NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: SECOND ROUND - NORTH CAROLINA VS BAYLOR

March 18, 2022

Hubert Davis

Greg McDermott

Brady Manek

Leaky Black

Caleb Love

Armando Bacot

Dickies Arena

North Carolina Tar Heels

Media Conference

THE MODERATOR: Welcome the student-athletes from North Carolina. Closest to me, Mr. Black, followed by Mr. Love, Mr. Davis, Mr. Bacot, and Mr. Manek.

Take questions here in the room and also from Zoom, if there any. Be sure to raise your hand virtually and we will get to you in a bit.

Start on the left-hand side, in the middle.

Q. Brady, you have considerable experience going up Coach Drew's teams. What is a common thread that, even though the personnel may have changed, that they always apply it on the court?

BRADY MANEK: Yeah, they're always defensively sound. They're a really good basketball team. And he does a good job, whether it's defense or offense, getting his guys to play together. They're going to be a tough opponent for us.

Q. This question's also for Brady. Just wondering what's it meant for you to just be embraced by the Carolina community fans, program after just one year here?

BRADY MANEK: Yeah, it's special. It's very different than what I've been used to. And, you know, it's just awesome to be able to know -- knowing that when I came in I only had one year. But just being accepted by everybody and just having an awesome year. It's been unbelievable.

Q. This is for any of you guys. You've been deemed the iron five on Twitter just with the minutes you've put in. What does that mean to you, to your toughness, and how have you been gel altogether as a starting five?

LEAKY BLACK: Yeah, I feel like it just shows how mentally tough this group is. Being able to play every minute of every game if we need to, it really shows how tough we are.

CALEB LOVE: Yeah, just like Leaky said, us being out there, we got a lot of good chemistry with our five and just us being out there. It just shows how gelled we are and how, you know, how defensively sound and offensively our chemistry is there and stuff like that.

THE MODERATOR: Mr. Davis, your thoughts.

COACH HUBERT DAVIS: I just think our ability to stick together through thick and thin when things don't go our way, or when things do go our way. We just always talk about staying together. We're all we got. And our ability to, like Leaky said, play every minute from first half to second half, it just shows our toughness.

ARMANDO BACOT: I think it's a lot of fun, being able to play all those minutes. I like being on the court.

THE MODERATOR: Mr. Manek, you want to finish the thought?

BRADY MANEK: Yeah, it's a really good group of guys. We play well together and have had a good year. I don't want it to end yet.

Q. This message is for -- this question is for HUBERT. You guys were considered a borderline NCAA team following that home loss to Pitt. Since then, you've won seven of eight, including the big win at Duke. What do you think changed in this stretch for you guys to put yourselves in the position so that you're playing and you're beating Baylor tomorrow?

COACH HUBERT DAVIS: I would say our preparation and mindset, going to practice, into the games. We knew the potential of this team coming into this season. And we just wanted to turned it around. We knew after the loss to Pitt, that wasn't the way we wanted to play.

So from that point on, I think we just turned it around and started to compete. And everyone bought into their roles and that's kind of what we've been buying into.

THE MODERATOR: Next-to-last row on the right.

Q. This is for Armando. Mando, you've been systemically erasing Bryce's name from several records recently. Just wondering, you know, it's kind of you to do that. But have you had a chance to connect with Bryce about the double-double record or the rebounding record?

ARMANDO BACOT: No, I haven't had a chance to talk to him yet. But we see a lot of guys like are Bryce, and they come back during the summer. So I'm pretty sure when he'll come back in the summer there will be some trash talk and I'll mess with him a little bit about it.

Q. This question is for Caleb. You've talked to us all season long just with the emphasis that shooters shoot. But how important is it for you seeing that first one go down? And how much confidence does that give you against kind of a tough start?

CALEB LOVE: It gives me a lot of confidence, you know, seeing that first one go through. And just seeing it go through the hoop, just giving me a lot of confidence. And then it opens up the floor for everybody else.

If I'm hitting, then it opens up the floor for COACH HUBERT or Leaky or Brady. And so, it just opens up the floor. So if I'm on -- like I said, it just opens up everything else.

THE MODERATOR: Stay on the left side on the back.

Q. This question is for any of you guys. Coach Davis is always talking about his stories and experiences, as well as the staff of playing at Carolina. I was curious if he's mentioned the game from 1990 when Carolina, as an eight seed, beat No. 1 seed, Oklahoma, if that has come up any time this week?

CALEB LOVE: No, he hasn't mentioned that.

COACH HUBERT DAVIS: Coach Williams did last year, I think, though.

ARMANDO BACOT: He was just telling us that it's been done before, and it's something that can happen.

THE MODERATOR: On the right in the middle.

Q. Hey, Brady, I was just wondering: You know, last season, you went through some health issues with your lungs and getting COVID. What was that like going through that? And then as you sit here now, you know, how do you think about your decision to transfer here and how everything's gone?

BRADY MANEK: Yeah, actually I got hurt against Baylor. That one hurt a lot. That wasn't fun. But, yeah, you know, that didn't really have anything to do with my decision to leave or whatever. But, you know, just my decision to come to North Carolina has been awesome and it's been amazing, and it's been a great year.

THE MODERATOR: Staying on the right side, one row further back.

Q. This one is for Caleb and Brady. Of course, y'all had a strong outside shooting performance yesterday in Baylor and the game before did as well. So I wanted to ask: How much do you think the battle from downtown is going to impact the way tomorrow's game plays out?

CALEB LOVE: As far as on the defensive end for us, I just feel like we just got to contain their drive. They're more of a driving team than a shooting team. But also contain the three, as well. So we're going to do that.

But on the offensive end, we're just going to take what the defense gives us, do whatever the Coach tells us to do. As far as moving the ball, getting the ball inside to Armando and Brady and them. I just feel like we're going to stick to our game plan and everything else will work out.

BRADY MANEK: Yeah, I'd say our best offense comes from our defensive end, us getting stops leads to transition points, guys getting open. And I think a big part of our game tomorrow will be how do we play defensively.

THE MODERATOR: On the left side.

Q. Brady, Coach Drew kind of joked that the beard doesn't hide the player that you are, he knows what kind of player you are. And one of their players said that you're a lot more aggressive when they've watched you on film at Carolina. You're almost a year removed from last playing at Oklahoma. How are you different and what kind of differences will they see tomorrow that some of those guys hadn't seen from you before?

BRADY MANEK: I would say the confidence level of playing, making shots, having these guys trust me and throw me the ball. It's been fun. And, you know, I've been able to put the ball on the floor more. A little bit more -- I wouldn't say freedom, but just a little bit more confidence of being able to put the ball on the floor.

Q. This question is for COACH HUBERT and Leaky. With your guys' assist numbers that you guys had yesterday, how can you try to replicate that performance tomorrow against an equally, if not more athletic team in Baylor?

LEAKY BLACK: I feel like just getting the ball down low to Armando first, you know, letting them sink in. They're going to have to double them off, I feel like, and that will free up Caleb and COACH HUBERT and Brady to hit the outside shots.

And just starting low and starting at the rim, and then being able to kick it out, that will give Caleb and COACH HUBERT more time to shoot the ball.

COACH HUBERT DAVIS: I would say just playing off instincts, letting the flow of the game work itself on out, whether that's getting the ball down low to Armando, finding Brady, Caleb open for three, or Leaky in transition. Just continue with our game plan and continue doing what works for us.

Q. Building off of Gregory's question, Leaky, I know given everything you're asked to do defensively and shouldering that offensive load, how do you work at balancing both sides of the court?

LEAKY BLACK: I don't think it's hard. You know, these guys are very gifted offensively. So I feel like, you know, it makes my job simple. You know, I don't get to rest on offense. But, so to speak, I feel like I do get to rest on offense and have to pick it up more so on the defensive end. And it just makes my job easy.

THE MODERATOR: Questions for the student-athletes? One more on the left, and then another on the right after that.

Q. This is for any of you guys. Last week after you lost to Virginia Tech, Coach Davis said that he thought that you were physically tired. You've had some time off for yesterday's game, but you have to play a quick one again tomorrow. How much did the margin yesterday in some of you guys be able to come out a little bit early help the legs? And are legs a concern at all at this point?

ARMANDO BACOT: I mean, I would say for most of us, especially with it being tournament time, like, there's no time for us to be tired and make excuses for ourselves. I mean, we get a day of rest in between, and then we get a few days off, and then you get to play again. So I don't think that will be a problem.

THE MODERATOR: On the right side.

CALEB LOVE: Yeah, just to build off of what Armando said as far as tournament time, it's win or go home. If Coach needs us out there for 40 minutes, then that's what we're going to do. We don't care how long we're out there.

Q. You know, Coach Davis' first season here, first win in the NCAA tournament for him, as well as some of you guys. What do you think it meant to get that for him, and do you feel like he's proven that he can be the Carolina coach for however many years now here on out?

COACH HUBERT DAVIS: It meant a lot. I think Coach Davis wants the best for us and he wants us to experience the things that he experienced.

You know, for us last year, for the returning players, the first round, first game, it wasn't the way we expected it. So coming into this tournament this year, we wanted a different outcome.

And we're going to continue to improve and progress in the ways that we know we can. And so far, I'm enjoying the experience.

ARMANDO BACOT: Yeah, I would say, too, Coach Davis, I think, just with this group and us turning around kind of our season after the two losses versus Miami and Wake Forest, he's done a great job.

And also with losing -- who was a huge piece to our team, and definitely a guy, a veteran that we could have used towards this time. And Dawson, too, not being here. That's like them two combined like 20 points off the board that we didn't have. And for us to figure it all out and get to this point through Coach Davis, I feel like he did a tremendous job on the first year.

Q. Anybody who feels inclined. What are those Wilson basketballs -- how much of an adjustment was it for you? What is it like playing with those? Is it a major difference, subtle differences?

COACH HUBERT DAVIS: I mean, they feel good. It's easy to pass, easy to make shots with. So the feel of the Wilson basketball is nothing -- not much of a difference.

CALEB LOVE: Yeah, I mean, they got a good grip to them. They do feel good.

Q. This is for any of you guys. Armando just talked about Dawson, I was curious if any of you guys had a chance to chat with him before or after the game yesterday?

ARMANDO BACOT: (Laughing)

Q. All right. Enough said. Cool.

THE MODERATOR: Anything else for the student-athletes? Two more. All right, inside.

Q. This is for COACH HUBERT and Leaky. Armando had referenced the Miami and Wake Forest games. Sometimes it takes some adversity to see what people are made of. I'm just wondering about Coach Davis with this being his first year, after those games, was there anything that he did that maybe surprised you and maybe how he changed his approach with you guys, you know, over the past two months?

LEAKY BLACK: Yeah, I think it was after the -- was it the Wake Forest -- I want to say the Wake Forest game, he came into the locker room the next day and we were all thinking we were going to get chewed out. But he just came in super positive, saying we could accomplish all our goals. And I feel like that was a turning point in our season, seeing how positive he was.

COACH HUBERT DAVIS: I mean, definitely. It was after the Wake Forest game. He definitely came in with some positive words and the practice was positive. You know, we came in ready to work. And we all had a mindset of turning this whole thing around.

It was a long season ahead. We still had a lot of games left. So he didn't want us to get too down on ourselves. It was just more about locking in and focusing on what we had to accomplish, not what everyone else was saying about us.

THE MODERATOR: Anything else for the student-athletes? Go to the right, and then to the left for the last question.

Q. This one is for Armando. You talked a lot about packing this week, packing ahead, the clothes for four or five days. Have you thought about the next round of packing here? I know I'm kind of running out here after the tournament and getting here.

ARMANDO BACOT: No, not at all. I feel like that was a lot of our problems in the beginning of the year, just looking ahead and looking forward. But you can ask me that after tomorrow and then I'll have an answer for that.

THE MODERATOR: All right. Back on left, second row.

Q. This question is for all of you guys. You guys have had some early games this year. I'm wondering what you think about the 11:00 o'clock start here, Central. And when's the last time you played this early, probably AU?

ARMANDO BACOT: I love playing this early. 12:00 o'clock games, that's, like, my favorite game to play. There's not much of a build up to the game. You're not sitting around all day. You can just wake up, eat, and then go straight to the game. So I love an early start.

THE MODERATOR: Anybody else want to add to that? No? Okay. If not, guys, we'll see you tomorrow. Thank you.