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#UNC coach Hubert Davis after victory over Louisville
Feb 24, 2026
#UNC coach Hubert Davis after victory over Louisville
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0:00
Hubert, obviously your advice for Seth,
0:03
just speaking to him before the season,
0:04
he had some pretty, you know, lofty
0:06
goals for just what he wants to
0:07
accomplish in his final season. What
0:10
does this mean for you as his coach,
0:12
especially just given everything that
0:13
he's been through with the injury and
0:15
whatnot this year?
0:16
Well, no. I mean, I mean, Seth was huge
0:18
for us tonight on both ends of the
0:20
floor. He had the responsibility of, you
0:23
know, guarding Brown and and what a
0:27
responsibility that is. He's a fantastic
0:31
player and um but you know against their
0:34
defense they're long, they're athletic,
0:36
uh very versatile. You have to find ways
0:39
to be able to break down their defense
0:40
and be able to consistently score. And
0:42
Seth was our guy. Um coming off ball
0:45
screens, the thing that I loved about
0:46
him was he was thinking attack. He
0:49
wasn't coming off looking to pass. One
0:51
of the things that I've told him is, you
0:53
know, when you come off of a ball
0:54
screen, you're 100% thinking score and
0:57
then let the defense dictate whether you
1:00
make a pass or you go to the basket. And
1:03
Seth's ability to be able to get
1:04
downhill. Uh he was able to score, draw
1:07
fouls, just a huge difference maker for
1:10
us against a really good defensive team.
1:12
Noah and Andrew,
1:13
obviously that first half, Seth said
1:14
last or Syracuse that he wanted to man
1:16
up in the second half. Um, looking at
1:18
that first half and the way he responded
1:19
in the second and connecting that second
1:21
half to this game, how have you seen
1:22
him, I guess, just respond from that
1:24
first half over the last half at
1:26
Syracuse and then into this game?
1:27
Yeah, I know. I mean, we we talked at
1:29
halftime against Syracuse and I was
1:31
like, it just doesn't work without you,
1:32
Seth. I mean, and it's not just from an
1:36
offensive standpoint. I mean, he just he
1:39
can impact winning in so many different
1:41
ways. and I just challenged him to do
1:45
it, you know, and to do it consistently
1:48
and he really stepped up in the second
1:49
half against Syracuse and then um you
1:52
know, and for us tonight, I mean, he's
1:55
just um so many plays, not just scoring,
1:58
defense, deflection, steals, box outs,
2:01
rebounds.
2:03
Um obviously had a careerh high, but I'm
2:06
just really happy for Seth. He played
2:07
extremely well.
2:08
Andrew, here they shot out of the gate
2:10
2313. Yeah. I know over the next 20
2:13
minutes you guys held them to 17 points
2:15
had that 4317 run. What was the
2:17
difference defensively?
2:18
Well, we rebounded the basketball. I I
2:21
just, you know, I told the guys and it's
2:22
not just specific for Louisville and
2:24
I've been clear with you guys like when
2:27
the ball is up in the air and it's on
2:28
the ground that those 50/50 balls just
2:30
got to be all UNCC. Are we tough enough
2:33
to get rebounds? Are we tough enough to
2:35
get those loose balls? And at the
2:37
beginning of the game, we weren't. And
2:39
at times throughout the game, we
2:40
weren't. And that's just something
2:42
that's just going to have to change. I'm
2:44
so happy about um tonight. But I mean,
2:48
we got outrebounded by nine, gave up 16
2:51
offensive rebounds, and I just
2:54
um
2:56
I'm just a huge believer in rebounding
2:58
being the number one determining factor
3:00
of an outcome of a game. And um but what
3:03
got us back into the game was we
3:05
rebounded the basketball and then it
3:07
allowed us to get out in transition. And
3:10
that's just going to be our um thing for
3:14
success for the remainder of the year.
3:16
We got to get stops. We got to rebound.
3:17
And then it allows us to be good on the
3:19
offensive end.
3:19
If I may stay on that real fast,
3:21
defensively, what about the shots? Were
3:22
they getting different shots because the
3:24
way you guys handled some things or what
3:26
did you guys do to force them to? I
3:28
think they were about eight for 40 or
3:30
something.
3:31
Yeah, I mean, you know, their offense is
3:32
real. I mean, it's just a lot of ball
3:34
and player movement. There's a reason
3:35
why they lead the ACC in assists and one
3:38
of the best in scoring in the league is
3:40
because just instinctively they just
3:42
pass, shoot, and drive. I mean, just the
3:44
way that they share the basketball and
3:46
obviously so many gifted guys that can
3:48
score in many different areas. One of
3:50
the things that we wanted to do is just,
3:52
you know, make every catch, make every
3:53
move, make every shot difficult. And I
3:55
just felt like throughout the game, they
3:58
got worn down and tired. And I think
4:00
that's why a lot of their threes hit
4:01
front rim um air ball because of the
4:05
fatigue just to be able just to be able
4:07
to get the shot and then once we got the
4:10
stop they had to rush back on the
4:11
offensive end and our transition from
4:13
defense to offense was real tonight.
4:15
Brian then Michael
4:16
Hubert, it looked like early on you guys
4:17
were playing with a lot of pace and kind
4:19
of the goal was to push the ball off the
4:20
floor quickly. How has that kind of pace
4:23
I guess changed or evolved without
4:24
without Cel?
4:26
No, I mean it's the same pace. I mean, I
4:28
at the beginning of the year, I said I
4:31
my goal is to be the fastest team in the
4:32
country from free throw line to free
4:34
throw line. And whether it's a made or
4:36
miss or a turnover, I want our
4:38
transition to the offensive end to be
4:40
real. And I talked before the game, in
4:42
order for that to happen, all five guys
4:46
had to be running to the offensive end.
4:48
I felt like our our guys consistently
4:50
were doing that. We're having our first
4:52
big run down the middle of the floor.
4:53
Our wings were running wide. our
4:55
trailing big was running in the right
4:57
spot and we're also really looking for
4:59
pitch aheads. When we pitch the ball
5:00
ahead in transition that allows us to be
5:02
even faster and I felt like we did a
5:04
good job of that tonight.
5:05
Michael then Pat
5:06
Hubert uh Isaac McNeely came into
5:08
tonight shooting 40% from three but you
5:10
know for five and he's scoreless. What
5:12
was the key to basically erasing him
5:15
from their offensive game plan?
5:17
Well I you know Isaac is a fantastic
5:20
player. I mean, he's had a
5:22
incredible career and one of the better
5:25
shooters in the country. Um, they they
5:27
set I mean, they do a number of
5:29
different stuffs for him, you know,
5:30
flare screens, wide pins, um um all
5:34
kinds of stuff. And so, you know, the
5:36
way that we were playing defensively,
5:37
you know, we we really wanted to try to
5:40
take that away and again, make him put
5:42
the ball on the floor. he can put the
5:44
ball to the floor and finish and and
5:46
shoot mid-range shots, but their shot
5:48
spectrum, they don't shoot very many um
5:51
you know, long twos. And so I thought
5:54
our guys did a really good job of high
5:56
alert on him, not letting him. Another
5:58
thing is, you know, he gets a lot of his
6:01
shots off of uh in transition and he
6:03
gets a lot of his shots um off of out of
6:06
timeouts, out of bounds underneath
6:08
plays. And so our guys were on high
6:11
alert that they were um you know
6:15
intentionally trying to get him open
6:17
from threes uh specifically in those
6:19
situations and I thought our guys did a
6:21
nice job defensively.
6:22
Pat and Spencer, we had time for just a
6:24
few more.
6:25
You in the back. How did you feel like
6:27
you guys handled the final 10 minutes or
6:29
so as Louisville kind of kept chipping
6:31
away and kept getting
6:31
Yeah, everybody was was relaxed and it
6:34
was just No, I mean I you know from u
6:39
the big picture I thought we handled it
6:40
really well. You know, one of the things
6:42
that Louisville does do is you know
6:44
they'll they'll pick up, they'll they'll
6:46
run and jump, they'll trap. Um they get
6:48
a lot of steals and deflections and I
6:51
thought we handled that really well.
6:53
What we didn't handle really well is
6:55
getting to the free throw line and and
6:57
knocking down those free throws. And uh
6:59
there were a couple possessions down the
7:01
stretch where they set screens and we
7:04
just laid on the screen. Brown and uh
7:07
and um I think um and and Conwell were
7:11
able to get a open three. But other
7:13
other than those two lapses, I thought
7:15
we were really good and I thought we
7:16
executed really well down the stretch.
7:18
Last three. Spencer Rod Darl.
7:20
Yeah, going off of your note about free
7:22
throws. You guys struggled with at the
7:23
line on Saturday and then you obviously
7:25
weren't great tonight. Is that something
7:27
Thank you.
7:28
Is Is that something is that something I
7:30
know is that hard to coach? Like is that
7:32
a routine?
7:32
Very difficult.
7:34
I mean,
7:34
how do you I guess, you know, get them
7:36
to start clicking at a higher rate from
7:39
the line.
7:40
Oh, pray.
7:44
You know, I mean, every day at practice,
7:45
you work on free throw shooting.
7:47
Obviously, I'll say something to him if
7:49
if um
7:51
you know, something is, you know,
7:53
mechanically wrong. Actually, you know,
7:55
when Derek uh went up to the free throw
7:57
line, he went up there. He was up there
7:59
early and I told Derek, "Back up." And I
8:03
just didn't want I just remember as a
8:05
player like I I wanted to back up. I
8:06
didn't want to sit at the line and think
8:08
for a while while the players came up. I
8:10
said, "Derek, back up. let let
8:12
Louisville set up and then you step in
8:14
there so you can and so I did try to
8:17
help them there but there's not much you
8:20
know I don't want to get into their head
8:22
and start I don't want them thinking and
8:25
um that's just something that we're just
8:26
going to have to get better at because
8:29
um down the stretch we're going to be
8:30
able to we need to be able to make those
8:33
two quick ones players are ready so
8:34
quickly
8:35
Huber is this the most contested shots
8:37
you've seen your team uh force this
8:41
Um, I thought we did a really good job
8:42
of it. I I mean, yes, they've got some
8:45
open threes where, you know, they set
8:47
they set a ton of screens for them and
8:49
so they're going to be times where, you
8:51
know, um, opposing teams that, you know,
8:53
they're going to be open, but in large,
8:55
I I thought we did a good job of
8:57
contesting shots and getting the hand up
8:59
on shot and and I told him in the
9:00
huddle, I said, you know, there going to
9:02
be times where your teammate gets
9:03
screened or gets knocked down. Just
9:06
don't stand there and go, "Hey, man, get
9:07
back up. You got to get over the
9:08
screen." Just switch it. I don't care if
9:10
you if Henry's on Brown. Just we need a
9:13
man on man. I thought u we did a really
9:16
good job with that.
9:16
Last one.
9:17
It seemed like for when building the
9:19
league there's a lot of grit, a lot of
9:20
hustle and like maybe you haven't seen
9:24
all season. What played in all that?
9:27
Well, I don't I don't uh I respectfully
9:29
disagree with that. I I think this team
9:31
has showed tremendous grit throughout
9:33
the entire season. Um, not only are they
9:36
great kids and um, a joy and a blessing
9:40
to coach, um, this year, you know, this
9:44
team has reacted and responded in ways
9:46
that, um, um, that can serve them as
9:51
they leave here and they grow up. I
9:53
mean, you just think about it. How many
9:55
games have we had three starters out? I
9:57
mean, we had Seth with nine games. We've
10:00
still had Caleb out. We had Henry out
10:03
two games and guys just, you know, one
10:06
of the things we talk about is it's just
10:08
our circle. Let's stay connected. Let's
10:10
stay together. And so to have that quote
10:13
unquote adversity and to be able to be
10:16
where we are right now, I'm just really
10:18
proud of them. We're a great bunch of
10:19
kids.
10:20
All right. Play.
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