes and he says okay
4:40
you're going to play point and I played
4:42
point guard and had a guard Vince Carter
4:43
that night so um
4:48
didn't go very well but
4:51
and so it just kind of reminds me of you
4:53
know um I guess that professional
4:56
mindset of uh staying locked in and
4:59
staying ready and when your number is
5:01
called um you're called to perform. Did
5:03
you pick it up and notice the ovation he
5:05
got when he went in? And it's kind of
5:08
cool. He's only been here for three
5:10
months. He's from another country and
5:11
he's being embraced that way right away.
5:13
Well, he he has embraced this place.
5:17
You know, from the first time that I
5:19
spoke with him,
5:22
the thing that jumped out to me the most
5:24
was his burning desire to be here,
5:28
obviously to play, to be a part of this
5:30
program, but to be a part of this
5:32
university and this community. And so,
5:35
um,
5:38
you know, the ovation or the excitement
5:40
of having him out there wasn't
5:42
surprising to me, um,
5:45
being how much he's wanted to be here.
5:48
Just one more quick note on that, um, on
5:50
Lieutenant Murray that you mentioned.
5:52
Um, how much of that is maybe just
5:54
intrinsic to him versus something that
5:56
you see too in Henry and these other
5:58
international guys that kind of have
6:00
that common experience overseas? I don't
6:02
I don't I don't think there's a
6:04
connection to international players or
6:06
not. I just, you know, um, as I said
6:09
before that, you know, just a majority
6:11
of, you know, of Luca or Henry, um,
6:15
older players understanding that,
6:19
you know, you never know when, where,
6:21
how,
6:23
uh, in the manner in which your number
6:24
is going to be called, but your job or
6:26
responsibility is when, and I say when
6:28
your number is called, it's you got to
6:31
be ready to play. And um those guys have
6:34
been able to do it. Older and
6:36
experienced guys know how to do it even
6:38
better than younger players.
6:39
You Dallas story. How much point guard
6:42
do you see Luca play eventually this
6:45
season?
6:45
Well, I again, you know, um I don't I'm
6:49
a positionless coach, you know. I I want
6:52
guys that can do a number of things out
6:54
there on the floor. I want as many ball
6:57
handlers, playmakers out there on the
7:00
floor. Obviously, he's one of those, but
7:02
we've got a number of guys that can do
7:03
that with Kenne and Derek and Isaiah and
7:07
Seth and a number of guys. And so, he's
7:11
he's he's one of those guys that can
7:12
make plays whether it's with the ball in
7:15
his hands or he can make plays uh off
7:18
the ball as well. Hubert, I know that
7:20
that
7:22
I know that once the game starts, you
7:24
start playing and things, you know, get
7:25
scrambled up and you're just playing
7:26
basketball. But as you as you are
7:29
looking at Kansas and trying to game
7:31
plan for what you would like to do
7:33
against them defensively,
7:36
how does this size on the their size on
7:38
the perimeter dictate or inform what you
7:41
would like to do with your matchups?
7:43
Again, I know you're switching and
7:44
things happen, but like how would you
7:46
like to how would you like to try to
7:48
approach the size that they have on the
7:50
perimeter? Cuz I think they're 66 and up
7:53
maybe.
7:54
Yeah, but we got we got some pretty good
7:55
size, too. I mean,
7:58
and so true. Um
8:01
and so, but they are they're uh you
8:03
know, they do have positional size. Um
8:06
they're athletic. Um they can do a
8:08
number of things on the floor, whether
8:10
it's on the perimeter. Um obviously uh
8:13
their ability lobb threats um they can
8:16
put max pressure on the rim through
8:18
penetration. Uh you know they put you in
8:21
situations where they can get space and
8:23
isolation plays. They're great in
8:25
transition and so you know their
8:27
athleticism and length is real and
8:29
that's something that we'll have to
8:30
match up with. Huber, when you go back
8:32
and looked at the opener, how would you
8:34
evaluate your team's performance on the
8:36
glass and how important is that going to
8:37
be limiting second chance points for
8:39
Bunga and ending those positions?
8:41
Yeah, I mean, you know,
8:44
one of the things that we always talk
8:45
about is making contact first. And
8:48
another thing that I always tell the
8:49
guys is, you know, every player and
8:51
every team, there's going to be a point
8:53
where you reach a level, whether it's
8:54
high school, college, or the NBA, if
8:56
you're good enough, that you're going to
8:58
reach a level and you're going to play a
9:00
team that is just as gifted as you are.
9:02
And so when
9:06
you are matched up against that player
9:07
or a team that is just as gifted as you
9:10
are, the difference makers are going to
9:11
be the little things. And so in regards
9:13
to boxing out, making contact first, I
9:16
mean, that guy can jump just as high as
9:17
you. So, you're not going to out jump
9:19
them. You're going to have to be
9:20
physical when the ball goes up in the
9:23
air. That's something that that we've
9:25
talked about and that we have to improve
9:27
on. You know, you mentioned against BYU,
9:30
that was something that was concerning
9:32
and glaring that when the ball went up
9:34
in the air, even though we outrebounded
9:36
them, our ability to get those hard,
9:38
tough, physical rebounds. And so that's
9:40
something that we're just going to have
9:41
to do tomorrow night cuz as I said
9:44
before rebounding is the number one
9:45
determining factor of outcome of a game
9:47
and so that you know that has to be on
9:49
point for us tomorrow night.
9:50
I know the other day we talked about
9:52
Henry double as well. Um
9:54
I know I was really surprised that that
9:56
was his first. I mean that that one
9:58
really really shocked me and so I'm glad
10:00
it happened here. Okay.
10:03
Yeah. Great.
10:04
You know, going into uh tomorrow, he
10:06
has, you know, Podonga, you know, that's
10:08
that their guy in the middle. What do
10:10
you kind of look forward to seeing from
10:11
Henry in that matchup and some of the
10:13
key things uh you make, you know, you
10:15
want him to kind of take away from this?
10:18
Yeah, you know, Henry um obviously from
10:20
a defensive standpoint rebounding the
10:22
basketball, but he also um you know,
10:25
with his lymph he can block and he can
10:27
alter shots. And so obviously they have,
10:30
you know, lob threat, rim threat, and so
10:31
that's something that we've we've talked
10:33
about and we want to um try to eliminate
10:37
as much as possible. But, you know, on
10:39
the offensive end, Henry does a really
10:41
good job of running the floor. He's a
10:43
post presence for us, and that's real.
10:45
We've uh talked at great length of how
10:47
we want to dominate points in the paint.
10:49
We want to throw the ball inside and so
10:51
just using Henry around the basket, but
10:53
also his ability to pass on the
10:55
perimeter and shoot from three. Um
10:58
hasn't shot a lot of threes. Um but just
11:01
trying to find more opportunities for
11:02
Henry pick and pop situations because
11:06
you know that's a real gift of his and
11:08
that's something that we really need to
11:09
utilize. How do you feel with Henry's
11:11
presence there being that seven foot
11:13
that like you said, you know, sometimes
11:14
you do the pick and pop or other times,
11:15
you know, pick and roll. How do you feel
11:17
that he's maybe added another dynamic to
11:20
your offense sit this year?
11:21
No, it is. I mean, his versatility is
11:24
real. I mean, again, he can he's a
11:26
gifted passer. Um, he can score around
11:29
the basket. He's our best offensive
11:31
rebounder and he can really shoot from
11:33
three. And so just encouraging him and
11:35
also showing him opportunities out
11:38
there, whether it's a half court set or
11:40
just in the flow of our freelance
11:42
offense to be able to utilize his
11:45
ability to shoot the ball from the
11:46
perimeter.
11:47
It's really early in the season
11:49
obviously, but you know, last year, I
11:51
think back to December, November, some
11:52
of those quad one games you guys came
11:54
just short of and then it ended up
11:56
haunting you later when you're talking
11:57
about getting quad one resume and things
11:59
like that. Does that creep in your mind
12:02
a little bit? Just add I know every game
12:03
is big for you, but just an added sense
12:05
of urgency to kind of get this some of
12:07
these resume wins early in the year.
12:09
Yeah, I mean I think it's an added sense
12:11
of urgency for us to continue to improve
12:14
and get better. I I you know, one of the
12:16
things that I
12:19
you know, I've said this to you guys a
12:21
number of times. I I I speak to the team
12:23
and you know, I give them Proverbs 4:25,
12:26
ignore all sideshow distractions. Just
12:28
keep your eye straight ahead. And so,
12:31
you know, obviously winning big games is
12:33
important, but the most important thing
12:36
is to focus on what is real. And that
12:39
for us is our preparation, our practice,
12:42
and for us to play at the highest level
12:45
that we can play tomorrow night. And at
12:46
the end of the day, the results will
12:48
take care of itself.
12:49
as you put together your sorry as you
12:51
put together that non-conference
12:52
schedule how much did you factor in quad
12:55
one opportunities knowing that maybe the
12:56
ACC wouldn't offer as many opportunities
12:59
you know last year it certainly didn't
13:01
when you're trying to put that a
13:02
non-conference schedule together build a
13:04
resume how how much thought went into
13:06
how many quad ones would play how many
13:07
quad twos
13:09
yeah I mean well you don't know who's a
13:11
quad one or a quad two in the summertime
13:15
and so um you know one of the things
13:18
that you do think about in terms of
13:20
scheduling is, you know, you know, how
13:22
many games non-conference do you have at
13:24
home and on the road? And so, obviously
13:26
for the ACC SEC challenge, we're on the
13:28
road. Okay. And so, um, you know,
13:31
playing in a tournament in Fort Myers,
13:33
Florida. And so, those are those are
13:36
factors that go into determining what
13:38
kind of schedule we put together. But in
13:40
terms of quad one, quad two, that's
13:41
something that one is not something that
13:45
I'm thinking about.
13:48
because you have no idea what a quad one
13:50
and a quad two will be uh during the
13:52
summer.
13:53
Cubert, for for a freshman or for the
13:55
freshman your team that are playing in a
13:56
game like this, how do you balance
13:58
wanting them to be amped up for the
14:00
game, but also wanting them to take it
14:01
all in and take a step back and play
14:03
within themselves during the actual
14:04
game?
14:04
I want them to be both. I want everybody
14:06
to be both. I want them to be amped up.
14:08
And it it's not um
14:12
significant because of whom we're
14:13
playing on Friday night. Uh it doesn't
14:15
matter who we play. I want them to be
14:16
amped up. I always tell the guys uh to
14:19
play here, you have to play with
14:20
emotion. I coach with emotion. Uh
14:22
because I care about this place. And I
14:24
say when you're doing something that you
14:26
love at a place that you love and you're
14:28
doing something that you love, if
14:29
emotion's not coming out of you, then
14:31
then you're not doing the thing that
14:33
you're supposed to be doing. So I want
14:34
them amped up and and um um when you're
14:39
playing with emotion, they understand
14:40
how to play within themselves and do the
14:42
things that we've practiced in practice.
14:44
when you're when you're scouting them,
14:45
does the fact that they played a
14:47
high-profile exhibition and you have an
14:49
extra game of tape out there, does that
14:50
make any sort of tangible impact in the
14:52
amount of information you feel like you
14:53
have or is it pretty?
14:56
Well, I Yeah, I think that's a great
14:59
question. I mean, obviously they play
15:01
Louisville on the road and um you're
15:04
able to see some some tendencies or
15:07
habits that they're, you know, early in
15:09
the season trying to identify and, you
15:12
know, the same for us when, you know,
15:13
when we played BYU, but I mean,
15:16
irregardless of the opponent, you know,
15:19
Kansas is really good. They're extremely
15:20
well coached. They're very athletic,
15:22
versatile,
15:24
you know, very good on the defensive
15:25
end. They do a really nice job of
15:27
getting steals and deflections. So,
15:29
we're going to have to take care of the
15:30
basketball and offensively,
15:33
you know, their speed and their
15:34
athleticism is real. And so,
15:36
irregardless of who you play, that jumps
15:39
off the page when you watch them.
15:41
Just on that note really quick, like the
15:44
size, athleticism, and you talked so
15:46
much about positional size that your
15:48
team has. Yeah. How does that, I guess,
15:50
change maybe what goes into game prep
15:53
when you're looking at certain kind of
15:55
combinations, rotations that you can use
15:56
to match up against a team like Kansas?
15:59
Yeah. Um,
16:01
again, you know, we have some pretty
16:03
good size and athleticism as well. So,
16:06
um, and that gives us ability to, you
16:10
know, throughout the game on both ends
16:12
of the floor determine some matchups or
16:15
some concepts that could be favorable to
16:17
us. But I mean, at the end of the day, I
16:19
really believe it's all the little
16:21
stuff. You know, it's rebounding. It's
16:23
defending without fouling. It's taking
16:24
care of the basketball, getting good
16:26
shots, getting to the free throw line,
16:28
making your free throws, getting second
16:30
chance opportunities. So, you know, we
16:31
could talk about all the size and
16:32
athleticism. You just go down to those
16:34
things and those will be the determining
16:36
factor of the outcome of a game.
16:38
Have time for a couple more.
16:39
Cuber, you saw what did you see from K
16:41
that you liked on Monday and how
16:42
important is it to have kind of that
16:44
primary ball handler heading into a big
16:45
time match up like? Yeah, I thought um
16:48
you know I thought he did a really nice
16:50
job distributing the basketball. One of
16:51
the things that he does really well is
16:53
he pitches the ball ahead in transition.
16:56
I always feel like that's the fastest
16:57
way to transition from defense to
16:59
offense and it just instinctively he's
17:01
really looking to do that and I thought
17:03
he did a really nice job of that against
17:04
Central Arkansas. Um, I thought he was
17:07
aggressive whether it was shooting from
17:09
three, getting in the lane, playing off
17:10
two feet, making sound decisions, and so
17:13
obviously, um, look for him to continue
17:15
to do that on Friday night.
17:17
Hey coach, um, speaking to Seth, after
17:19
the central Arkansas game, you mentioned
17:20
that he was looking forward to having to
17:22
guard Darren Pearson tomorrow. How much
17:23
pride does it take in those assignments
17:25
and how much how much does that energy
17:27
set the tone for the team? Yeah. You
17:30
know, one of the, you know, the great
17:31
things about Kansas is Kansas is Kansas
17:35
there. It's it's it's it's like North
17:37
Carolina. It's not just about one
17:39
person. And um the reason why that
17:41
they're a good team is because they have
17:43
a collection of a number of really good
17:45
players. And so, it's never a one-on-one
17:48
situation or battle. Um we have to do a
17:51
great job defensively. We've got to get
17:53
stops. We've got to finish those stops
17:55
with a rebound and then that allow us to
17:57
get out in transition.
17:58
going back to the freshman a minute ago
18:00
with what Gail Wilson has already kind
18:02
of done in his preseason game even first
18:05
game out here. Do you feel like he's one
18:07
of the most ready freshman that you've
18:08
coached for a big environment like this
18:10
early on?
18:11
Well, he is ready and he he he he wants
18:14
the spotlight, you know, he's somebody
18:16
that uh that runs towards it. And uh
18:21
yesterday at practice, I he had a like
18:25
like a different not a different over
18:27
the last week, just a different look. So
18:30
after practice, I pulled him aside and I
18:31
said, you know, Caleb, is everything
18:32
okay? And he goes, "Coach, I'm just
18:34
really locked in."
18:35
And I was like, "Okay, that's fine." But
18:37
like one of the things that really makes
18:38
me feel comfortable as a coach is when
18:40
you smile. So I said, "You can be locked
18:42
in, but you have to smile. Just just
18:44
look at me, just give me that smile, and
18:46
then you can go back to being locked
18:47
in." But I mean, he's somebody that um
18:51
you know, the attention to detail. I'
18:53
I've mentioned before that he's always
18:55
asking questions. As talented as he is,
18:57
he's not somebody that thinks he knows
18:59
everything. He's always willing to
19:01
learn. and um
19:04
but he is he's one that that uh that
19:07
runs towards the light and uh he's
19:10
really excited about um playing on
19:12
Friday.
19:13
Last one. Rod, you mentioned the BYU
19:15
game. How much have you had to
19:17
emphasize, re-emphasize physicality and
19:19
and where this
19:20
Every day, all day. Every day, all day,
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every day, all day. Um it it just is
19:26
what it is. I mean, it's physicality
19:28
really on both ends of the floor, you
19:29
know. Um, obviously, you know, defensive
19:33
rebounding and making contact and, you
19:35
know, physicality on the ball, not
19:37
letting guys just go where they want to
19:38
go and set the screens that they want to
19:40
screen and not let teams run the offense
19:41
that they run and shoot around. But also
19:43
on the offensive end as well, you know,
19:45
that physicality being able to catch the
19:47
ball where we want to, the physicality
19:49
to be able to dominate points in the
19:51
paint and get the ball into the into the
19:53
post. the physicality to get through um
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um screens and get through bumps to be
20:00
able to get to the basket, the
20:02
physicality to get to the offensive
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glass. You know, our offensive
20:05
rebounding percentage was 38% the last
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game. That's not high enough. So, uh
20:10
physicality, that's the only way you can
20:12
play the game and it's something that we
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talk about at great length every day.
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Coach, thank you. Tell
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