What did UNC basketball coach Hubert Davis say following win at Syracuse?

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What did UNC basketball coach Hubert Davis say following win at Syracuse?

Matthew Beighle, Tar Heels Wire · Tar Heels Wire

Sun, Feb 16, 2025 ·

5 min read

Hubert Davis on Jae'Lyn Withers' energy

"I thought he brought great, positive energy on both ends of the floor, just impactful plays. He has tremendous size and athleticism, and I thought he consistently made winning plays tonight on both ends of the floor. You know, it's interesting. Sometimes, when you have an injury, it kind of takes you away. It takes you away from focusing on things that you normally focus on because you have an injury, and it kind of gets you to focus on the right things. The two years that he's been here, that was the best game that J-Wit has ever played, and we needed all of it tonight."

Hubert Davis on the team finishing out the win

"I wasn't happy with them coming back, because that's something that we've struggled with all season, is getting the lead, whether it's in the first or second half, and then letting a team come back. Whether it's turnovers, offensive rebounds. Tonight, it was a combination of both, plus putting them on the free throw line. But I was really happy with the response of our group. Being on the road, (Syracuse) cutting it to two, one-possession game and being able to execute and get stops and extend the lead was big time from our group. I was really proud."

Hubert Davis on how he exploited Syracuse

"They're very long, they're very athletic. It's difficult to get to the rim. Wanted to put them in a number of ball screens, as we felt, for our group, that's our strength, especially in the half court, being able to create shots. We wanted to get out in transition, which was good. And for us, when we're able to get to the free throw line, get out in transition, and then we hit 13 threes, that helps. That's an area that we've struggled with pretty much all season, especially in conference. And to get 13 threes on the road here tonight, again, we needed all of it."

Hubert Davis on Ian Jackson's rut-ending performance

"I think we were able to get out in transition. I think our halfcourt sets allowed us to get downhill and draw two defenders and allowed us to be able to find Ian and other people out there on the perimeter. And also, coming into this game, we weren't shooting threes very well, so they were protecting the paint, trying to keep (us from) getting to the basket. Ian hit his first three, then he got out in transition, and that really got him going. And I think it also got him going that he's back here in New York. I know it's a long way away from the Bronx. And his best friend and teammate, Elijah Moore, on the other end. So I know that he was really excited about playing this game."

Hubert Davis on playing a zone defense

"We knew they were going to play some zone, and we got exactly what we wanted. We always want to attack the basket through post or penetration, even against a zone. We want to get the ball in the middle and not settle for threes. I thought we did a good job scoring in that midrange, getting to the basket and also knocking down threes. Our ball movement, shot fakes, pass fakes, I thought, were really good in the second half. At the beginning of the second half, that's where we were very stagnant and struggled against that zone, and then we started to find some rhythm and find some good shots in there, and that gave us confidence to be able to execute against their zone."

Hubert Davis on Ian Jackson's sped-up pace

"I told the whole group I wanted them to play fast and free, but not cool and casual. Ian and I met every day this week.We talked about the adjustments that teams have made against him defensively, and now it's time for him to make an adjustment. Also talked to him about that he's a basketball player, and there's more ways that he can impact winning outside of just scoring the basketball. There's defending, rebounding, taking care of the basketball, all those different things. And so I challenged him to make winning plays in other areas, not just scoring. But obviously, when you have Ian going alongside RJ, when you throw in J-Wit, that's that second and third score that we like to have every game."