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NEW ORLEANS — North Carolina head coach Hubert Davis took the podium at 12:30 PM CT on Friday inside the depths of the Superdome and ahead of one of the biggest games in college basketball history. His Tar Heels will face Duke in the semifinals of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday evening.
Relaxed as usual, Davis spoke on the moment, his team, the journey, shooting in a large arena, and preparing his players for this stage. About 10 minutes into the press conference, Davis was joined by star junior big man Armando Bacot and transfer forward Brady Manek for more questions.
Below are full quotes and video from the press conference with Davis, Bacot, and Manek.
COACH DAVIS: «I just remember that series, the previous years we had won the first two games and Chicago won the next two, and we lost in a dramatic game 5. And it was another crazy and epic game 5 in ’94. I just didn’t want us to be in that situation again.
«When I got fouled and went to the free-throw line, nothing was on my mind other than making those two free throws and putting us one game closer to the Eastern Conference Finals.
«Those were great times playing for Pat Riley and Jeff Van Gundy and playing with players like Doc Rivers and Patrick Ewing and Rolando Blackman and John Starks. And it was a perfect team for me to go to. And I wish I had stayed a New York Knick my entire NBA career.»
And secondly, when you succeed under pressure as a player, can that help you later under pressure as a coach?
COACH DAVIS: «But you talked about being in pressure situations and big-time atmospheres, playing at North Carolina for four years, playing in the NBA for 12, playing in New York for four years, and those matchups with New York and, with the Knicks and Chicago Bulls, it put things in perspective now with me as head coach at North Carolina I’ve been there before. Maybe not as a coach, but in terms of the atmosphere and — I’ve been there before. It puts me in a position where I’m calm and confident and I really believe something that helps is my personal career playing on the biggest stage.»
COACH DAVIS: «I mean, the foundation of who I am is my relationship with Jesus. And so whether it’s coaching, whether it’s my marriage, whether it’s my three kids, decision-making, everything is filtered through my faith.
«And so I can’t do anything without it. It’s not me sharing it; it’s me being me. And so that’s how I roll every day. And that’s just who I am.»
COACH DAVIS: «First of all, Leaky, not only is he a great defender, he’s a versatile defender. I’ve said a number of times I wish, in certain situations, I wish I could have cut him in half or in three parts to be able to guard three different people. And throughout a game he’s been able to do that. I don’t think there’s been any relief. I think he takes the challenge to guard whomever he’s assigned to. And he feels very confident from a defensive standpoint that he can defend anybody out there on the floor.»
On sight lines for shooters like A.J., RJ, Caleb, how important are these next few days to get adjusted to that in a building like this?
COACH DAVIS: «A number of people have talked about depth perception and the sight lines. I’m just not there. Just give me a basketball, two baskets and let’s shoot. So I don’t buy into it’s a big arena, the depth perception, the sight lines. I don’t know what the background is. Just shoot the ball. And if it goes in, it goes in. If you miss, you miss. Let’s just play basketball.
It was a year ago to the day when Roy’s retirement was announced. Wonder if you could take us back to what your life was like 365 days ago and what has come for you in the past year, that on this day, when you were hoping you were going to get the job, something about the profession and holding this occupation, that not Roy, no one could have prepared you for that you’ve gone through over the past year.
COACH DAVIS: «On this day, on the day that Coach Williams retired a year ago today, for me it was a day of sadness. I didn’t want him to go. I had been his assistant coach for nine years. And I was in a really good place. I enjoyed working for him. I enjoyed being one of his assistants. And I knew how passionate he was, not only about coaching, but coaching at the University of North Carolina.
«So when he officially retired, that was a day of sadness for me. And then through the process of trying to decide who was going to be the next head coach, it was interesting, that was the first time in my life that I interviewed for a job.
«You don’t interview for a job when you get drafted for NBA. ESPN picked me so I worked there for seven years. Coach Williams, out of the blue, said we would like you to be one of our assistant coaches; I didn’t go through an interview process there. The strangest part was interviewing for a job and at 51 years old for the first time you were doing something that you had never done before.
«And to think about — I’ve said this before, things have been great, but things have been so busy I haven’t had time to process and think. So to say what has gone on this year, I don’t know. After the season I’ll be able to have time to catch my breath and be able to think about things.
«But the only time that I can feel like that I can really think about where I am and where we’re going was at the end of the game against Saint Peter’s when it looked like we were going to the Final Four. That’s why I was so emotional. It was the first time in a year that I could actually enjoy the moment because in other situations it was always next game, next recruit, next practice, next media. It was always something to go to. And so it’s been a great year. And to think we’d be in a Final Four, it’s a pretty cool deal.»
You’ve mentioned throughout the year you wanted guys to have their own testimonies, their own stories. You wanted them to experience Carolina basketball as you did when you were a player. Do you get a sense they’re finally appreciating that more? Are if so are there examples of what they’ve said or done? It looked like they were in amazement walking out onto the court yesterday.
COACH DAVIS: «They are. That’s the thing, as I told you before, that brings me so much joy, I don’t have to talk about what it feels like to be at the Final Four or to come up big in a big-time situation in a Carolina uniform. They have a number of stories this year that they can draw upon, grab onto for enjoyment, for peace, for confidence. And that’s great.
«One of the biggest things for me yesterday was watching them walk out to the floor. Before we went out to practice, I said this is the first and only time I want you to bring your phones. We walked out there, and they were, like, why are you telling us to bring our phones. I said, just do it.
«As they walked out, just to see the floor, just to see how big this place was, the smiles on their faces. It was like when my little kids came down for Christmas, they were just so filled with joy that they were getting a chance to be a part of this. And it was great. It was awesome.
«And so to see those smiles, even Caleb said, every seat is going to be filled in our game? I said, yes, and he said, are there going to be people at the open practice? I said yes. And he came back again and said, all these seats are going to be filled during the game. I said, yes; is that okay, because I’m looking to play you a lot of minutes; are you okay here? And he’s, like, yeah, yeah, Coach. I was, like, OK, just want to make sure because I need you to make some buckets.
«But that kid-like attitude was great. So for me to be able to experience that, it’s interesting. I wanted them to have stories and testimonies and memories. You know what they’re doing? They’re giving me more, which is really, really cool.»
COACH DAVIS: «Well, his leadership has just developed throughout the entire season. And it was needed. There was times at the beginning of the year that I said we just didn’t have a voice in the locker room. In order to be a good basketball team I just really feel like you have to have that.
«Over the year, it just hasn’t been Caleb, it’s been everybody. Everybody within their personality has stepped up and become a leader. And Caleb has become one of those leaders. I mean, just in practice today he was finishing my sentences. He knew exactly where to go and what to do. And it was almost like I had another assistant coach out there on the floor.
«Not only is he having a fantastic year on the court, his leadership has really stepped forward over the last two, two and a half months and it’s been a huge benefit for our team.»
COACH DAVIS: «I always felt like we had a special team as soon as we started practice in the summer. I really did. Was my hope for them to be at this place at the Final Four having a chance to win a national championship? Yes. Did I feel like we had enough talent to do that? Yes.
«But I had always believed that we could have a special team. The first day of practice I put a picture of the Superdome in their locker. And I talked about it at midcourt at our first official practice. I said there’s going to be a lot of hard work. We’ll have to prepare and play really well.
«But this is our expectation of this team. And I just really, I wanted them to see where they were going. I told them to tell their parents, book their hotels and travel arrangements, that we would be in New Orleans in April. And the reason being is I really felt like this team had a chance to be able to do that. So I felt that way from the beginning.»
What are you seeing from your players compared to their vibes going into the regular-season finale at Duke? And when did you start to see that looseness, that feeling of not playing with pressure anymore, whatever, and just going out there and having fun, to catapult you guys in the position you are now?
COACH DAVIS: «I feel like our guys are in the perfect place because one of the things that I think they have done a great job at is turning off or turning down the noise.
«And we’ve talked about it at great length and turning down the noise from the phone — family, friends and fans — and focusing on what allows us to be at our best. And I think when you have great kids and great players like Armando and Brady that understand that what is real for us to have success on Saturday is our preparation, is our practice and how hard we play. And so that’s something that we needed in the second matchup against Duke.
«We had to block out the noise. We had to focus on what was real for us to be at our best. And my belief is that they have found benefit in that and they have found success in that. And because of that, what draws from them is a confidence to be in this situation and to be able to play the type of basketball that they’ve been playing all year, specifically the last two, two and a half months.»
You were a pretty good 3-point shooter. How much would you like to play, whether it’s in college or the NBA, in today’s game?
COACH DAVIS: «I like the NBA salaries now. But you know what, I’ve said born at the wrong time. My uncle played 16 years in the NBA. He was a seven-time all-star, and I was just a role player for 12 years in the NBA. I made more money than him.
«But just playing basketball would be fun. But during this time, shooting from 3 wasn’t really a big emphasis when I was in the NBA. I’d say most teams shot less than 10 3-pointers on average. Everything was throwing the ball into the paint. When you have a guy like Patrick Ewing I understand why you would do that.
«But it would have to have fun to have unlimited green light access to be able to shoot the ball anytime you wanted from 3-point range.»
That skill that you had, are there things you can draw from that to convey to your own shooters, because especially in this tournament, just confidence isn’t a problem and —
COACH DAVIS: «I think the reason why our guys are such great shooters, it’s for a number of reasons. I think number one is they put in the time.
«Like most people aren’t able to see the hard work that these kids put in before and after practice, early in the mornings, late night. It’s because of hard work.
«The second thing is, something I love, is their shot selection. I don’t care how good a shooter you are. If you don’t shoot good shots it’s going to be difficult to have great percentages.
«Our guys are great shooters. They work hard at it. And they take good shots. And so when you put those three things together, you’re going to be really consistent beyond the arc. And that’s something that our guys consistently do.»
COACH DAVIS: «In terms of the emotion, it never turns off. And so I want to play today. But there’s enough emotion to play tomorrow. And I’ve told the guys that there’s no difference between game day, Final Four and a shoot-around or pickup in the summer as opposed to a mid-week practice. Every time you step on the floor, it’s an opportunity to get better and it’s an opportunity to compete. And it’s live action.
«And so we don’t have to turn it up, turn it down. It’s on and the light stays on all the time. And so today’s practice is live action and tomorrow we’ll be ready to go.»
For the players, are you sensing anything different from Coach this week as far as him trying to keep you guys sort of even keeled than what you’ve experienced before?
BRADY MANEK: «I think he’s done a really good job of keeping us interested, and he brings that energy. I talked about it yesterday of how he’s got these little sayings. He’s always saying — he’s said about four of them in that statement about live action and all play today.»
Beginning of the year, we were like why does he keep saying this; but later in the year, we’ve gotten to the point where it’s been like he’s been right and this is why he’s being saying it.
ARMANDO BACOT: «I agree with what Brady said. Once we as a team our energy started to match his, especially on just a day-to-day basis, that’s when I noticed the huge changes have been making. He’s never really changed his approach to any game. And I feel like we’ve changed our approach going into every game. That’s what’s really helped us.»
COACH DAVIS: «I haven’t talked to them one second about the sight lines or the depth perception or shooting the ball in a dome. When I was a player, I didn’t think about it either. I just wanted to shoot. And it’s just a nonfactor to me.
«I’m not saying that it’s not a nonfactor for others. But for me, it was never. And for our players, it’s not a factor. Brady is going to shoot. Armando is going to shoot. It’s the same way at the Smith Center. They shoot it the right way, it’s going to go in. If we miss it, we’re going to get the offensive rebound. If we miss the offensive rebound, we’re going to get fouled and go to the free-throw line. And statistically we’re the best free-throw shooting team in the ACC. We’ve got three cracks at it. I feel very confident about our shooting in the Superdome.
And Brady, you’ve had such a great terror of making shots, and what you felt like since you started shooting around in here?
BRADY MANEK: «Kind of what he said, if you never shot outside the driveway with the wind blowing and you miss it and it rolls down the street, you haven’t really shot a basketball. So I don’t think it will be too big of a problem for us. I’m just excited to get going.»
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