Up next in 10
#UNC players Drake Powell, Ian Jackson, Jalen Washington, Ven-Allen Lubin and Elliot Cadeau.
Mar 22, 2025
#UNC players Drake Powell, Ian Jackson, Jalen Washington, Ven-Allen Lubin and Elliot Cadeau.
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0:00
film when we watch them but um I think
0:03
they just showed a little bit of
0:04
everything what have you learned
0:06
watching RJ a guy who walks away from
0:09
here with a lot of Records his jersey is
0:11
going to be in the rafters he's going to
0:12
be remembered forever just watching him
0:15
do his daily thing what have you taken
0:16
from that just um you know RJ is a once
0:19
in a-lifetime player that comes to uh
0:21
UNC he's um very talented a basketball
0:24
player and um he's a good person off the
0:26
court as well it's just um it's just
0:29
cool to see y hard work p off Drake when
0:31
you think back on this season as a whole
0:34
what you guys did what will you take
0:36
most from this experience just happy um
0:40
with the relationship uh that I built
0:42
with each and every one of uh my
0:44
teammates and coaches and managers as
0:46
well um these people that I came into as
0:50
like a freshman I was just um you know I
0:53
didn't really I don't talk a lot so I
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didn't really have like opportunity to
0:57
know him like that but um yeah they're
0:59
just good people overall what's ahead
1:02
for you now um I'm not sure um as far as
1:06
like declaring for the drafter coming
1:08
back um that's a big decision to make
1:10
that I'll have to talk over with my
1:11
circling coaches and um yeah I'm just I
1:15
haven't really put any thought into it
1:17
is that the kind of thing that you just
1:18
don't want in your thought process until
1:20
after the season's over and then sit
1:22
down with coach and get some other
1:23
information exactly and at least now you
1:25
can declare it doesn't mean you have to
1:26
leave come back and stuff so there's a
1:28
lot of benefit to doing that yes
1:31
um where do you think you're gting grew
1:34
the most when you go back to October and
1:36
the guy you were in Flor T night what
1:39
maybe two areas do you think you're just
1:40
a lot better now than you were though um
1:43
I think my uh physicality level has
1:45
definitely gotten better and um just uh
1:50
understanding uh defensive schemes and
1:52
offensive schemes
1:54
better how much we grew as a team I
1:57
think that that was cool for us uh we
1:59
weren't it was up and down year um but I
2:02
think as the year went on and later I
2:03
got the closer we got and the better we
2:05
got and I was just amazing to be a part
2:07
of does does does losing a game like
2:09
this and knowing your season's over does
2:11
that take away from any of like the joy
2:13
you guys felt in Dayton you know winning
2:16
an in is it is there a balance there can
2:18
you can you can you still enjoy that
2:19
while this is going on or will you take
2:21
some time um I think it'll take some
2:23
time uh uh for us all I I assume for us
2:27
all being being winners you know um
2:29
losing but would never be okay with it
2:32
yeah so the win and dend was fine but
2:35
this game we lost and ended our season
2:38
so it's one hurts Ian what's ahead for
2:40
you
2:42
now not sure not sure um I I I didn't
2:47
think about it yet I think about it yet
2:49
um we lost here that's what my mind
2:51
right now and when the time comes for
2:54
Next Step I I'll talk my circle and
2:56
figure it out thank you than what you
2:59
like about your performance performance
3:00
today my performance yeah um I feel like
3:04
um in the minutes that I played I came
3:06
in and kind of Tred to give us a spark
3:08
you know um shot shots SP to the shot
3:11
for like I give a little spark as much
3:14
as I can as I can do in the minut I like
3:16
what was different from the first half
3:17
and the second half the cach bring into
3:19
a one possession game I think we locked
3:22
in to the Small Things the Small
3:24
Things it made
3:26
us they we locked on on the small things
3:29
and it kind of helped us in all aspects
3:31
on defensive end offensively we kind of
3:35
hit a different gear does this one kind
3:37
of face these experiences where you're
3:39
maybe in a really large deficit and the
3:40
team comes back they come up short they
3:42
may not what have you just learned about
3:43
yourself um you just got I just got to
3:45
fight regardless um I got to bring the
3:48
same you know we want to whether we up
3:52
20 or we down 20 So and I've seen that
3:56
brought that out of myself you know now
3:58
I noed there uh you know I just want to
4:00
keep getting better improve and you know
4:03
um just keep getting better in the
4:05
offseason with this this loss in mind
4:07
and just reflecting on the year what are
4:09
you going to remember most about this
4:11
year this team all of it man all these
4:14
teams like I've been a part of
4:16
everybody's had like their their
4:18
different personalities and stuff um
4:21
this team would never be um together
4:24
again like play together again on the
4:26
court but um I just appreciate everyone
4:29
of these guys like individual
4:30
personalities and and just like how we
4:33
deil as a group on and off the court
4:35
yeah absolutely he contrasts the first
4:37
half their physicality really caused
4:39
everybody including you problems then
4:41
you came back strong in the second half
4:43
what was the what was the difference for
4:45
you you made some big plays in the
4:47
second half uh just bringing a more
4:49
competitive fight um came back in the
4:52
locker room I already knew was was going
4:54
to be sad to me um I already felt the
4:56
type of way about how the first half win
4:59
so just being able to um go out there
5:01
and respond play harder U make more
5:03
impact for plays was huge for me it was
5:06
all in my
5:07
mind at what point this year did you
5:10
start to feel like the team was starting
5:12
to connect a bit more um I feel like the
5:14
last month really or we won I don't know
5:17
how many games like N9 or 10 out the
5:20
last like 11 or 12 games or whatever
5:22
when we just went on the Run we were
5:23
just really um imposing our will on
5:26
other teams and we were having fun doing
5:28
it you
5:30
feel what was it
5:34
that hav hope
5:38
he's what was it that surprised you
5:40
about that start he said you kind of
5:42
surprised you what was it that surprised
5:43
you about that start uh just the way
5:45
they shot the ball you know we we play
5:48
you know great defense you know last
5:49
game put us in put us in this position
5:51
and we just thought you know we can't
5:52
you know try to turn them over trying to
5:53
play the same pressure as we could and
5:55
just trying to you know force him to
5:56
tough tough shots but they hit those
5:58
tough shots it was making right plays
6:00
and so we just trying to figure out a
6:02
way how can we you know adjust to it and
6:04
uh try to you know stop them from you
6:05
know scoring then I I know that the game
6:09
just ended a few minutes ago and it's a
6:11
painful loss but hearing you talk a
6:13
minute ago do you plan on coming back do
6:16
you want to come back to to this team
6:18
will you explore the options in the
6:20
portal I mean I know you've been in
6:22
there before like what is it I know a
6:23
lot of negotiations go into an offseason
6:26
like what do you feel like the off
6:27
season looks like for you yeah just
6:30
continue to to develop myself to work on
6:32
myself and and they rest the game um I
6:34
love it here you know I want to come
6:36
back um I'm going leave it in God's
6:38
hands you know I'm not sure what place
6:40
he has for me maybe he wants me to come
6:41
back maybe he wants me to be somewhere
6:43
else so I'm just going to leave it to
6:44
too how do you think about just the way
6:46
this season went for yall as a team just
6:48
how how would you rate just the season
6:51
in general um just I think it was just
6:54
like a learning learning experience a
6:56
learning year just for ourselves and for
6:58
myself honestly
7:00
uh just you know being around these type
7:02
of group group of guys who are you know
7:04
fasinated about winning you fated about
7:06
sports but just you know be you know a
7:09
great friend you know cuz they're my
7:11
brothers here you know their family here
7:13
um and so just knowing that we just
7:15
trying to figure out all out um on the
7:16
court as we much you know we B off the
7:18
court you know something that we trying
7:19
to bring um to the game and to every
7:22
every ped so that's something that we
7:24
kind of had to build up to unfortunately
7:26
not from the start but you know
7:27
eventually we figured it out and we kind
7:29
B got connected after the deficit was
7:32
cut to two thank you appreciate that
7:33
after the deficit was cut to two what
7:35
was said in the Huddle and what did you
7:36
see in the last two minutes of the
7:39
game uh well we we we still have belief
7:42
you know we don't never want to give up
7:44
until that clock HCK zero so uh no
7:46
matter what the score was we know that
7:47
we just trying to you know try to get a
7:49
quick stride you know trying to cut the
7:50
lead down best we can so we're just
7:53
trying to stay with it um obviously with
7:55
me with you know being the foul T got my
7:57
last foul you know I Stay in the mind of
8:00
knowing that I got to be there for my
8:01
brothers you know cuz they're still
8:02
fighting out there so I want to be out
8:03
there and you know just try to support
8:05
them what caused the game to kind of
8:07
flip in the second half what what
8:08
sparked yall there to that comeback uh
8:12
our competiveness we we know that we had
8:14
it in us we didn't bring it out the
8:15
first half um but we know it was it was
8:18
there and so that's what we did the
8:19
second half you know like I said
8:20
applying that pressure um just turning
8:22
them over liing them to one shots you
8:24
know boxing the out so we can go out
8:26
there and have fun on the offensive side
8:28
um with something that we was successful
8:30
in the second half it was hard to get
8:32
was it hard to get through their screens
8:33
in the first half when they were setting
8:34
up those scet pointers what what were
8:36
the challenges
8:38
here I I don't know I think it was just
8:41
more of you know just the way that they
8:43
were able to you know make shots you
8:45
know I believe that you know our guards
8:46
fought hard to to get around the screens
8:48
I believe you know me you know Jay was
8:50
with the other BS you know we we helped
8:52
out talking communicating just so we can
8:54
put them be in the right position to
8:56
stop it from scoring they just hit tough
8:58
shots and you know there not good about
8:59
that you think back to week one of the
9:01
Season you're at Kansas and the game and
9:04
and it was a matter of time it was going
9:06
to happen yeah for sure because we've
9:08
been in that position a lot and bounc
9:10
back so we were
9:12
confident you've seen RJ for two years
9:15
now backourt mate with him what do you
9:20
how would you describe him as a backourt
9:22
mate that's one the guys were talking
9:23
about as his teammate watching his grind
9:26
you're you're his arm and arm dude back
9:27
there what's that like uh this is
9:30
Great's he's really talented he's a
9:32
great role model just made my job a
9:35
little bit easier because he's like
9:36
really good shot maker so so what's the
9:39
future for you were you do you have
9:42
decisions to make or we have to ask the
9:44
question because it's the end of the
9:46
year and the time that we're in now yeah
9:49
um the season just ended like 10 minutes
9:52
ago so I don't remember we got to ask
9:53
the
9:56
question how would you we were talking
9:58
the other day about how you're playing
10:00
your best basketball
10:02
now what do you think got you to that
10:04
other than getting through the
10:05
confidence issue you had during the
10:06
season what do you think brought you to
10:07
the point where you ended up being the
10:10
game manager that I think you probably
10:12
thought you would be all year long but
10:14
you were that guy here the last part of
10:15
the season um yeah it just caught my
10:18
confidence that's really all it was and
10:20
just me knowing my role and like what
10:24
what the coaches expect from me and what
10:26
exactly the coaches want from me and I
10:28
feel like it took
10:31
Med figure that all out apprciate thanks
10:34
man appreciate it