NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: REGIONAL SEMIFINAL - NORTH CAROLINA VS UCLA

March 25, 2022

Hubert Davis

Caleb Love

Armando Bacot

Brady Manek

RJ Davis

Leaky Black

Wells Fargo Center

North Carolina Tar Heels

Sweet 16 Postgame Media Conference

North Carolina 73, UCLA 66

Q. Caleb, I had a question for you. All three tournament games you've scored 30 or more points throughout all the games so far. What do you think has attributed to your success in these pressure March Madness games so far?

CALEB LOVE: Well, tonight's game it was a must win. A game to get to the Elite 8. I'm just proud of our guys. My teammates just are wonderful and our coaching staff is the best in the country, so they put us in position to win, and that's what we did.

Q. Caleb, when you're out there and you're cooking the way you are, what's going through your head?

CALEB LOVE: Just confidence level. Never lose my confidence level. Coach Davis and my teammates always tell me that. I feel like that's the best part of my game is not to lose my confidence level. And when I'm out there, I'm just in a mode, and that's what that was tonight.

Q. Caleb, you changed shoes at halftime and you obviously scored 27 at half. What was it about and what felt different in the second half?

CALEB LOVE: Hoops told me to change them because I never play good in the black shoes, so he told me to change them, and it worked out.

Q. Armando and Brady, you guys were able to get second-chance baskets in the first half when maybe it seemed like the offense wasn't really coming along, it wasn't in sync. How do you attribute what you were able to do on the boards? Was it the way they were playing defense or was it just being aggressive?

ARMANDO BACOT: Yeah, teams, they can -- and myself, too, if I'm not hitting shots or not doing anything, I can always rely on the offensive boards to find a way to draw fouls, get easy put backs, and that's what I try to pride myself on and work real hard at.

Q. I know you guys have been asked a bit about the turnaround and some of the losses earlier in the season, specifically that Wake Forest game --

HUBERT DAVIS: That was a long time ago. I apologize. I'm serious. We won now 15 out of the last 18 games? That Wake Forest game was in January. As I told you before -- and I apologize, I'm a positive guy. I'm a positive guy. These guys have won, what is it, nine out of the last ten, 15 out of the last 18, and we're going to talk about a game in January?

Q. Well, that's what I was going to ask, what else about it, whether maybe it's his positivity or what else about it allowed you guys to go on this run?

ARMANDO BACOT: I mean, our confidence never wavered. We knew even back then that we were this good of a team, and we knew if we played at a high level and just really bought into everything, we knew we could make it this far. Coach Davis and all the coaches even when we struggled always told us that. We never thought at one point we were a bad team.

Q. Brady, you were quite frustrated out there for a while in the second half, ripped your head band off at one point. But you hit that three; how big a shot was that for you and how frustrated were you before that? And Coach, you pulled him out because of the frustration and then how big was that three that he hit?

BRADY MANEK: Yeah, it was one of those games, I started off hot early, but these guys, they kept me up, they kept throwing me the ball, trusted me to shoot it. And you've got guys like Caleb playing unbelievable today, Armando with that offensive rebound at the end, RJ with a big shot there in the paint, and Leaky with his unbelievable night on defense. It doesn't all come down to me making shots. But yeah, I had an off-night, and these guys helped pull through.

Q. Just curious if you got to see the end of the Saint Peter's game before you went on the court and just your thoughts on playing a team that has kind of become America's darling as a 15 seed?

HUBERT DAVIS: Can we talk about that tomorrow? They haven't seen the end of it, so...

Q. Armando, basically the second half was very scrappy. A little bit towards the end you tossed up for the ball real quick. But that final stretch, that minute when you had that huge block at the end and then that offensive rebound, can you walk me through what you were thinking and how good did it feel to get that offensive put back and kind of put it to rest there?

ARMANDO BACOT: Yeah, in the under four minute time, Coach Davis just told us to give our all. None of us wanted to go home and we knew it was a great opportunity ahead of us. I was just going all out just trying to affect the game in as many ways as possible. Luckily it was positive and we ended up hitting a big shot and getting a few stops and rebounds, and I'm happy with the results.

Q. You guys only scored 28 points in the first half and then scored 45 points in the second half. Is it safe to say that you played your brand of basketball in the second half versus the first half?

CALEB LOVE: I mean, things weren't going offensively in the first half for us and Coach Davis told us, we're still in this and to stay with it. Shots weren't falling. We were getting great shots, and we just weren't hitting them. So Coach Davis told us keep our confidence up and keep shooting, getting great shots, and that's what we did.

RJ DAVIS: Coming into halftime, Coach Davis told us we're fine, we're in a great spot, great shape, there's nothing to hold our heads down for. And then coming into the second half, we wanted to make the first statement and we wanted to play our brand of basketball, and that's what we did.

Q. RJ, knowing how good UCLA is defensively, how tough was it for you to stay patient and run the offense the way you wanted to run it?

RJ DAVIS: I mean, UCLA is a great team, great defensive team. We had set plays that were able to pick apart the defense and get the mismatches we wanted. I think I did a good job of finding open teammates, and I knew when Caleb was hot to him keep going. I told him keep going. I gave him the pull at one point and then he just hit like four in a row, I think it was. It was a great run.

Q. Caleb, was there a shot early in the second half or a moment early in the second half that felt different, that maybe got you going or made you think you could turn it around? Because I think you were 1 for 8 in the first half and maybe 2 for 10 at one point early in the second half. Was there a moment like that or did you feel anything start to change?

CALEB LOVE: Yeah, Coach Davis just wanted me to attack the basket. He feels that I'm best and I'm with him -- when I'm best going downhill. I got a few lay-ups going getting downhill and then the outside shot started to fall. Once you get those, see them go through, your rhythm is there.

Q. When Caleb is going for 27 in the second half, what's going through anybody's mind? What were you guys thinking?

ARMANDO BACOT: I mean, my main focus was really just trying to save good swings and getting him open and trying to get the switch on the big. And then just being on the weak side, so if they drove, I know he would get it to me to try to get the rebound if he missed a shot. But I think for all of us, we just tried to get out of his way and just let him work.

Q. Armando, one of the few shots Caleb missed in the second half was the one where you go falling out of bounds and fling it back toward half court to him. Did you see him? Or was that just a play where your instincts take over and you're just trying to save it?

ARMANDO BACOT: Yeah, I think my instincts took over. That was a pivotal moment in the game. I think it was maybe down three or something like that. And if we missed that shot -- I don't know what would have happened if I didn't get that board, and I just was trying to really keep the play alive and just hopefully just threw the ball up hoping that somebody would get it. And it was great that Caleb had the instincts to find the ball, and then to hit a big three after finding that was huge.

Q. Leaky, you guys did a pretty good job on them on the defensive end. What led to that success there? What did you do well?

LEAKY BLACK: You know, just played our principles. Coach Davis has a game plan on the defensive end, and we just had to follow it. First half they were hitting some tough shots. We were there, and they just eventually in the second half started missing them. I mean, that was pretty much it.

Q. Coach, could you talk about your team's conditioning? It's not really normal that you see kind of working a five-man rotation through the entire game. Do you take pride in having all your guys just completely be able to compete for the full 40 minutes?

HUBERT DAVIS: Well, I don't go into a game thinking the starting five is going to play 40 minutes. It's dictated by what's going on in the game and how guys are playing. I thought Dontrez came in and gave us really good four to five minutes, and I thought Puff came off the bench and gave us a really good 10 minutes off the bench at different positions.

I was really happy with the production from those two guys off the bench, and they really helped us get a little bit of rest for RJ, for Armando and also Brady in the second half.

Q. When Caleb is doing all that in the second half and he's scoring it well, is there kind of a level of trust that you have with him that you're kind of like, okay, here, do whatever you want, I can trust you? Or are you still kind of running the offense and designing stuff there?

HUBERT DAVIS: No, I mean, we were running our offense, and we found match-ups that we felt like we could get good shots from.

Caleb, because of his size and his athleticism, he's the one guy, probably the best on the wing, that can create his own shot at any given time. The area that I thought he was really good tonight, and he talked about it, he started inside out. And at times where he gets trouble is when he starts outside in or outside, outside, outside. And he went inside in, and I just feel like he has the ability to attack the basket and he was able to get to the rim. And I've always felt that way -- even for me, I wasn't as quick and as athletic, but I always wanted to get a couple lay-ups, then you feel better stepping out and shooting that jump shot.

I think because of his aggressiveness towards the basket, he found a rhythm out there beyond the three, and he just got hot.

Q. Can you just put into words what it means to you to make it to the Elite 8 in your first season as head coach of your alma mater?

HUBERT DAVIS: You know, I just really am not thinking about myself at all. I'm just really happy for them. The only thing that I've ever wanted is I want them to experience and see the things that I've been able to experience here at North Carolina as a player, and I've told them definitively and a number of times, that's what I want from them.

I feel like this year where I feel happiness and joy and I'm proud is that they're getting those memories. Like these are things that they're going to be talking about for the rest of their life, and I get a chance, a front-row seat to be able to witness that.

It's just not about me at all. Coaching is an act of service. It's about helping and coaching and teaching these kids on and off the court and just trying to help them out.

Q. Talking about making memories, Caleb Love tonight, I think he said you were the one that told him to switch shoes?

HUBERT DAVIS: No, I didn't. I didn't even know he switched shoes.

Q. He said one of the other coaches did -- Hoops did.

HUBERT DAVIS: Director of player personnel, I'm going to give him a raise. So just let Hoops know. I didn't even know he switched shoes. I don't think it was the shoes. I just think that Caleb played really well.

One of the things that I said is that -- in any game, but specifically in big-time games like this, it has nothing to do with coaching, it's about players just stepping up and making plays. Everybody that played made plays, and Caleb made a lot, especially in the second half.

Q. Brady talked about it a little bit, but of course the scoring went down a little bit in the second half, but of course he was active on the boards and also defensively. Can you talk about how much that impacted the outcome of tonight's game even though offensively his scoring went down just a bit?

HUBERT DAVIS: Anytime Brady is on the floor, he impacts the game. He's more than a jump shooter. He's a basketball player. He can attack the offensive glass. He's a great rebounder. He's an excellent passer. He's an instinctive player. When he's out there on the floor, you have to stay with him, so he gives us tremendous spacing on the offensive end.

He got a little frustrated in the second half because he missed a couple shots that he felt like he normally makes, so we took him out and just gave him a little breather and let him collect his thoughts. And then we put him back in and tried to make him laugh and told him a couple jokes, and it loosened him up a little bit, and he was able to hit that three.

For him, he's never been this far before, and for somebody that this is the first year he's ever lived anywhere outside of Oklahoma, and for him to trust me in my first year as head coach and be a part of this program and do what he's doing and experiencing what he's experiencing, it's a pretty cool feeling. I'm just really, really happy for him.

Q. When Manek hit the three with four and change left, you seemed to be more demonstrative and emphatic on the sideline. I saw you give yourself a couple of let's-goes. When you got in the huddle, how much confidence did you guys have that you were going to be able to close out strong?

HUBERT DAVIS: Well, we've always -- whether we're able to close out or not, we have great peace and confidence to be able to close out games because we've done that before. We did it twice against Louisville, we did it against Syracuse, we did it at Duke, we've done it at Baylor, we did it against Marquette, Virginia Tech a couple of times.

We've been in those situations before, late-clock, late situations where a play needs to be had, and we've always stepped up to the challenge, whether it's worked out for us or not.

So in those situations, we grab and hold on to those past experiences, and it gives us confidence and it gives us peace.

Q. Did you ever come across Shaheen Holloway in coaching or scouting or anything? What are your thoughts on what he's done with that program here this year?

HUBERT DAVIS: It's just unbelievable. It's just being able -- the thing that just jumps right out is how much his players love playing for him, and they have his personality. They have a chip on their shoulder and a toughness and a confidence to give everything that they have on both ends of the floor on every play. And they're here for a reason, because they're an incredible team, but they're also incredibly tied together. Tremendous chemistry. On Sunday it'll be our toughest game of the year.