NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: REGIONAL FINAL - SAINT PETER'S VS NORTH CAROLINA

March 26, 2022

Hubert Davis

RJ Davis

Caleb Love

Armando Bacot

Leaky Black

Brady Manek

Wells Fargo Center

North Carolina Tar Heels

Elite 8 Media Conference

Q. For Coach Davis, I was wondering if King and JR played these guys three times during the year, if you've had any communications with them about just trying to get whatever background or scouting on Saint Peter's.

HUBERT DAVIS: I haven't had any conversations with them yet, but King and JR are two of my best friends, and our relationship when we played and our enjoyment of playing together, but not just playing together as teammates but just our relationship, and I'm sure that we'll have conversations.

Walker Miller, who played for King this year, stopped by the team meal last night. It was just great being able to see him and give him a hug. Even though he had a terrific year for Monmouth this year, he's always a part of Carolina basketball.

Q. What do you guys know about Saint Peter's right now? What jumps out about some of the peskiness on defense and how they have a lot of connection in the backcourt where they're able to find each other? Even when they're trapped they can still find each other.

RJ DAVIS: I haven't really -- I saw highlights of them play against Kentucky. I haven't really -- they just played the game last night, and they're a good team, so yeah.

CALEB LOVE: Same thing. We've seen bits and pieces, but that's why we've got practice today. We'll go over them today.

Q. Everybody in our world loves to talk about seeding. They're a 15 -- you're already laughing. Do those mean -- especially now, do they mean even less these days than maybe they did 10 years ago? Did they ever mean anything?

ARMANDO BACOT: Well, when the tournament started, that was one of the first things Coach told us, was he never looked at seeding and he never really cared. It's kind of funny how it played out now, even a 15 playing against each other because he never cared about seeding and he never once remembered what seed he was when he was here, so yeah.

HUBERT DAVIS: No, I did. I had them over to the house, the Selection Show on that Sunday, to find out who we were playing and the bracket and the region that we were going to be in, and the first thing that I told them is that I've never cared about seedings. The four years that I was at Carolina, I could not remember what seed we were. I just knew that we were in the NCAA Tournament and we were going against teams that were really good basketball teams that any given day can beat you if you don't play your best. That was my communication to them.

It really doesn't matter. Saint Peter's is an unbelievable team. They have an outstanding coaching staff, and it's a team that has won 10 games in a row and they're playing with a confidence and a toughness that has put them in the final eight.

At the end of the day, they've beaten two teams that we've lost to. So as I said before, tomorrow will be our toughest game of the season, but we're very excited about the challenge of playing an excellent Saint Peter's team.

Q. Hubert, you've played on and coached some special teams. Is there a unifying quality that those teams have had, and does this team have it?

HUBERT DAVIS: Yeah, I think that you have to have a togetherness and a sense of health within the locker room, a part of the team built on relationships, built on leadership.

One of the things that throughout the course of the year I felt like we needed is we needed an extension of the coaching staff, we needed a leader. One of the beautiful things that has emerged this year has not just been one leader, it's been a host of leaders.

It's just Leaky brings something to the table, Brady, RJ, Caleb, Armando, Kerwin, Puff, Dontrez. Everybody has brought together their piece, and collectively it has brought together a health, a togetherness about this team that has put us in a position to play our best basketball over the last two months. It's been really fun to see.

Q. Hubert, when you're talking about Saint Peter's late last night, you mentioned connected and connectivity. It's kind of become the modern basketball compliment. I wonder if you can speak -- I'm sure you haven't been able to study them that much at this point, but give us a sense of what that term means these days and why that is such a compliment.

HUBERT DAVIS: That everybody is on the same page. They're connected in terms of their preparation, their practice and their play. They understand where they want to go and how to get there. They've identified what allows them to be successful, and everybody understands that, and everyone has accepted their role in a place where they feel like it's beneficial for them to be the best team that they can be.

In terms of being connected, that's what I mean. Everybody is locked in on the same page, and they understand where they want to go and what they want to do.

Q. Armando, despite a massive size disadvantage, Saint Peter's forced five turnovers on Zach Edey. They never let him really dominate and take control. Have you gotten a chance to see some of the looks they gave him in the post?

ARMANDO BACOT: No, not really. I haven't really got that much of a chance, but I know they've got good bigs, and they've got great guards, too, that's good at digging and creating turnovers. And that's kind of what they've been hanging their hat on.

I know I've got to be smart down there and just be alert and aware of everything around me.

Q. Caleb, I saw a lot of tweets and crazy things since yesterday. What's it been like since yesterday for you after the big game?

CALEB LOVE: You know, it was exciting to see. But this morning when I woke up, I'm focused on the next game. I had my fun last night. We got the win; that's all I cared about. And we move on to the next.

Q. Leaky, there's an offensive contrast with you guys and Saint Peter's. You guys have four players that can go for 25 on any night. Saint Peter's doesn't have anyone on the season that averages over 12. How important is it that these guys can play 10 to 12 guys on a given night and how important it is to make sure that collectively they don't beat you?

LEAKY BLACK: Yeah, team defense has always been important regardless of who we're playing. I feel like they're a hard-nosed team. They play really hard regardless of personnel. On a stage like this, they're going to have confidence. If the personnel says like they can't shoot, on a stage like this, their confidence is high. We're going to have to take away the easy looks for them kind of thing.

I'm not really sure. Yeah, I don't know.

Q. Brady, RJ and Armando, kind of a continuation from the last time I asked it, but if each of you could tell me what you felt like the turning point of this season was.

BRADY MANEK: I'd say the Pitt game. We lost the game and we probably shouldn't have lost, and ever since then we've been playing unbelievable. We've won tough games. We've won games that were close late. We won in overtime several times. We've had a really good run since that game.

RJ DAVIS: What Brady said.

ARMANDO BACOT: What RJ said. (Laughter).

Q. For any of you guys, first game yesterday, crowd is really into it, and then coming down the stretch for you guys, crowd is really into it, a lot of Saint Peter's supporters, a lot of UNC supporters. What do you think the atmosphere might be like tomorrow for this big matchup?

ARMANDO BACOT: I mean, I think it'll be pretty intense and packed. UNC, we haven't been back in this position in like four years, something like that, and Saint Peter's, they've never been in this position.

I think it'll be a great turnout from both ends. I know Saint Peter's is kind of close. And UNC, we've got a huge fan base all around. So we're excited.

Q. RJ, Saint Peter's has talked a lot about New York, New Jersey pride, playing for something, being so close to home. What's different about basketball players from that area? I know you grew up around there.

RJ DAVIS: I just think we play with a grit and toughness. A lot of people say like New York guards are down, but it's evident through Saint Peter's and myself, we just play with like a chip on our shoulder. We come in with a sense of confidence that no one is better than us and we're going to compete at the highest level.

Q. Hubert, speaking of Twitter, we saw you do the gritty last night --

HUBERT DAVIS: I don't know if that was it.

Q. I wonder when you acquired those dance moves and what the guys thought about your performance last night in the locker room.

RJ DAVIS: A+.

HUBERT DAVIS: He just wants me to call a play for him.

Q. Caleb, you're from the St. Louis area, you got shouted out about Bradley Beal, Jayson Tatum, they're also from the area. What's it like to get that kind of love on Twitter?

CALEB LOVE: That was great. Those are like my big brothers. I watched them growing up, especially Jayson. I'm kind of close with him. And then I played for Brad Beal, so I've played for Brad's programs, so just having them as like role models and big brothers is great to have.

Q. Hubert, us in the media and fans already talk about potential Duke rematch. How do you make sure that that doesn't slip into anything or affect anything that's coming up in this next game?

HUBERT DAVIS: Well, you know, one of the things that I've talked to the guys a lot is I've given them this Bible verse, Proverbs 4:25, and it's to keep your eyes straight ahead, ignore all sideshow distractions.

So what's straight ahead is Saint Peter's. So our full attention is on our preparation, our practice and making sure that we play our best against a great Saint Peter's team.

Q. Leaky and Armando, I'd like to know what you think was the moment when you learned and realized that you had moved on from some of the things that were kind of holding you guys back before with the inconsistency when you realized, okay, we're a different team now.

LEAKY BLACK: For me, I feel like it was the Syracuse game where we dug deep and willed that win out. We pulled that win out at home. I feel like that was a big turning point for me.

ARMANDO BACOT: For me I'd say the Virginia Tech game, just going over and winning at Virginia Tech. It's almost impossible. Just I think our toughness down there was great for us, and I think that's when we realized, like yeah, we're pretty good.

Q. For Brady and Armando, kind of along those lines, Coach was talking about connectivity and kind of the chemistry aspect. When did that really set in for this group recently where you can really play off of one another, both on and off the court?

BRADY MANEK: Yeah, I'd say Armando, he's that guy down low. He's the piece we need. When he's down there posting up, causing havoc, just drawing the defenders, it helps the four other ones out there on the floor with him.

He's just a big part down low, and the team has got to focus a lot on him; and if they don't, they leave someone else open.

ARMANDO BACOT: I'd say probably the Virginia Tech game, too, because I think we all just as a team just played great offensively and we kind of just trusted each other in big moments. Caleb and RJ was huge, and then Brady made some big shots, and then Leaky defensively, too.

And I feel like we all just kind of came together and we saw like how good we can be when we all come together and work with each other.

Q. Hubert, North Carolina coaches usually have a connection with all the other North Carolina coaches that have come before and that you've played with. What was it like for you to go from Carolina to New York and play for a guy like Pat Riley? Did you take anything from him that you used to? His approach seems different than maybe --

HUBERT DAVIS: No, I loved my time with the Knicks. I couldn't have gone into the NBA and have played for better coaches in New York, with Coach Riley and Coach Van Gundy and Coach Nelson.

The thing I learned from Coach Riley is how hard you have to prepare to put yourself in a position to possibly be successful, and he taught me how to be a pro, how to practice, how to compete on every play, shootaround, practice, games, and he really put me in a position to be the best player that I could be in the NBA.

He's one of my favorite coaches that I've ever played for, and I think about my time with him as a player and use parts of what he taught me to try to teach these guys every day.

Q. For any of the players, so much is being made of Saint Peter's being this great Cinderella story. It's easy to get lost in that narrative. Are you guys sick of hearing it?

CALEB LOVE: I mean, they're a great team. They're here for a reason. We don't really pay attention to Cinderella or the seeding or whatever. We're going to treat them as such. They're another team that's in our way.

We're going to come out and stick to the game plan and do what we've got to do to get the win.

Q. Hubert, adversity tends to shape growth a lot of times, and so you as a first-time head coach, I wonder if you can walk me through a little bit of how you changed and adjusted and grew throughout this season and how you toggle balance of great old Carolina and all the success it's had with wanting to put your own spin on it. I imagine that's a delicate balance.

HUBERT DAVIS: Well, I always said the foundation of Carolina basketball will never go away as long as I am here, and the reason being is because it's been tried and tested and proven successful. And I've gone through it and I believe in it.

I've always also felt like even though that I believe in what Coach Smith and Coach Guthridge and Coach Williams, I have to do this with my own personality and in my own shoes, so that's what I have done.

There's been some tweaks, some pivots, some changes in how we do things on and off the court, but all of those tweaks and pivots and changes have been consistent with the foundation of what this place is all about, and it's about relationships, it's about family, it's about playing hard and playing smart and playing together.

Q. Hubert, I want you to talk about your seniors for a second here. They've been through hell and back given everything that's happened the last two years. For them to be in this leadership position and for you guys to be one win away from the Final Four, what does that say about them?

HUBERT DAVIS: Well, I'm just -- I said this last night. There for me has always been this year a desperation for them to be successful. I just want things to work out for them, and I want them to experience the things that I was able to experience here at Carolina that I still remember at 51 years old.

Over the last couple years, they haven't had much to be able to remember in a positive way. For them to be at this stage -- going into the NCAA tournament, only Leaky had won an NCAA Tournament game. I think Brady has won one. Nobody had advanced past the second round.

To find that all of these guys, not just the seniors, are in the Elite Eight, it's a place of enjoyment for they to see them experience this, to see them come into this interview room and to be celebrated and supported and encouraged and noticed.

That's exactly what I wanted from this year, and I'm glad that they're able to experience it.

Q. I'm curious, as a basketball fan, have you appreciated what Saint Peter's has done in this tournament? Taking it one step further, do you appreciate it more because you know they're doing it with less resources, less money, less facilities?

HUBERT DAVIS: I appreciate all the NCAA Tournament teams. I mean, just to get to this tournament, you have to have a level of success. I'm proud of every team that participates in this NCAA Tournament. It's not just us, it's not just Saint Peter's. There's so much that goes behind the scenes to just get through a season, and to be in this tournament and to be successful and to have a run like us and like Saint Peter's is beautiful to watch and it's beautiful to experience.

We're in a place of thankfulness. We were all talking last night and this morning, and we're just in a place of thankfulness and humbleness and appreciation for where we are. This doesn't happen all the time. We're just enjoying the moment.

Q. What is unique, if anything, about what Saint Peter's does defensively, and why have they been so effective on that end of the court?

HUBERT DAVIS: Well, they're good defensively because they've got, one, good individual defenders, and number two, they're tied together team defense-wise. In terms of size, they don't have as much size as we do, but they do an excellent job at getting steals and deflections. They do a really good job of changing defenses to keep you off balance on the offensive end.

And I also think what plays a part is they're very methodical on the offensive end. And at times I feel like teams that when they play them, because you're playing defense 20, 25 seconds every possession, by the time you get on the offensive end, you're so excited you want to shoot the ball and don't maybe necessarily get the best shot that you want.

A great benefit for us is we have played against terrific teams like Virginia, Virginia Tech that are methodical in their offensive approach where you have to stay disciplined enough to play 20, 25, maybe 30 seconds every possession and then have the discipline to be able to get the shot that you want on the offensive end.

I'm thankful for those experiences in the ACC that I feel like will help us and prepare us against a really good Saint Peter's team.

Q. You mentioned earlier that you took a lot from Pat Riley, but I was wondering having been around Coach Smith, your uncle is Walter Davis, what's the most important thing you've learned? Or is there any type of wisdom that they've given you that you take into this moment, or was there anything they told you that you didn't necessarily believe but now you're seeing it now?

HUBERT DAVIS: No, you know, there was a number of things that I learned from my time with Coach Smith. To name one, he gave me a chance and an opportunity, and that's the foundation of who I am.

I wasn't a McDonald's All-American. So you talk about Saint Peter's kids having a chip on their shoulder, I know what that feels like. I had three scholarship offers, and Coach Smith told me not to come to Carolina because he didn't think I was good enough, fast enough, athletic enough to be able to play at that level.

And I just asked him, hey, could you give me an opportunity and a chance, not only to play there but also to get an education there. I didn't know it was going to turn out like it did, but we wouldn't know how it would turn out unless he gave me a chance and an opportunity.

That's a foundation piece for me. I always tell the players, whoever plays for me, you will get an opportunity and a chance. I don't know when it'll be, how, and the manner in which it'll come, but you will have an opportunity. And that's one of the many things I learned from Coach Smith.

Q. Coach, how valuable do you believe the nine years prior to this, underneath Coach Williams, has led you to be successful in your first season?

HUBERT DAVIS: Oh, it's huge. I mean, just having a front-row seat to see how Coach Williams does everything, making decisions, putting together practice plans, relationships with players, personnel, recruiting. For nine years I got a chance to just watch the greatest coach that I've ever been around.

And then also -- I don't know if a lot of people know this, but Carolina I think is the only school in the Power Five that has a JV program, and for seven of the nine years I was a JV coach. So obviously it's on a much lesser scale, but I did have to go through practice and I had to make -- we had games, we had substitutions.

In a lot less way I had to make decisions. And I think that's the biggest difference between being an assistant and a head coach. As an assistant you're always making suggestions, and as a head coach you're always making decisions.

Q. You alluded last week to the last 11 1/2 months just being kind of a blur and you haven't had time to really reflect. How long did it take you to get your feet planted, so to speak, and is there anything about the past 11 1/2 months that has surprised you?

HUBERT DAVIS: Well, you know, as soon as I took the job, my feet were planted, and the reason being is -- it's two things. Number one, I love basketball, and so I'm doing something that I have done pretty much my entire life.

And so, as I said before, this isn't a job for me, this is missionary work. This puts me in a position to be able to serve and to be able to help out all of these players on and off the court and in the classroom so that they can be successful and they can be the best that they can be.

The second part is I'm doing it at an institution that I've loved my entire life. I just remember at four years old coming to see my uncle play when he was an All-American at North Carolina and just wanting to be a part of the program.

So every day I'm doing something that I love at the place that I've always loved my entire life. Even when I took the job, my feet were planted because I was in a place where I wanted to be.

Q. Big picture one, but now that we're eight, nine, ten months into NIL, and we've got a ways to go, it seems like, what are your impressions and where does that need to go to be good?

HUBERT DAVIS: Well, you know, one of the things -- first of all, I'm glad that our players and other student-athletes get a chance to financially benefit off their likeness. I have always felt like that is something that needed to change.

One of the things that I told the guys at the beginning of the year when all this NIL stuff came up, I gave them an example -- I told them you've got to check three boxes. I said, number one, you have to be in the right environment. And I said, you're at the University of North Carolina. There's other people at our level, but there's nobody higher than us. I said, you can check that box.

I said, number two is you've got to play well. In order to get any type of NIL deal, you personally are going to have to play well.

And I said, the last thing, and this is the most important thing, is your team is going to have to play well. I said, when I was with the New York Knicks, it wasn't -- you didn't call it NIL, but when I was with the Knicks, I had a lot of NIL deals because I was in New York City, I played well while I was there, and we were really good while I was there, and then I got traded to the Toronto Raptors, and that's an unbelievable organization, but at the time from a record basketball standpoint, it was young, we were struggling, all of those NIL deals went down the hill because I didn't play well there and we weren't very good.

So I said, you've got to put things in perspective and be able to check all three of those boxes. If you do that, the NIL deals will come.

So that's always been my communication to them.

Q. We covered Jeff Lebo in high school, my station did --

HUBERT DAVIS: That's awesome.

Q. We have footage from the '80s that I love dearly. When you decided to bring him into the program, he has so much head coaching experience, what's that relationship like? Why was he an essential hire for you in your first season?

HUBERT DAVIS: Well, first of all, we're great friends. He was a senior my freshman year, so he was the one that I watched and followed, how to do things. I couldn't have asked for a better senior to mimic, to model, to learn from, because he did everything at the highest level, whether it was on the court, in the classroom, and in the community.

We just became instantly friends, and we've been great friends since then.

When I took the job, I just had to have somebody on my staff that had been there before, not necessarily in North Carolina but has been in a position to make decisions. I've always felt like Jeff, his ability to connect with players, his knowledge of the game, there's nobody better than him, his passion for this place. And when I took the job, he was the first person that I called.

Q. Another blast from the past, but when most Carolina fans think of Jersey City, they might think of Mike O'Koren. I'm curious of your recollections of him as a player and your uncle. And if you were to tell him to root for his family or root for his city, what would you tell him?

HUBERT DAVIS: Well, root for Carolina, but hanging in my office I have a picture of my uncle and Mike O'Koren in my office, and my uncle has his arm around Mike O'Koren and he's crying. It was right after the 1977 championship against Marquette.

I remember that game. They were up late, and Marquette ended up winning, and my uncle had a broken finger and Coach Phil Ford had a hyperextended elbow and Tommy LaGarde was out of the game because he had torn his ACL and John Kuester was stepping in and playing terrific, and I felt like they should have won a championship.

But I have a picture in my office with my uncle with his arm around Mike O'Koren. And I've known him for a number of years, and not only was he a great player at Carolina and in the NBA but he's a great coach and a terrific person.

Q. (Off microphone.)

HUBERT DAVIS: I don't necessarily think about the loss. I think about here's my uncle as a senior, has his arm around a freshman, and the togetherness that that team had.

It brings me back to what I want these guys to have. It doesn't matter what class you are, we're a part of Carolina basketball and we're all a family. We're all in this together.

Even though it was a loss, it brings back to me what this place is all about.

Q. This match is being portrayed as David versus Goliath, but does being Goliath have its own pressures? Is it as hard to be Goliath as it is to be David?

HUBERT DAVIS: I don't consider us David, I don't consider us Goliath. I consider us North Carolina and them Saint Peter's. As I said before, I don't look at seeds. Seeds mean absolutely nothing to me.

In the NCAA Tournament you have teams that are successful, and on any given day can win any game. Saint Peter's has beaten two opponents in the NCAA Tournament, Purdue and Kentucky, that beat us. They have our full attention, and rightfully so.

They're a terrific basketball team. They're playing extremely well. And they have embodied the personality of their coach, and they have a passion and a hope and a desire that has put them in this position.

And we have that passion and that desire, as well. We're excited about the challenge of playing a really good Saint Peter's team.

Q. You keep referencing the connectedness and togetherness. Was there a moment this year that you feel like the switch flipped and the team camaraderie clicked, or do you feel like since the beginning of the season you guys have always been one?

HUBERT DAVIS: You know, it was interesting to hear their answers, and I felt like they were different answers, like some said after the Pittsburgh game that we lost at home, some say it was Virginia Tech, us winning on the road. And I'm not saying that's not true. I believe that. But I also believe that what has allowed us to get to this point has been time.

This has been a year of newness, new head coach, new coaching staff, three new players, transfers, two new freshmen, some tweaks, pivots, changes in our style, both offensively and defensively. I just think it's shared experiences over time, and I know that everybody wants everything to fit perfectly in November and December, and it just takes time.

I just felt like the shared experiences and the time that we've spent on and off the court has allowed us to grow together, to understand each other, to accept each other, to see the gifts and talents that all of us -- different gifts and talents that we all bring to the table that allow us to collectively be the best that we can be, and we're settled now. We're in a place of togetherness because of time shared together.

I just really feel like that's the biggest thing that has allowed us to be at our best right now.