#UNC coach Courtney Banghart press conference ahead of Friday's game against No. 2 UConn

you guys guess we're about to find out you want to start statement then we'll open yeah all right guys happy to

have everybody on um wanted to open up opportunity to talk through some key things that are in the in the in the

works here um do I request that approve it okay sorry uh one of them is

obviously our first we had our first road true Road environment win but we also now have our first uh TV win and I

mean TV opportunity as well as 10,000 plus tickets sold uh great opportunity so we can talk about that part and we

can also talk about signing day officially finally we can talk about the new additions to our program all of whom

are not only people that uh that we needed and wanted but people that um will make a real difference for us so uh

happy to answer all questions regarding those two MA those two matters at any

time uh yeah go ahead and speak question yeah I was just gonna ask um you know

when you guys were kind of discussing this home and home quasi home and home with Yukon um you know they wanted to

play you at Mohan um I think initially you wanted to play at the Smith Center um how did you I guess land on

Greensboro and um you know it's the place where the ACC tournament is so what kind of environment do you think

you're going to see yeah you know we we had asked if maybe given how close moan

is to yukon's campus we had asked if maybe we wanted to um maybe if I maybe

if we had wanted to do um on our campus Because it's about minut so me bring you

back

okay sorry um so anyway I can work on this okay sorry uh the um so I we I

asked if you don't want to play he want to play on our campus um and so we thought the Greensboro Coliseum they've been really good to us as an ACC

obviously it's where the ACC tournament is um it's a great venue it seats a lot of people which we'd imagine we'd have a lot of fans and guests um and so it just

kind of was the obvious choice they've been really easy to work with and I know they're happy to have us and again with over 10,000 tickets sold it was clearly

a pretty good location to choose do you just a quick followup do you envision playing like more um I don't you know

more non-conference games like in places like that I know that next year NC State

is sort of following you guys' lead and they're going to play Tennessee there um do you envision that being sort of a

thing in the future you know I think it's a great opportunity with we have a lot of uh friends of the program and

donors and and just supporters in Charlotte and Greensboro and you know obviously we're playing in Charlotte when we play Florida um and so I do

think there's a real home for that opportunity at the same time I think home and homes are really special right

an opportunity to have um to go into true true Road games like we had on Tuesday um and to have have for our fans

true host opportunities so I really I want to keep the the the excitement of

both right so the opportunity to play some of these in NE neutral site Arenas where where maybe our um where more of

our fan base some of our fan base are located and more centralized um but also we really love the home and home opportunity as

well ARL hey yeah I want to ask about Tesa I don't not sure pronouncing her

name correctly yeah how did you end up coming up with the mutual decision of her

coming early and how did that come about and is she playing early season games

with her high school team um yeah so Tisa is from Brazil and um you know came to

you know came to play in California two years ago uh didn't know English so she learned it by turning her phone to

English um and watching movies in English and and really tackled um some a really neat story um and really in our

country is really the only country where where education is connected to Athletics um and so for her like she can

graduate early and then she can join her next team that's kind of how the European and and basically the international experience is um and so

for her it it just it really came from her like okay so I know where I'm going to college I'm I can be graduated by

December why wouldn't I just join my team right and uh this will allow her to train um and get kind of that true

strength training and and playing she'll be able to practice right away um you know so it's a it works out for us too

but it really came from her and partly because of the model which she comes from not coupling education and Athletics as much as we do here in the

states so it's so for the fall semester what is she doing for basketball and do you anticipate her doing anything other

than practicing with the team this season like what what are the options besides that travel and stuff like that

that you mean yeah yeah oh yeah she'll be a part she's a red shirt so she'll be like Sierra and Lila were last year you

know she's every bit of a part of our team and on the bench and all that um but with our high school team right now she's practicing you know y all know

this I mean high school basketball at some schools is not the level that these that these guys need right so she's

playing in some games but you know Laney didn't play a lot of the games that she was in high school right because the the level of the competition isn't

necessarily getting her a ton better so yeah she's training and playing and practicing with her high school team but

she's she's focused now on on what's next for her thanks

yeah yeah Courtney uh I guess this is a more bigger picture kind of question

when it comes to uh you know recruiting bringing guys in how much I guess in

this current landscape you know with the way the portal is do you kind of balance

you know finding the talent through high school you know the high school level compared to you know finding it through

the transfer portal like you know how do you kind of you know strike that balance of okay let's bring in an experienced

player for example like you know the experience you experienced guards you brought in this year versus you know

kind of getting somebody young and trying to build them through the program like that good question um it's not an

exact science you know um but what it has allowed you to do is be really picky with the high school kids that you bring

in right um and when I think think about Tissa and tiia and Nyla um these are

people that we when we look at them through that lens is can they help us right away because if they can't I'm pretty certain I can get someone in the

portal who can right and so these three kids it's as exciting as Signing Day is

I really wish they were on the on the bus to Greensboro tonight right um so if if it's a kid that might need a little

bit more developmental time maybe in that case you go a little bit more towards the portal so it really isn't an

exact science um but if they can help you right away and they're are good fit uh for what is around them that you that

are a sure thing um which they are uh you you you make that decision and I think a lot of programs ours included is

going to is going to save some room for transfers um but it's not a guarantee that you're going to get something that

fits as well as um you know as well as what you have coming in so it it really

it really comes down to anyone you bring into your program now because you have the International Space you have the

high school space and you have the transfer space you can be super picky about can they help you right way um or

do they provide a dynamic right away that that your team needs and if so you pull the trigger any three of those windows and

buckets yeah I get Oh by bad I I'll go I'll go um yeah just kind of staying on

that note um just obviously with growing importance of nil in college athletics

how have you seen that just impact the recruiting process for you guys at all

um and how have you guys been able to you know stay competitive in that space

because that is you know talking to a bunch of athletes a tip off that's something that they are like evaluating

um when choosing a school yeah I mean the nil is a is what what been happening I would argue on the men's side all

along right as kids are being valued at some point um for what they bring to the university and athletic culture right um

it hasn't always been legal that the men have done it but it's been happening right and so now we have women have an opportunity to have a piece of that

right and to be valued for what they bring to the athletic programs um and so we've leaned into it we've had to uh

really have um get the great Buy in and support of these kind of avid Carolina basketball fans um to support that um

and as I've said it gives you an opportunity to donate outside of the brick and mortar which is typically where donors have have cemented their

legacy but now you can um now you can donate to um to human to humans right

and to human capital into human Talent um which has a legacy I me you think about Alysa usie she's going to carry

the legacy of Carolina um as far as a new facility would or a new locker room or or whatnot um long after she

graduates so it's been a huge part of of of the process it's it's just another added factor I don't think it's ever in

place of but it is certainly um it is certainly contributes to um everything

from relationships to fit to timing to um to location to level of Education to

all the different factors that these kids are are doing if there was one way to do it um it wouldn't be as interesting right there's just a lot of

different ways to navigate the recruiting process now and um the nil is certainly one of those factors and we've leaned in fully to

it uh hey coach switching back to uh the game tomorrow um we know that Paige

Beckers is returning to Yukon as one of the best players in the country um and last year against you guys she got done

on both ends so what has been your preparation this year to deal with her and do you have a potential matchup to

go against her uh yeah you know I think Paige is probably the consensus number one draft pick you know that's my own

assessment my I think what makes her special is her ability to counter the reads that you give her um and so she's

not really a kid you can scheme a ton against right because if you do this she'll do that and she reads it in

Lifetime right we've had a handful of WNBA programs in our gym already this year and as we talk just as as coaches

do about some of the best players that are still in college you know those are there's a lot of things being said about Paige that are accurate right and that

is that she's just a really tremendously skilled offensive player she's also very unselfish so if you focus too much of

your game plan on stopping paage not only is that not easy um but then you you get other

all-americans an opportunity to be more open right and to and to have their opportunity um and so it won't be by it

won't be it won't be alone we're not going to be on an island on page but we also will share responsibilities as we do typically with our defensive

coverages um and uh you know what a great opportunity to play what what

probably is the number one draft pick next year what an opportunity for us this this team that outside of um the

few uh the the starting returning starter ERS basically everybody else is new to the uniform right um and so that

kind of happens in college basketball now because any of the backups they want to go play somewhere else where they don't just be a backup right and so you

got a lot of new guys um that annually so it's early for them to see that challenge and it couldn't be any better

because as we know it's a marathon not a Sprint what a great opportunity to play really great player by committee and they also have uh Azie fud

this year who was not um president on the court last year because of injury what's your plan going against her as

well you know fud has dealt with some injuries um kind of throughout her career I think she's very close to being

back she might even you know we have a we have a feeling she'll play on Friday um you know she's a shot maker she can

really get she's tight in her in her skill set so she can get into her mid-range she's a good really good offensive player um you know who who

also can can play within a system and facilitate for others um you got to play her straight up too you know she's a big

physical Wing um she can handle a little bit um you know and you also have to make good offensive players defend they

I think yukon's defense is is better than they're getting credit for um you know and and so we'll also have to make

the make their really good players defend in a variety of ways too so um to beat good teams you've got to be able to

be really good on both ends and um and in containing AZ will be part of

it hey Courtney um I wanted to ask you a little bit about Gino because you're a few years behind him obviously so he's

been around the game a long time he's succeeded at for at a very high level for a long time I'm curious kind of what

your what's been what what it's been like for you watching him as you've been coming up the coaching ranks to your position of someone that's been winning

national championships for multiple decades gosh you know it's uh I remember

I interviewed I spent about two hours with Gino in his office when I was a graduate student and I did an oral history on sport leadership where I um

basically was trying to figure out if Sports If Sports was a vocation I would potentially be in um basically what is

coaching right and here I was as a grad assistant coaching um in college at my alma moer at Dartmouth um and so instead

of being in the library studying the world war or other things that you have to do a lot of research for i instead chose to do an oral history which

allowed me to interview um you know Gail gueston course Anton Dorrance Kayo G orama and I remember sitting in his

office for that two hours and having just a real conversation and learning from him as much as from anyone um that

coaching that really authenticity is your superpower right and how you do it how he does it how I do it how K Yao

does it doesn't have to be the same right but you've got to be kind of true to you and and the people that are most

successful um have the right people around them players and staff Etc and he's had a wonderful staff he's had so

many good players um and you know it's hard to win without really good players right um so they've kind of won that

recruiting game year after year and and and and kind of coming into games with the best players um and so the fact that

he was able to give me one-on-one time I was like I like I said a three two two three years out of college um and and

really you know open up you know what are some mistakes he made what are some what was his journey like you know and

it was time that that I've I I still hold still hold valuable right and then

um spent more time with them through the USA basketball stuff and you know he's just he's authentically him right and

and as a young coach and now now kind of a mid mid mid mid kind of the middle of that now as I've aged um there's

something really real about that right is that who you are every day is is is what what you need to do the whole up

and down all around is hard for this age group um and so um he's he's one of the best because he's the best at being it

himself and he's gotten he's really won the recruiting battle year after year in a way that is true to

him and just to follow up on that playing Connecticut obviously gets

eyeballs um you know in general plus it's two ranked teams but there's also a

coaching record that he could tie uh which is another set of you know attention that comes on I'm curious kind

of what you're you know what you in what that feeling is for you in terms of bringing your program into a game that a

lot of people across the country are going to be paying attention to in the women's game yeah you know it's it's

always an honor to to be I I don't take my role that I've been given here lightly ever right it gets my best

because of that right I have one of um one of the bigger Traditions that I'm in charge of right and and so Yukon or then

we come home and play Kentucky and and obviously we've got you know plenty of the ACC schools on our schedule as well

I mean it's not just Yukon and that's I think what Gino can be really grateful for and proud of is that um he has

stayed excellent as so many other programs have risen right when he was winning a lot of the time there was only

a few programs kind of in that in that kind of conversation and now there's a whole lot more I mean there we're not

the only he's not the only show in town anymore and that's I think something he's probably really proud of um but any opportunity that we have um to play um

on national TV and to and to honestly just to play other very very good teams that have invested a ton in women's

basketball Yukon Yukon being one of them and one of the Premier ones it's a it's a great honor um that that I think

partly how he stayed in it so long as he sees it that way too you know as soon as you get tired of or this becomes normal

um I would imagine you'd want a new challenge um and so it's it's really special I think for us for for them and

for many of the other programs that are carrying their weight in terms of the growth of women's basketball

RL yeah what's your expectation as to the availability of India and Maria for

tomorrow night you know they're soon so the sooner the better of course um you know I think when you've got you know

like I said in college athletics it's really hard unless you're winning national championships every year to keep your depth right because the depth

guys want to go be starter somewhere else right and so you need your top guys to be healthy and available and um they're working hard to do that um so

they're close luckily it's not what we dealt with last year where we had kind of a we knew it was kind of for a lot of

these kids it was the rest of the season um that's not the case with these two so um we we feel optimistic that they're

that they're on the road to recovery and we just don't know quite how soon that will be um you know but it's but it's it's soon thankfully and whoever is in

in the inside obviously you're very familiar with Sarah strong uh quite quite a challenge for whoever you put

out there talk about that a little bit yeah you know Sarah's the first number one player to come out of the state of

North Carolina you know it was really came down to us and Them In the End um it's a kid and a family that we uh that

we really hold deer um so it's the only game on the schedule that I won't be rooting really hard for her to be honest

um she's she's a lovable kid who's got a generational type Talent um she'll be a real joy for everybody to watch

throughout her career um you know but yeah she's a formidable matchup a little bit like Paige I know she plays the game

differently but what makes Sarah special is a lot of the things that make Paige special in that she's really gifted

generationally on the offensive side of the ball um in terms of her feel and her kind of instincts and and her ability to

you know make the right play right but also she's a she's a true three-point threat she one of the best Shooters

you'll see um and that's spanning the the duration of of my life in coaching um and also she's got this great

physical body that can absorb contact in the post so you have to really be particular on your matchup because she's

good enough that if you go small on her she'll play bully ball and if you go big on her then she'll beat you on the perimeter um so yeah she's she's if as

soon as Paige isn't getting all the attention Sarah will be quickly behind uh as one of the real gifted players in our game the quick followup but uh you

your team has taken the highest percentage of three point attempts uh since youve come to Chapel

Hill small sample SS granted um do you anticipate that to to continue and Al

also the the percentages the lowest on the smallest sample size that you've

been here but I know you're not worried about that with all the three-point Shooters you've got on the team yeah it

doesn't feel like such a small sample size as you can see all these wrinkles but um but yeah you know we want take

great shots take open shots I felt like there were times last year when we took a lot of contested shots right and and the analytics is out that wherever the

shots are from if they're uncontested it's a good shot right and so um I really applaud our guys are getting a

lot of um open shots and partly because of the command that our inside game requires is that um and partly how fast

we play you know those are the shots that we're getting that are you know the open shots um and if they didn't if they

weren't shots I was good with meaning they were they were contested or the wrong guy was taking them the wrong guy wouldn't be in um so yeah I feel like

you know it's a little bit of the nature of the shots that we're getting um our percentage will as soon as our percentage goes up our offense will will

score more points um but what we're doing especially this point in the season RL and and all you all is that we're we're tracking on the quality of

our possessions meaning what does that possession end with um if it's an open shot if it's a if it's an open shot if

it's a make or Miss it's considered a good shot if it's an open shot right um and then or if you're fouled right and

I'm really appreciating that game to game our percentage of good shots has gone up right and so um and then yeah

you've got to you've got to be able to knock down open shots at this level um and we'll keep working to to make sure that that happens

thanks cool uh Jeremiah yeah um I know you've mentioned

uh with Yukon obviously PA's return and the things that Sarah strong does well and you know a few of their individual

players um I guess when you looked it look at them collectively um thinking back to last year's game and then

looking at the film of them this year um are there any you know significant changes or differences I know obviously

you know you still have you know the same you know coach so a lot of their system probably be the same but are there any you know tangible differences

that you noticed from last year's team to what they got going on this year yeah they're more they're more experienced

you know um they were starting three freshman last year when we played them now if A's back you know they'll start

you know seniors um and then um you know Chen's a fifth year senior the kid I

coached at and recruited at Princeton I didn't coach or I recruited I actually Chan it's a great story um I had found out that I'd gotten the the um Carolina

job and I was going to take it but she was on her visit or official visit to Princeton at the time so the very first

person outside of my family that I told that I was going to be the next coach at Carolina was Caitlyn Chen um and at

breakfast and both of us cried because I you know obviously I was leaving a place where I started a family and all the things that came with that um and she

cried because she had come to visit car she had come to visit Princeton with me as their head coach right and so I said listen I'm going to honor the visit

because you deserve that so I still think this is the best place for you and so I spent the next 36 hours hosting Caitlyn Chen on her on her official

visit to Princeton um and so you know she's a very good ad and that's a you know a fifth year kid who's run now

running their point where you have KK last year running their point as a freshman right so they're just more experien their system remains good I

also think Sarah as I had said is was one of the best players in the country um and so you also add a kind of a good

running mate for uh for for page that's different you know it's not like they're both at the same they play the game the

same way uh J's a dangerous character on that team as well um and and she's she's now a sophomore not a halfe freshman um

it's earlier for us um and so although we've got depending on who's playing we've got some a really experienced

starting Corp uh there a lot of there's a lot of Youth that's still gaining experience right now um so it's an early

game for us to have uh this challenge U that might be a little bit different a month from now but um so yeah there's

there's some differences as well yeah the systems are the same you know they're playing a much of the same system with a little bit better pieces

and more experience pieces um and we've got some kind of a different system than we had because we've got different pieces than we

had Shelby yeah um just going off of that um wanted to ask what are some of the

lessons if any that you're taking from that loss last season and do you think there's any like extra motivation um

amongst the players to kind of get one back for this matchup no not I mean

every year it's so amazing in college athletics even before the transfer portal how how every year is so different because you've get you you

you've lost the top you've lost the oldest guys and you've added a younger guys right so it's just everyone's role kind of even your best players and and

they change a little bit so not a lot from last year I think in general um when you play really really good teams

there's a level of competitiveness that you have to bring to the environment right and um I think some of our young

guys are still learning that how how competitive you have to be um with your actions inside the lines how

competitively you have to play with discipline right how competitively you have to prepare to know Scouts and

things like that um like that's what I mean about being early right um and so experience pays dividends in that the

more competitive truly competitive games you've been in the more you learn that skill set right you can't learn

competitive skill set um in Comfort right which is what practice is at times as much as you try to make it

uncomfortable for them they're they're they're on the campus of which they live right um and so this is just a great

early opportunity to to see where uh to gauge where we are individually and collectively from a competitive

standpoint how competitive are we at the things that happen all the time right meaning the rebounding and the and the

ball screen and the and the transition and the Scout and all the things that happen all the time right this is a

great opportunity to see where we are from a competitive standpoint how we compete

Megan um so far this season you've kind of steamrolled the teams that you've played um but now you'll be facing a

team of a much different caliber um how have you been just changing your your practice regimen to to account for this

change of um the competitiveness of this upcoming team you know &t was a by

Design we wanted to play a true Road game before we before we went on the road and played a rank team um you know

they're picked to win their conference you know so we knew and that's a it was a great environment for anyone who was there um and so and then of course we

that was on Tuesday right and and we play on Friday so there's you know we haven't restructured our development

right the steps that we need to take to be good when we're good um we're not going to redirect them for one game we're going to continue to learn from

the competitive opportunity that we had um we don't we will not have our full offensive package in because you end up

being not good at a lot of things if you're have too many things right and so you know there's just a progression to

your season and this is an awesome opportunity to to to compete um and to

and to play uh and to be at a neutral site in front of a lot of fans and all the things that that entails right um it

no way it in no way win or win or lose you know it no way determines what's going to happen in March right and so

right now we are yesterday we had practice we had training session number 76 right so we are 76 days into what

will be um you know you know many days of of our journey so um not a lot of not

a lot of smoke and mirrors it's just the next the next phase right we've had our away game I think there were times where

that environment allowed our our our lead guards to have have to make decisions without me being able to run

the game for them because it was so loud a great experience because they'll be part of that they'll have to do at Yukon right read alternative coverages without

me being able to help them through that moment possession by possession right so every you know every game's going to

give you a different you know the first game just like literally you're wearing a uniform like that's a big thing yeah &t was the first time they wore their

Carolina blue uniform right most of them except for maybe four on our team right so it's just the next phase so this is a

really I don't want to be little what a awesome game this is and it's why we've worked really hard to schedule it um

both of us um we had planned to play it into December but the ACC added new teams so we increased our we played an

ACC game now on December 15th so to goo's credit he was willing to move it up a month we wanted to play in in mid

December um I thought we would have more experience at that point um but that's not how it worked out with the expansion

of the ACC and and so what a great opportunity it is now four games in instead of instead of nine games in um

followup question coach what does it mean that you won't be playing your whole um offensive package it just means

that as you you know you get good at certain things and then you can play the counters or you can add um whether

that's either quick hit actions or continuity actions or kind of as your team matures um you can't throw the

entire offensive package on your team in in in November because then you're not going to be very good at the building blocks that get you there right and so

our our package or however you want to say that our actions our play sheet are will be longer in in nine games than it

is in game four right so we as will theirs right it's not again it's not like it's not like he has his whole

offensive package in and it's just he's going to be picking and choosing what he wants to do it's where he is right now right and that's kind of where we are as

well so you know we have to be we have to see where we are four games in um and and and then when that happens we'll

we'll get on to the next does that make sense cool RL yeah ask about's defense I mean she's

played some outstanding defense uh this season and you saw that Tuesday night

how how nice is it to have somebody to go up against a Paige Beckers who's defended Clark and and B basically the

best player on every opponent that you've had for sure yeah she's talk about a kid that's good at the things

that happen all the time so we're talking jumping to the ball you're talking bumping a cutter you're talking ball screen coverage you're talking

blockout you're talking on ball hand engagement the things that happen all the time not schemes not you know she is

excellent at right and so that makes her a good Defender um and then she has the speed and athleticism and strength and

the competitiveness like I said it's not not everyone at this level is competes

you wouldn't put this much into it if you weren't just a just a hell of a competitor right but how to compete

inside the lines is a skill set at this level in this pace she has figured that out because she's in her fifth year

right so yeah she is a luxury to have on the defensive end we require it and rely on it um and when we when we're at full

strength I think we have a really good defensive lineup and we're our job is to continue to progress the new guys and the younger guys um to defend to our

standard and that includes Grace and Trey I mean there is even though they're they're a little bit old uh they're not they're new to us right

and new to the standard at which we want to play defensively uh Lexi certainly Lexi Alyssa India a couple of these guys

they really lead with that and uh they're they're bringing their young guys along dayto Day

Mitch yeah um just you know Tuesday night's game you know Lila has kind of a

Breakout game hits a couple three-pointers for you um it just kind of made me think about last year's Yukon

game where you're tied with them in halftime and then Ria goes out and then you have six players for the next half

um how good are you feeling about about that gross don't even bring that up terrible I'm walking out of the

tunnel walking out to the tunnel and I felt like verah had finally come out of her shell a little bit and I get told

that she's out I was like wait right now she's out right so yeah and then we had I said that means we've got six players

and our trainer said yeah so we will have more than six so that's exciting not not more than six that have six

games of experience probably but we do have uh more than six uh and so that'll be good um and you know ilila has shown

um consistently now that uh she has a real role right she has an opportunity

to continue I think she's still learning a little bit of the the competitiveness inside the lines that we need on the

glass and that we need in rotation and some of those things she's the nicest kid in sneakers and we we need her to be

uh a little bit meaner um but she certainly is showing that she's got the demonstrated skill set um you know in

that way so she's a good example of what I'm talking about about continuing to help them compete learn how hard you

have to compete um inside the lines possession by possession at the things that happen all the time not the block

not the shot I'm talking like the the things that lead up to those two things

yeah cool anything else awesome well guys thanks for being

on we'll look forward to a great night tomorrow night for everybody and for women's basketball yeah see you in Greensboro right can't wait thank you

course you got it