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#UNC coach Hubert Davis after victory at Virginia
Jan 24, 2026
#UNC coach Hubert Davis after victory at Virginia
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0:00
What did you see from him? Is that maybe
0:02
the best he's played for you? Kind of
0:03
gave you a little bit of everything.
0:04
Even drew that charge.
0:06
Yeah, he did. You know, he was um um you
0:09
know, defensively, you know, he can he
0:11
can he can guard on the perimeter, he
0:13
can guard in the post, he's got size, he
0:15
can move his feet. Uh offensively, we
0:18
found a couple plays that worked for us
0:20
that uh either got our guard going
0:23
downhill, got uh Jiren open from three
0:27
or we got a little guy on Caleb down low
0:30
on the post by himself and Jiren in
0:33
those times uh stepped up and knocked
0:35
down some big time threes. And when
0:38
Henry got in foul trouble and got his
0:40
fourth, that was a lineup that we had in
0:42
there and I kept it throughout the rest
0:43
of the game because it worked on both
0:45
ends. They out rebounded you by 16. I
0:48
think Caleb and Eric go back like four
0:49
or five.
0:50
Yeah.
0:50
You thought that coming in here? You
0:52
probably wouldn't have expected win. Why
0:53
did you guys How were you guys able to
0:54
overcome that?
0:55
Yeah, you know, I you know, always say
0:57
rebounding is the number one determining
0:59
factor,
1:01
you know, of an outcome of a game. They
1:04
got 16 off of rebounds, but only 17
1:07
second chance points. 14 of them were in
1:09
the first half. So, I thought we did a
1:11
better job of not letting them score
1:13
when they got offensive rebounds, but we
1:15
took care of the basketball and we were
1:17
really efficient offensively. We scored
1:20
what is it 51 points in the second half
1:23
and we got the stops when we needed to.
1:25
One of the things I kept telling them
1:26
is, you know, in order to win this game,
1:28
when the ball goes up in there, it's on
1:30
the ground. Those 50/50 loose balls got
1:32
to be all UNCC. Virginia's such a
1:36
physical, unbelievable team. And in the
1:38
first half, I felt like they kicked our
1:40
tail. In the second half, I felt like we
1:42
met the fight.
1:43
Brian,
1:44
uh, Hubert, uh, Jiren, I don't think
1:46
checked into like around the 10-minute
1:47
mark. You only played four minutes in
1:49
the first half. What went into kind of
1:51
your decision to to kind of roll with
1:53
him in that second half.
1:54
Yeah, you know, um, he was playing well
1:56
and that group was playing well together
1:59
and so, uh, you know, Jiren was doing
2:02
some good things on both ends of the
2:03
floor. that group was doing some good
2:05
things and it was taking Virginia out of
2:08
what they wanted and so I just stuck
2:11
with that lineup and again Jiren came up
2:13
big.
2:14
What was the difference? What was the
2:15
difference in the second half of the
2:16
energy? Seemed like the energy really
2:18
wasn't there in the first half what he
2:19
brought in the second half. What what
2:21
was the difference? Was there a message
2:22
at halftime?
2:23
No, I mean I I don't think the energy
2:24
was gone in the first half. I think um
2:28
you know Virginia's physicality
2:31
um overwhelmed us in the first half and
2:35
I told them I said you know the only
2:37
only way only road only route is uh you
2:41
raise both of those fists and you start
2:43
swinging and you got to compete. They're
2:45
not going anywhere. And so you know if
2:48
you want to win this game it's going to
2:50
be one in the trenches making tough
2:51
plays on both ends of the floor. I felt
2:53
like in the second half we did that.
2:55
here in the front. Spencer
2:57
Hubert, it seemed like uh getting out on
2:59
the break and getting out in transition
3:00
and scoring fast points was a was a
3:02
point of emphasis and allowed you guys
3:03
to kind of spark that comeback. Was that
3:05
something 100%?
3:07
Yeah, I mean that's what we focus on all
3:09
year. I mean, I always say since uh
3:11
before the season started, I want to be
3:12
the fastest team in the country from
3:14
free throw line to free throw line and
3:16
the way that we transition from defense
3:18
to offense has to be real. In order to
3:20
do that, you have to rebound. We
3:21
rebounded better in the second half and
3:23
then really, you know, you talked about
3:25
Jiren and Caleb, their ability to sprint
3:28
down the middle of the floor. They they
3:30
did exactly what was told of them. They
3:32
did their job and requirement and we got
3:34
some pitch aheads and some easy baskets
3:36
that got us back in the game.
3:37
And here, obviously Jiren's scoring was
3:40
massive in that second half, but even
3:42
more so seemed like the charge late in
3:43
that game, some of the defensive things
3:44
he was doing. What other than scoring
3:46
did he do so well in that second half?
3:48
Yeah, you know, um obviously scoring um
3:51
you know, that charge defensively,
3:53
you know, he just settles us out there
3:55
on the floor. He knows what he's doing.
3:57
He's a good communicator. Even though
3:58
he's not a big talker, um brings that
4:01
size 610. So I in that quote unquote
4:04
small lineup, we still had size out
4:06
there to be able to rebound and be able
4:08
to switch on guards and be able to guard
4:10
guards on the perimeter is something
4:12
that is huge for us and valuable and
4:14
really work down the stretch. Two more.
4:17
Brian,
4:18
uh, Hubert, I guess I just wanted to ask
4:20
what was kind of the decision process
4:22
making in terms of going to Caleb when
4:24
up 8179 for that layup, I guess, late in
4:26
the game.
4:28
Yeah, I mean, just wanted to give him
4:30
the ball in space, wanted to give him an
4:33
opportunity to be able to make a play. I
4:35
mean, he's one of those guys that if you
4:38
give him space, he can make and create a
4:40
shot anytime he wants to against anyone.
4:43
And Caleb's not scared of the moment.
4:46
It's exact opposite. He runs towards it
4:48
and I knew he wanted the ball in his
4:49
hands and he came up big.
4:51
Last one here in front.
4:52
Yeah, Hubert, how how big were those two
4:53
threes you guys hit like right before
4:55
halftime to cut to cut Virginia's lead
4:58
down going to the break?
4:59
Yeah, that was big. I think we were down
5:01
15, I think. And then uh Luca hit a
5:04
three and then uh Derek hit a three. We
5:07
were actually looking for the pop for
5:08
the big O Yo switch and actually took
5:12
the play away and Derek just made a
5:14
basketball play and went oneonone and
5:16
hit a three over a sevenfooter. So I
5:19
think going into the half only down by
5:21
nine was a huge momentum and you know if
5:25
you look at something that was a huge
5:26
factor in the game you're right those
5:28
two threes that last minute minute and a
5:30
half where we cut the lead to single
5:32
digits was huge. All right, thanks
5:34
everybody.
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