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#UNC coach Hubert Davis press conference ahead of ACC opener against Florida State
Dec 29, 2025
#UNC coach Hubert Davis press conference ahead of ACC opener against Florida State
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0:00
with the players with schedule-wise of
0:02
guys were off and came back and how you
0:04
sort of managed that the last few days.
0:07
Yeah, I mean we played on what was it
0:10
last Monday against um East Carolina and
0:12
then you know we had um four days off
0:16
and then we came back and this will be
0:17
our third third practice in preparation
0:20
for Florida State today. I mean
0:22
tomorrow.
0:23
Hubert, you mentioned that you're happy
0:25
with the start that you guys have had
0:27
but you're not satisfied in your mind.
0:28
What's sort of the next step that this
0:30
team can make to continue its
0:31
progression this season?
0:33
Well, I mean, I think a number of things
0:34
on both ends of the floor. I mean, you
0:36
know, from a defensive standpoint, just
0:39
um just better at um defending without
0:43
fouling. Did better at keeping teams out
0:45
of the paint. Uh better at boxing out,
0:48
not allowing second chance
0:49
opportunities.
0:51
Um trying to find ways to create more
0:55
turnovers. Um, that's something that we
0:58
haven't done a very good job of
0:59
defensively,
1:01
uh, offensively. Um, my hope is is that
1:05
we'll shoot the ball better from three.
1:08
Um, also from the free throw line. um
1:11
just better execution, the little
1:13
details, setting screens, being in the
1:15
right spots, uh taking care of the
1:17
basketball, which we've done a really
1:20
good job of late, but just continuing to
1:23
grow and be consistent at those little
1:24
things that I think make big things
1:26
happen.
1:27
Seth was asked last Monday night after
1:29
the game, sort of give a scouting point,
1:31
scouting report of your defense of what
1:33
couple things he thought could be
1:34
better. first thing you went to was
1:36
finishing finishing up because you guys
1:38
given up a couple late shots at the end
1:40
of He said sometimes guys would leak
1:42
out. How close are you guys to getting
1:44
the point where you think you are
1:46
finishing because he said it doesn't
1:47
happen that often
1:48
and going back to the satisfied? I know
1:50
you're not never satisfied, but how
1:51
close do you are you to being satisfied
1:53
with how the guys are finishing
1:54
possessions defensively? I think that's
1:56
huge for us because that leads to our
1:59
efficiency on the offensive end. It
2:00
allows us to get out in transition, you
2:02
know, and you know, finishing the
2:04
defense. Um, is something that we talk
2:06
about at great length, whatever it
2:08
takes. You know, a lot of times teams
2:11
have
2:12
slowed down their approach offensively
2:14
and we've had to play defense a majority
2:17
of the shot clock. And one of the things
2:18
that we talk about in the huddle all the
2:20
time is whatever it takes, whether it's
2:22
5, 15, 30 seconds, whatever it takes to
2:25
get a defensive stop. And so, um,
2:30
I always tell them it's not a Caleb and
2:32
Henry and a Jiren rebounding game, it's
2:35
a UNCC rebounding game. That goes to the
2:37
part of being able to finish and
2:39
understand like our guards, we've got
2:41
good positional size and our guards
2:44
consistently need to get, you know,
2:46
five, six rebounds to be able to help
2:48
out. And if we can start finishing our
2:49
possessions, I think it'll also take us
2:51
to a different level defensively.
2:53
Let's stay on Seth real fast. Uh he
2:55
didn't switch much when he was on
2:56
Peterson. Same thing with Bruce
2:58
Thornton. How much flexibility does it
3:00
give you with Seth there that you don't
3:01
have to switch his offense? You can
3:03
switch certain parts and not other
3:04
parts.
3:05
Huge. Joe. Uh, and that's what we'll do
3:07
the remainder of the year. I mean,
3:08
depending who we play, actions that they
3:10
run, personnel, we have the flexibility
3:14
to be able to switch, not switch, keep
3:16
guys on certain guys, and obviously one
3:19
of the many gifts that Seth has is, you
3:22
know, his ability to defend, and we
3:24
always want him on um opponent's best
3:26
players, and so it allows us to be able
3:28
to put our best defenders on their best
3:30
offensive players.
3:32
It appears that uh Florida State plays
3:35
kind of like the Alabama style. Lots of
3:37
threes, lots of drives. What are the
3:39
challenges that a team like that and
3:41
particularly how Florida State and Venus
3:44
bring to your defense?
3:45
Yeah, I mean they put a lot of pressure
3:47
on you. They play at tremendous pace. I
3:49
mean I think their average possession is
3:51
around 14 15 seconds. Um they shoot um
3:55
an average of 36 threes which is second
3:58
in the country. And so they got a number
3:59
of guys that not only can take shots but
4:02
can get hot and and hit multiple shots
4:04
from three. U but they also, you know,
4:07
have the athleticism to be able, you
4:09
know, they may not take a lot of
4:11
mid-range jump shots, but they do get
4:13
points in the paint off of their
4:15
penetration,
4:17
whether it's in transition or half
4:19
court. So, it's important for us to
4:21
protect the paint, but also put us in a
4:23
position where we can contest and be
4:25
able to finish the possessions um off
4:28
those three-point shots, but they put a
4:29
lot of pressure on you offensively um
4:32
spacing wise, and it'll be a challenge
4:34
for us defensively.
4:36
Just on the note of I guess defending
4:38
without fouling, I think it was at your
4:41
last coaches radio show when Henry was
4:43
there talking about how much he's worked
4:45
on that because he played, you know,
4:47
very limited minutes at Arizona. He
4:49
struggled with what with with foul
4:50
trouble at Arizona. Yeah.
4:52
But he's done a pretty good job of it
4:53
here.
4:54
Yeah. I'm curious just and he talked a
4:55
lot about like working specifically with
4:57
coach May on that, but how maybe you've
4:59
worked with him to coach him on that?
5:01
How do you coach somebody like that
5:04
into, you know, okay, you're going to
5:05
have to be play more minutes. What you
5:07
do to stay in the game so he can kind of
5:09
better. Well, I think that's something a
5:11
growth that has been for Henry is just
5:14
his awareness of being in the right
5:16
positions and putting him in a situation
5:19
where he can block shots and alter shots
5:21
and use his length to help us
5:23
defensively. And I believe his length
5:25
and Caleb's length and Jiren and our
5:28
length has really helped our defense,
5:31
but also the importance for him um to be
5:34
on the floor and um not be on the bench.
5:36
So, he's done a nice job of getting
5:39
after it defensively and really
5:41
protecting the basket for us, but he's
5:42
also done a really good job of staying
5:45
out of foul trouble and allowing himself
5:47
to stay on the floor as much as he asks.
5:50
Let me uh turn the Florida State
5:51
question around and ask about their
5:53
defense because when Leonard was there,
5:55
didn't seem to matter what year it was,
5:56
they're always long and physical and
5:58
make teams feel uncomfortable. How does
6:00
this year's group compare to some of
6:01
those other teams that you would face?
6:03
Yeah, I mean they still they've got
6:05
great positional size, athleticism, they
6:07
can do a number of things defensively.
6:10
Um, you know, we expect to see
6:12
everything, you know, man zone, uh,
6:15
fullcourt press, 3/4 court press, traps
6:17
out of the press, uh, different types
6:20
of, uh, defenses, uh, out of bounds
6:22
underneath, manner zone, going back into
6:25
a man or zone,
6:27
zone side, out of bounds. um and and
6:31
what they do is a really good job of,
6:34
you know, creating chaos um and um
6:38
getting deflections and steals. One of
6:40
the things I always tell the team is
6:42
never let a defense dictate and decide
6:44
how efficient we play on the offensive
6:46
end. And so for us, uh irregardless of
6:49
what Florida State does, which they do a
6:51
terrific job of, being able to stay
6:53
within our principles and being able to
6:55
execute and just hit singles. When Will
6:57
Shaver came in here a handful of seasons
6:59
ago in January, you kind of spoke to how
7:02
how tricky it kind of is to work
7:03
somebody into the rotation in the middle
7:04
of the season and now this season with
7:06
the current landscape sees like Baylor
7:09
and Illinois and BYU bringing in these
7:11
guys from the professional ranks. I was
7:13
just kind of curious your thoughts on on
7:15
that whole situation and is it something
7:16
that you guys would be interested in
7:19
doing? Well, first of all, I would I I
7:21
just think it would be negligent on my
7:23
part to comment on other programs and
7:26
decisions that they make. And also, it
7:28
would be negligent for me to comment on
7:31
something that I have limited
7:32
information about. Um, I know that we
7:35
have 16 guys in the locker room and 16
7:37
guys that are devoted to this team and
7:39
to this program and just uh it's been a
7:42
blessing. I'm just really excited about
7:44
coaching this team the the remainder of
7:45
the season. How different is what you're
7:48
asking Cayenne to do from what he was
7:50
asked to do at Colorado State and what
7:52
are some of the areas of progress he's
7:54
made that the common person isn't going
7:56
to see?
7:56
Yeah, I mean he's been elite for us in
7:59
regards to distributing the basketball
8:02
especially in transition. Um, obviously
8:05
with, you know, Seth back in the lineup,
8:08
you know, that the pitch aheads in
8:10
transition even after a made basket
8:12
allows us to play in primary break and
8:14
be able to get layups and dunks and deep
8:16
post catch and does a really good job of
8:20
that. Um, I think, um, in regards to
8:23
running the team, he's done a really
8:25
nice job, but it is different in regards
8:28
to having the ball in his hands a little
8:29
bit more. I think one of the things for
8:31
him is um also moving them off the ball
8:34
and um using his ability to shoot the
8:37
basketball, make plays coming off of
8:39
flares, wide pins, being able to mix
8:42
that up for him will put him even more
8:44
in a better situation to be successful
8:46
and consistent on the offensive end
8:48
and and stay on him. How has he done
8:50
defensively and how do you think he does
8:52
dealing with ball screens and things
8:54
like that? Yeah, I mean, you know, for
8:56
us, you know, you know, there's there
9:00
are times where, you know, we're
9:01
switching and, you know, our guards have
9:04
to guard bigs and our bigs have to guard
9:06
guards out on the perimeter. Um, I think
9:09
he's done um a nice job um continuing to
9:13
grow because it's a different type of
9:15
defensive philosophy here in regards to
9:18
how we play. And I think the thing like
9:22
we we mentioned and talked about Henry
9:24
and just the awareness of um doing a
9:26
better job of not fouling for him for um
9:30
Kayen just being able to play defense
9:32
without fouling because there's been a
9:34
number of games where he's been in foul
9:35
trouble where it's the first or second
9:36
half and he's had to come out and um go
9:39
to the bench.
9:40
I believe this is the best start that
9:42
you've had as a coach here at UNCC. I'm
9:45
just curious, does that affect at all or
9:47
how does that affect how you kind of
9:49
approach the ACC slate just as a coach
9:51
knowing what you have here through, you
9:53
know, through December?
9:54
Yeah, I mean it doesn't nothing changes.
9:56
Um, you know, every year you're just
9:59
always looking for ways to get better
10:01
and ways to improve. I don't focus on
10:04
the record. Don't focus on the
10:06
destination. And it's for me it's always
10:08
been um having a clear focus on the
10:11
preparation, the practice, the journey,
10:14
and just the growth of this team. And so
10:17
heading into ACC season, and this is the
10:20
first time that we've had just 18 games
10:23
um in a regular season as opposed to 20
10:25
and just um just the importance of even
10:29
more so of every game in this
10:31
conference. and um you know I've been a
10:34
part of this conference as a player,
10:35
assistant coach as a head coach and been
10:37
a big fan even before I was a player and
10:39
so just really excited to start this uh
10:42
conference season this week.
10:43
Is there anything you have to do when
10:45
you have a freshman that you leaned on a
10:46
lot too in Caleb Wilson because that's
10:49
not something that comes along every
10:50
year where a freshman is that key. Do
10:52
you have to manage like you know just
10:54
kind of his trajectory or his workload
10:57
or just kind of managing him since this
10:59
is his first experience in college? No,
11:01
not at all. I mean, he's he has a um a
11:04
good and a healthy dose of his
11:06
preparation. That's, you know, not just
11:08
the stuff that he does during practice,
11:11
but pre-practice, post-practice, film
11:13
work. Um, you know, I've said this
11:16
before, you can't get a a better
11:21
freshman five-star that is a five-star
11:24
player, a fivestar teammate, and a
11:26
fivestar person. and um you know in the
11:30
13 games that we've played he's he's
11:32
seen a lot and he'll see even more and I
11:34
know that he's excited for the challenge
11:36
of the remainder of the season as well.
11:38
Cuber, how have you addressed the free
11:40
throw shooting?
11:42
That's hard.
11:43
Yeah.
11:45
You know, other than make them, it's
11:49
hard. you know, I mean, you obviously um
11:53
one of the things that we've done is ju,
11:54
you know, put that in practice specific
11:58
time um working on free throws. And when
12:02
I mean working on free throws, just
12:03
continuing to stay consistent in terms
12:05
of your free throw shooting routine,
12:07
being confident, rhythm, and that's
12:11
pretty much it. You know, um during the
12:14
season, it's tricky to talk about not
12:16
just free throw shooting, but your shot.
12:18
Yeah. Um, I just, and the reason why I
12:21
say that is for myself when I played, I
12:23
didn't want anyone talking to me about
12:24
my shot, whether it was going in or
12:26
wasn't going in. Let me figure it out. I
12:29
don't need 50,000 voices telling me,
12:31
"Elbow in, take a deep breath, bend your
12:34
knees, because that's the last thing
12:36
that you need to do during the game. You
12:37
got to play fast and free and be able to
12:39
react." And so, it's something that
12:41
we've talked about, but it's not
12:42
something that we've focused on. um just
12:45
to get our guys confident that uh when
12:48
we get to the free throw line, we can be
12:49
a team that consistently makes them.
12:52
And then how's the juice been since
12:53
y'all been back? You know, some of these
12:55
teams come back from the extended breaks
12:56
and have to get going a little bit. What
12:58
was that first practice like getting
13:00
back and then the last few days?
13:02
No, I mean I'm juiced up. So, I mean,
13:06
they they better be juiced up, too, you
13:09
know. But it was I mean I I you know, I
13:11
I always believe this. I think there are
13:14
times where the best thing for you is to
13:16
take a deep breath and to get away. And
13:19
I felt like the little bit of time away
13:22
with family and friends was something
13:24
that was needed from this group. Um, and
13:28
you know, the freshness of coming back
13:30
is, you know, being recharged and
13:32
excited about the process and the chance
13:36
of just continuing the things that we've
13:38
done in the first 13 games and seeing
13:41
how good we can become.
13:43
I was going to ask, I don't I don't
13:44
think you ever lapped with LS when he
13:46
was at Florida. Say that the year before
13:48
you came was the year they beat Carolina
13:50
in the ACC tournament, then you became
13:51
an assistant the next year. Yeah,
13:53
I think that's right. And then he was in
13:54
the NBA, obviously. Have you crossed
13:57
paths much with him? He's I mean fairly
13:59
young coaches kind of on the rise but I
14:01
don't know what kind of overlap you
14:02
would have had before he was there.
14:03
No, not not much overlap. I mean I I saw
14:05
him play when I was with ESPN. We did
14:07
you know college game day and you know
14:09
Tallahassee and you know different stuff
14:11
like that. But uh I have had some brief
14:14
conversations with him um while we've
14:17
been out recruiting and um obviously
14:19
he's a really um great coach but um I
14:23
I've really enjoyed getting to know him.
14:25
I think he's a really really good
14:26
person.
14:27
Just on the note, I guess of kind of in
14:29
season tinkering with someone's shot,
14:32
obviously says the three-point shot is
14:34
something that he's worked on a lot in
14:35
the offseason, working with Henry on
14:37
that, but he said also, I think in some
14:38
of the time that he took off rehab from
14:40
his injury, he was working with some of
14:42
the assistant coaches like Coach Paige
14:44
to kind of work on his shot and some of
14:46
the mechanics. um just want to see if
14:48
you can kind of speak to any of the
14:49
adjustments that he made, the work that
14:51
he put in, and um maybe how you've seen
14:53
it pay off so far.
14:54
Yeah, I'm just, you know, in regards to
14:56
any type of shot, whether it's free
14:58
throws or threes. I'm I'm big on
15:01
consistency, you know, uh u you know, so
15:05
many people have set rules, like one of
15:07
the rules is you never should watch the
15:09
flight of the ball. I did that
15:12
my whole career and if you go to any
15:14
camp, they were like, you can't do that.
15:16
I every time the ball left my hand I
15:18
looked straight up and looked at the
15:19
ball. And so um for me the biggest thing
15:24
is consistency. Obviously there there's
15:27
you know um fundamental habits in order
15:30
to to be a consistent good shooter. Seth
15:33
has that and just a consistency to do
15:36
it. Um whether it's a catch and shoot
15:38
off the dribble uh different situations
15:40
coming off screens and um Seth has
15:44
always been good at that. He's doing a
15:45
terrific job of that this year.
15:47
And to your point, shooting like as a
15:48
whole, um I know you've said a lot these
15:50
past few days, it's,
15:52
you know, you're really excited for, you
15:54
know, the time to come when you guys are
15:55
shooting like you know that they can
15:56
shoot from beyond the perimeter. Um just
15:58
how satisfied are you to this point with
16:01
the three-point shooting? I guess
16:03
specifically like the looks that you
16:04
guys are getting.
16:05
Yeah, I feel I feel like, you know, our
16:08
looks are getting better. Um,
16:11
you know, in in regards to percentages,
16:14
I mean, I think there's a number of
16:15
factors. It could be something
16:16
technical, whether it's, you know, elbow
16:19
in or not getting your feet set, not
16:21
being balanced, going straight up and
16:22
down. But I also think a huge part of it
16:24
is shot selection. You know, it doesn't
16:26
matter if you're a really, really great
16:28
shooter. If you're not shooting good
16:30
shots, it's not going to go in. And so
16:32
just our growth in understanding what a
16:36
good shot is compared to a great shot
16:39
and being able to be um stubborn and
16:41
persistent to be able to get those type
16:43
of shots on every possession I think
16:45
will go a long way in regards to our
16:47
percentages um getting higher.
16:49
Time for two more if there are
16:50
a really quick follow up on that. Sorry
16:52
just on the you said like the shot
16:53
selection you feel like it's been
16:54
getting better. Can you just like break
16:55
down for every specifically like what
16:57
you mean by that? Yeah, like open shot.
17:03
Um,
17:05
you know, even even if I can get off a
17:08
shot, man, there's Caleb and Henry right
17:12
down underneath the basket or man, I
17:15
have a good shot, but if I make one more
17:17
pass to Kersh, he has an even more open
17:19
shot, you know, and just uh time and
17:22
score, just different stuff like that.
17:24
and um um and just having to understand
17:29
because I think we're talented enough to
17:31
get a great shot every possession
17:32
whether we're in transition, half court,
17:34
out of bounds, underneath side, whatever
17:35
it is. And so, um just continuing the
17:38
the process of understanding and
17:41
teaching them. I think that's something
17:42
that
17:45
this generation
17:48
um hasn't been taught a lot about. I
17:52
remember here at Carolina
17:55
you had a color. You were either a red,
17:58
a yellow, or a green. A red, you
18:00
couldn't shoot a three at all. Um only a
18:03
layup or a dunk. Um a yellow was you
18:07
could shoot a three, an open three, but
18:09
it had to touch the paint through poster
18:10
penetration. And then the green light is
18:14
coach trusted you enough that you would
18:15
take good shots, so you could shoot a
18:16
three anytime that you wanted. So when I
18:18
was here at Carolina my freshman year I
18:20
was red then I went to yellow and then
18:22
it was a light green and then
18:25
latter part of junior year senior year
18:27
it was like double green.
18:30
It was good.
18:35
If you throw it to me I'm throwing it
18:36
right back.
18:38
Can you open? I'm throwing the ball to
18:42
beauty. And
18:45
so last Monday, Caleb had four turnovers
18:47
in the first half. He told us at
18:48
halftime. Sean showed him something on
18:50
the iPad about what he was doing. He
18:52
adjusted no turnovers in the second
18:54
half. Are you guys using iPads like
18:56
halftime and stuff more and more now?
18:57
Yeah, we are. We are. Um,
19:00
one,
19:01
I think it's important um to use it. You
19:04
know, one of the things
19:06
when I was in the NBA, there were a lot
19:08
of coaches that we used to watch film at
19:10
halftime. So, at the beginning of the
19:12
year, I talked to the staff and said,
19:13
"This is something that I want to use."
19:15
Um um because I think it could help. I'm
19:18
a visual learner, and I think a lot of
19:19
our guys are, and if they see it, I
19:21
think they can process it better than
19:23
just telling them that. And so, being
19:24
able to have that technology, and being
19:27
able to show that to them, even on the
19:28
bench, um you talked about the
19:31
turnovers. A lot of them were coming off
19:33
of double teams of East Carolina, and
19:35
they were coming from the back size.
19:37
first time all year, most of the time
19:39
they were coming from the top of the key
19:41
or from the passer. And so when Caleb
19:44
spun baseline, there was a guy there.
19:46
And so just being able to show him where
19:48
the double team was coming from made a
19:50
big difference for him and it really
19:52
helped him uh not have any turnovers in
19:54
the second half.
19:55
Last week in Atlanta, Rick Patino a
19:57
couple times during timeout or dead
19:58
balls. We'd look at a tablet where his
20:01
staff was at during the game.
20:02
No, I won't do that. I won't do that.
20:04
But I will lean on the assistant coaches
20:06
in regards to challenging calls and and
20:08
different stuff like that. But um I do
20:11
look at it at halftime and I think it's
20:13
a valuable piece to be able to use.
20:15
Do you think that's been part of the
20:16
reason that you guys I mean it seems
20:17
like a lot of times you guys would come
20:18
out halftime just like shot out in a
20:20
cannon. Would you say that's been part
20:21
of it just kind of implemented that?
20:23
I think it helps. I mean I wouldn't put
20:24
it all on an iPad but I mean I just um
20:28
but but no I no but I I I think it does
20:31
help. I really do. I think I think
20:33
that's why that's a not I think that is
20:36
a reason why we watch so much film as a
20:38
team because when they see it it they
20:41
they they it really resonates with them
20:44
rather than just telling them that.
20:46
Thank you all.
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