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#UNC press conference with Hubert Davis, Henri Veesaar and Seth Trimble.
Mar 18, 2026
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0:13
North Carolina student athletes are
0:15
entering the media room. North Carolina
0:17
student athletes are entering the media
0:19
room.
0:22
Oh,
0:24
as a courtesy to your fellow media
0:26
members and team participants, please
0:28
silence your cell phones, please provide
0:30
your name and media affiliation each
0:32
time you ask a question during the press
0:34
conference. You join on Zoom, please use
0:37
the raise hand function for questions.
0:38
We will address all questions in the
0:40
room first and get to Zoom if time
0:43
allows. Recording of press conference on
0:45
cell phones or cameras
0:47
is prohibited. We're waiting on the
0:49
media to get in here as well.
0:54
>> We're joined by
0:56
>> North Carolina's Henry Vasar and Seth
0:58
Trimble. Appreciate you joining us
0:59
today, guys. Congratulations on being
1:01
here. We're going to open up a question.
1:03
Start with Brett.
1:07
>> Brett Freedellander, Straightup Sports
1:09
and Hoops HQ. Guys, how easy was it to
1:12
flush what happened in Charlotte? And
1:14
what kind of things did you guys do to
1:16
kind of regroup? Start with Seth first.
1:19
>> Uh
1:21
it wasn't easy. You know, it was one of
1:22
those really frustrating losses. Uh you
1:25
know, your first game in the ACC
1:26
tournament. Uh one of the things that
1:28
you always want to do is do good in your
1:30
conference tournament. So, just to lose
1:32
that one right away was really tough. Uh
1:35
you know, we all took it hard and
1:36
personal, but you know, we've been here,
1:38
we've been on this road before, and uh
1:40
Coach Davis and the rest of the coaching
1:41
staff, they've done really good jobs of,
1:43
you know, getting us right back on
1:44
track. So, working the things that we
1:46
didn't do good and you know, we've been
1:47
doing that this whole week uh since
1:49
then. So,
1:50
>> Henry,
1:51
>> yeah, I just feel like embracing and
1:52
kind of having a chip on our shoulder
1:54
knowing that we kind of have not showed
1:56
up in a like at a big stage. So, we kind
1:58
of have to do better just this
2:00
tournament. Has to realize that to just
2:03
focus on the game. Don't look ahead. You
2:05
have VCU. Just play against them. Don't
2:07
think about anything ahead of that every
2:09
day. Just have a good practice. Think
2:11
about game plan. and try to execute as
2:13
much as we can, give 100% effort
2:16
>> on the right over here.
2:18
>> Ron Pit, urban media today, talk sports.
2:21
Um, just kind of piggybacking on that.
2:23
Um, I know we try to flush games and
2:25
kind of get rid of the past games. Uh,
2:28
coming out of that game with a 18-point
2:30
deficit previously, but do you how do
2:32
you hold your hat on how you made that
2:34
game and came back and really almost had
2:36
an opportunity to win to use that as
2:38
momentum to go into this tournament
2:40
play?
2:41
>> Yeah. uh after a tough game like that,
2:43
you know, it gives you a reminder of the
2:45
team that you can be and it gives you
2:47
some motivation uh and it, you know,
2:50
just help drives your fight. It helps
2:52
drive your fight. But then the
2:54
frustrating part is, you know, why you
2:56
can't beat that team for a full 40
2:57
minutes and we had to ask ourselves that
2:59
question. But I mean, definitely some
3:00
motivation after after a I mean, 18
3:03
point comeback like that, like you said.
3:04
So
3:05
>> yeah, I think it just showed like the
3:07
resilience of the group just being able
3:09
to fight back even when we're down 18,
3:11
nobody gave up. But like how Seth said,
3:14
we just have to find the juice to bring
3:16
it 40 minutes and just play with the
3:18
same energy and confidence. Not just
3:20
when you back is against the wall, but
3:22
the whole game have the same confidence.
3:25
>> Right here in the back,
3:27
>> uh Robbie Robinson with Lefield. What
3:29
are your guys' early impressions on VCU
3:31
and what you've seen on film getting
3:33
ready to play them on Thursday night?
3:34
>> Start with Seth.
3:35
>> Yeah. Uh they're a guard heavy team. You
3:37
know, all their guards can really go. Uh
3:39
even they're big. Uh you know, he's
3:41
really good. He's electric. Uh he has
3:44
really all the tools. Uh so they're a
3:45
team that really spaces the floor. Uh
3:47
they're all incredible shooters and you
3:50
know, they have very good uh spacing
3:52
with a good drive and kick game. Uh so
3:54
we've played a few teams like that this
3:55
year. Uh, so feel like we've been doing
3:58
a, you know, good job of preparing, but
4:00
we know that they can really shoot the
4:02
ball and they're gonna want to space you
4:03
out and take you oneonone almost.
4:05
>> Yeah, you can definitely tell they're
4:07
confident team. They have won a lot of
4:08
games. Just seeing there's Yeah, space.
4:10
I think the spacing is a big part where
4:12
they go five out and try to drive close
4:14
outs, make put teams in rotations, and
4:17
just kind of work on those. I think
4:18
that's going to be the key for us.
4:21
>> Questions up front?
4:27
How much of a shock was it for you guys
4:29
to lose Caleb when you did expecting him
4:32
to come back and how now that it's been
4:34
over a week have you guys adjusted to
4:36
that and kind of come to the reality
4:38
that this is what your team is now?
4:41
>> I mean it was definitely a huge shock.
4:44
Uh he was you know supposed to be back
4:47
and you know we were all looking forward
4:48
to it and then all of a sudden we heard
4:50
that he had broke a bone in his other
4:52
hand. So just to hear that was a
4:54
complete shock, but you know,
4:56
unfortunately we've we've been through
4:58
it many times this year. Uh so we we
5:02
know how to,
5:04
you know, not put it to the side, but we
5:07
know how to play through something like
5:08
that now and, you know, embrace Caleb
5:10
like in this moment. So, you know, I'd
5:12
say definitely was a shock, but we we've
5:14
done a really good job in that moment
5:16
and all this year of of of having to,
5:18
you know, play through something like
5:19
that.
5:20
>> Yeah. I feel like he's such a good guy.
5:22
So, we feel more bad for him than the
5:24
team. Just the moment of him to play
5:28
March Madness got taken away. And he's
5:30
been looking forward all year. And out
5:32
of everybody, I think it ain't the
5:34
coach, it ain't the team that got a
5:35
biggest hurt. He got hurt the most. So,
5:38
I've seen him every day. He's just
5:40
hoping that he could be on that court.
5:42
And but he's being doing a great job
5:44
being a leader off the court, just
5:45
giving energy to everybody.
5:48
>> Any other questions?
5:52
Thanks, guys. Good luck tomorrow.
5:54
>> Thank you.
5:55
>> Thank you.
5:59
>> Made it easy on you. Thank you,
6:00
>> sir. I'll take it.
6:01
>> Yeah, exactly.
6:02
>> Yeah. Have a good day. You
6:03
>> too.
7:32
It's not
8:25
So
8:32
It's been a while.
9:48
It's been it's uh it's been weird like
9:51
we usually do I I think like having
9:54
student athletes and the coaches
9:55
separate like makes that hard because
9:57
they're going to all try to get and I
9:58
would too if I was in there, you know,
10:00
haven't been a media member like I'd go
10:02
and try to get one ones and stuff like
10:04
that.
10:04
>> I mean, they're all in.
10:06
>> That's what I'm saying.
10:07
>> I mean, all the guys.
10:08
>> That's what I'm saying. And then they
10:10
So, you're going to get unique stuff
10:11
there instead of like the same thing
10:13
here. And then they won't get the coach,
10:15
you know, so that's why they come in
10:17
here for the coach usually.
10:20
But if they're still getting good stuff
10:21
in there, then they're going to miss
10:22
that, too. It's been I don't know. like
10:26
it's this been the least I've seen.
10:29
>> This is the first time they've split
10:30
them like this.
10:31
>> Uh they started doing it a couple years
10:33
ago. First time here.
10:35
>> The women's we still did them all
10:37
together. Well, it used to be like we'd
10:39
ask the coaches first and the coaches
10:41
get the part.
10:42
>> Well, and the coaches also
10:45
also
10:46
>> Oh, yeah. Yeah.
10:51
>> about to get started. North Carolina
10:52
head coach Brad Conference.
10:59
Yeah.
11:00
>> Yeah. Got it. You told me. Thank you,
11:01
buddy.
11:02
>> As a courtesy, your fellow media members
11:04
and team participants, please silence
11:05
your cell phones. Please also provide
11:08
your name and media affiliation each
11:10
time you ask a question during the press
11:12
conference. You join on Zoom, please
11:13
raise your hand. Uh we will address
11:15
questions in the room first and then get
11:18
to Zoom if time allows. Recording press
11:20
conferences on your cell phones or
11:21
cameras is prohibited. Lucky now to be
11:24
joined by North Carolina head coach
11:26
Yubert Davis. We're going to go ahead
11:27
and open it up for questions. Starting
11:29
here on the far right,
11:31
>> Rod Baxley, Fable Observer, USA Today
11:34
Network. Uh Hubert, we didn't get to ask
11:36
you yesterday, but obviously the good
11:38
news with Caleb getting an all-American
11:39
nod there with all that he's had to go
11:42
through the last few weeks. What was it
11:43
like to deliver that news and and how
11:45
did he react there?
11:47
>> Yeah, I mean it was nice. obviously is
11:48
great being able to give him that news
11:50
and um
11:53
getting that news what that meant for
11:55
him in terms of being remembered at
11:57
North Carolina and being able to have
11:59
his jersey up in the rafters. I've said
12:02
before that, you know, just my heart is
12:04
broken for him. You know, he's somebody
12:07
obviously as
12:09
people have seen how gifted and talented
12:11
he is on the basketball court, but he's
12:13
just as gifted as a person and as a
12:17
teammate. And he had a burning desire
12:20
and a dream to play in the NCAA
12:23
tournament and he's not being able to do
12:26
that. And so to be able to give him that
12:28
news doesn't replace not being able to
12:30
play in the NCAA tournament, but it did
12:32
put another smile on his face. And
12:34
that's something that brightens up our
12:36
our room every time he smiles like that.
12:39
>> Back far right,
12:40
>> Hubert Steve Reed from the Associated
12:42
Press. Um, also about Caleb. Um, I
12:45
imagine it has to be human nature to for
12:48
your team. um when you see him go down
12:51
that that there is a automatic lull cuz
12:54
they were expecting him to come back and
12:56
you know and be ready for the
12:57
postseason. Did you have to did you
12:59
notice that with your team and do you
13:01
feel like they're maybe now over it?
13:03
They've had time to digest it and that
13:05
maybe now they're over it and um ready
13:07
to move on and try and compete here. No,
13:09
you know, I actually feel like, you
13:11
know, this team and this group has done
13:12
a nice job of
13:15
um dealing with different circumstances
13:17
and still
13:19
um going out there and playing their
13:21
best. I mean, you talk about the nine
13:22
games that Caleb has missed. Well, Seth
13:26
missed nine games at the beginning of
13:27
the year. Henry missed two. So, that's
13:30
over half of our season we've been
13:33
without our top three scorers. And so
13:36
that's one of the many reasons why I'm
13:38
proud of this team is, you know, just
13:40
the toughness, the resiliency to with
13:43
those circumstances still find a way to
13:45
be successful. And it's something that
13:48
has given us confidence moving forward
13:49
heading into the NCAA
13:52
tournament
13:52
>> right here in the middle down front.
13:55
>> Hubert, Michael Co, WCHL, chapel.com.
13:58
Zayen was telling us in the locker room
14:00
that you switched up the teams in
14:02
practice and he felt like that
14:03
contributed to some of the chippiness
14:05
that you mentioned yesterday. Um, is
14:07
that something that you do occasionally
14:09
if you try to just inject some energy
14:11
into a practice?
14:12
>> I do that all the time, you know, um,
14:14
whether it's shoot around practice, you
14:17
know, we always try to go good versus
14:19
good, um, highly competitive drills
14:23
um, to put us in a position to be
14:25
successful. And so I made a couple
14:27
switches in practice this week and as I
14:30
mentioned it's it's been a little chippy
14:32
but it's it's been good for us and it's
14:34
something that is needed.
14:36
>> Question on the far right over here.
14:38
>> Coach Davis Ron Pittz from Urban Media
14:40
today. Um I hear a lot of your incoming
14:44
recruits talk about the family culture
14:46
that you guys have at UNCC and I know
14:48
you guys experienced a lot of highs and
14:49
a lot of lows and a lot of adversity
14:50
this year. Um, how would you take that
14:53
to help propel you throughout this
14:54
tournament? That family culture, that
14:56
family environment that new new recruits
14:57
talk about?
14:58
>> Well, I mean that, you know, the family
15:00
um, atmosphere is built on one thing and
15:03
it's relationships. You know, I always
15:05
tell players, recruits, parents. I can't
15:08
coach them unless I know them. They
15:10
can't play for me unless they know me.
15:12
And so, the only way I can get to know
15:14
them and they can get to know me is that
15:16
we have to spend a ton of time together.
15:18
Not on the phone, not texting, not
15:20
tweeting face to face, just being able
15:22
to spend time together. I have the guys
15:25
required a minimum stop by the office at
15:27
least three times a week. We can talk
15:30
about basketball, but I like to talk
15:32
about other things outside of what's
15:34
going on out there on the court because
15:35
the communication during practice and
15:38
during games is real. I'll give you an
15:40
example. Last week, I just, you know,
15:42
after practice, I just felt like we
15:45
needed to break away and do something a
15:46
little bit different. So I took the
15:48
whole team to the driving range and some
15:50
of the guys it's the first time they
15:52
ever swung a golf club. So it was
15:54
between our best golfer Derek Dixon to
15:57
Jonathan Pal which was Adam Sandler the
16:00
way that he swung the golf club. But it
16:03
was fun and we just had a smile on our
16:05
faces and you know those are experiences
16:07
that you'll remember the rest of your
16:10
life and I really believe those things
16:12
help you and bind you together when
16:14
you're when you're playing out there on
16:16
the floor.
16:18
questions
16:20
back. Great.
16:21
>> Coach Robbie Robinson with Learfield.
16:23
What are some of your early impressions
16:24
on VCU as you've scouted them on tape?
16:26
>> Yeah, I mean just a really uh versatile,
16:29
talented team uh athletic uh because of
16:32
their versatility and athleticism. They
16:34
can do a number of things and guard a
16:36
number of positions out there on the
16:38
floor which allows them to get into
16:40
passing lanes and steals and get into
16:41
the open court. You know, obviously they
16:44
can shoot threes, but they also do an
16:47
excellent job of of getting into the
16:49
paint, putting max pressure on the rim
16:51
and finding a way to get to the free
16:54
throw line. They lead the Atlantic 10 in
16:56
free throw attempts and made. So for us,
16:59
you know, defending, defending without
17:01
fouling and finishing every possession
17:03
with a box out rebound obviously is key
17:06
in every game, but even more important
17:08
in this game.
17:11
far right.
17:12
>> Hubert, obviously Derek has delivered in
17:14
some big moments for you guys. How have
17:16
you seen him continue to elevate and how
17:18
does that calm demeanor help him in in
17:21
big games like this in a tournament like
17:22
this?
17:23
>> Yeah, I mean, he's just never been
17:25
scared or tentative or afraid of the
17:28
moment, you know? He just he walks
17:30
towards it. And that's something that
17:32
you just never know about a player until
17:34
he's actually in that situation.
17:37
Obviously, he's very gifted. He can
17:39
shoot the ball. he can handle. He's done
17:41
a really nice job at taking care of the
17:42
basketball. I feel like every day he's
17:45
gotten better defensively, competes, um,
17:48
rebounds the basketball. He's a big
17:50
guard, but in pressure situations, he's
17:53
not tentative at all at taking a big
17:56
shot or making the making the pass. And
17:58
that's what you want out there. You want
18:00
guys that are confident to be able to
18:01
make plays whether it's successful or
18:03
not. right here in the middle.
18:06
>> Hubert, everybody knows about the
18:08
finality of this this tournament. How do
18:10
you keep the guys from getting too tight
18:13
or too wound up thinking about the
18:15
importance of these types of games?
18:18
>> Stuff like taking them to the driving
18:19
range.
18:21
um
18:24
um getting them to understand to just
18:27
dive into
18:30
um and dive into the team, but also I
18:33
want them to enjoy this. You know, I I
18:35
know that being at North Carolina, it's
18:40
it could be taken for granted just to
18:41
make the NCAA tournament, but it's a
18:44
real privilege and honor to be in this
18:47
position, and I want them to have fun.
18:49
And the guys have been able to do that
18:51
all year and they'll continue to do that
18:53
in this tournament.
18:55
>> Got time for a question or two more
18:58
right here on the right.
19:00
>> Coach Davis, again, um you've been here
19:03
before as a player, obviously as a
19:04
coach. How do you take out of what you
19:06
experienced and inject it into that
19:08
locker room so that it can propel to the
19:10
court?
19:10
>> Yeah. You know, one of the things that
19:12
when we found out on selection Sunday, I
19:14
had the guys over to the house to find
19:16
out where we would be, what seed and who
19:18
our opponent would be. I told them that,
19:22
you know, something that I learned from
19:23
Coach Smith and and Coach Guthridge and
19:25
Coach Williams. And something that I
19:28
really believe in is not looking at the
19:29
NCAA tournament as,
19:32
wow, we've got to win six games in order
19:35
to win a national championship. and just
19:38
focus on what is right in front of you
19:41
and what is right in front of us is the
19:44
Greenville tournament and you know we
19:47
get to play one and a possibility of
19:49
playing two. So let's do everything that
19:51
we can in our preparation to see if we
19:54
can win the Greenville tournament and if
19:56
we play well in two games uh then we'll
19:59
get invited to the Houston tournament
20:01
and then if we play well in those two
20:03
games they'll invite us to the
20:04
Indianapolis tournament. So, kind of
20:06
break it up. And that's consistent with
20:08
the things that I talk about during the
20:10
game about playing in fourminute
20:12
stretches. Let's put strings together
20:14
where we're getting multiple stops and
20:15
scores and not looking at the score, not
20:18
looking at the entire game or the half,
20:20
but just trying to win the moment. And
20:22
so, those are things that have been
20:24
communicated to the team leading into
20:26
the NCAA tournament.
20:28
>> Thanks for your time, coach.
20:29
>> Thank you. Okay.
20:32
>> Appreciate it.
20:33
>> All right. Have a good day.
20:34
>> You too, buddy. Thank you.
20:37
As a reminder, Hammond Communication
20:39
will post a recording of this press
20:40
conference in NCA digital media hub at
20:42
nca.vveritone.com.
20:44
Transcripts are provided by ASAP and
20:47
will be posted shortly. Thank you for
20:48
joining us.