What Hubert Davis said after UNC dominates Syracuse
North Carolina continued its hot streak in a big way on Saturday afternoon with a blowout win over Syracuse in the Dean Dome. The 103-67 win moved the Tar Heels to 13-3 overall and 5-0 in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
It was a dominating performance from the start for the Tar Heels, taking control of the game and never giving it back. In fact, it was one of the more impressive overall games for the Tar Heels this season.
As North Carolina looks to continue building momentum and staying unbeaten in ACC play, this game was encouraging. And following the game, head coach Hubert Davis was pleased with his team’s performance.
Here is what Davis said about the Tar Heels’ big win over the Orange on Saturday afternoon.
On the offense clicking
“I thought our pace was really good. You know, after we got the stop, I thought the way that we advanced the ball from defense to offense, it was at a good pace. We were playing point-five offense where as soon as we touched it, we were shooting, passing or driving. It wasn’t sticking at all. We talked about dominating points in the paint and as good as Syracuse is, they’re limited in the front court. And so we wanted to get the ball inside whether through post penetration and offensive rebounding. So irregardless, if they were in man or a zone, those are the things we’re looking for in the offensive end and those are the things that we were able to consistently do.”
via Inside Carolina
On facing 2-3 zone
“They play zone out of bounds underneath and so we knew that we would have to go up against the 2-3 zone in certain situations. That was the first time all season for an extended period of time that we had to go against the zone. So you know for us, it was really good for us to work on our zone offense because that’s something that’s going to happen to us in the future and we’ve got to be able to execute in those situations. And to understand that whether it’s zone or man we still want to get points in the paint whether it’s post penetration, offensive rebound or quick open threes.”
via Inside Carolina
On RJ Davis' defense
“He’s been great defensively. You know, his ability to get steals and deflections but defend without fouling has been huge. Such growth in that area and then also just his leadership, he’s just so vocal in practice and huddles during the games in the locker room. His presence, the guys listen, they look towards him, and he’s our leader and he’s done a fantastic job this year.”
via Inside Carolina
On Jalen Washington
“I think he can be an elite rebounder and give us another post presence. He’s a big five that can stretch the floor. He can shoot from three. He’s an excellent passer and sets really good screens and I think I told you after the NC State game, like he’s our best post defender. He really is. And so the job that he did on (DJ) Burns, we didn’t have to double team a lot because he was out there.
“He’s just been a huge benefit for us and so much so that there have been times lately now that he’s on the floor with Armando. And so now we’ve gone big and so that’s the versatility that we have. We can go small, we can go big because of J-Wash’s ability to shoot the ball from the outside.”
via Inside Carolina
On 3-point defense
“We’re getting better defensively. It’s something that we’ve identified to allow us to be successful and to be the best team that we can possibly be. It was really before right before the Oklahoma game. I spoke to the team and I said, ‘look, like what is required is for us to make a full commitment on the defensive end and rebounding the basketball. If we can defend, if we can take care of basketball that’s gonna put us in position to be able to be successful whomever we play.’ I said it takes a full commitment and from that Oklahoma game it just continues to build.
“Guys are taking pride in their one-on-one individual matchups. Doing a good job of boxing out, we’re rebounding. This is I think the fifth straight game that we’ve outrebounded an opponent. The encouraging thing is how much better I think we can get. We can do a better job defending without fouling and being disciplined on the defensive end. And so I like where we are.”
via Inside Carolina
