UNC-Central Arkansas Hubert Davis Q&A: ‘Everybody was Sharing the Basketball’

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — No. 25 North Carolina cruised to a season-opening blowout of Central Arkansas by a 94-54 margin on Monday night at the Smith Center.

Caleb Wilson led all scorers with 22 points on an efficient 8-for-10 shooting from the field, while Kyan Evans (15 points), Henri Veesaar (14 points), Seth Trimble (12 points) and Luka Bogavac (10 points) also supplied double-figure scoring.

UNC finished at 50.8-percent shooting field (33-for-65), including 34.5-percent shooting from 3-point range (10-for-29). Evans’ 4-for-7 shooting from beyond the arc fueled the Tar Heels from long distance.

Watch the full postgame press conference video, and read some noteworthy comments from UNC coach Hubert Davis after Monday night’s season opener.

What did you see from Caleb Wilson’s season-opening performance tonight?

Hubert Davis: “He brings high energy out there, and you combine that with the lift and athleticism and the giftedness that he has out there on the floor as talented as he is. He’s a kid that is really hungry to learn. He’s not somebody that thinks he’s got it all or knows everything. He’s always asking questions, and to have that from somebody is as good as him is pretty rare. And so I was really happy for him. I mean, he did everything, ran the floor, attacked offensive glass, hit a three, drove, he’s a great passer and penetrator. And then I thought he was good on the defensive end in terms of just being able to switch all those actions. It’s something that we worked on for three and a half straight days. Even shoot around the first time, we did defensive stations because of Central Arkansas, the way that they have two or three man actions, where they can go a number of different places and put Caleb involved there. I thought he did a really nice job.”

When did you find out Luka Bogavac was cleared?

Davis: “We just found out right before the game, and just to see the smile and the reaction from Luka was something that I’ll remember for the rest of my life. He’s somebody, obviously coming from Montenegro that has always since the first time that I talked to him, had a burning desire to be a part of this team, this program, this university and this community, and to be able to see him run out of that tunnel with the uniform on, and be able to check him in and see that smile is something again that I will remember for the rest of my life. His mom is here. She’s been over here for a week. Should be over here for two more weeks, so to be able to see her son out there on the floor. Can’t wait, I haven’t talked to him after the game, but I’m just really happy for him.”

How concerned were you that maybe he wouldn’t be cleared?

Davis: “No, as I said before, it was the same. We were working through it. I felt like we were making progress, and I do want to thank the University, did a terrific job of getting us to this point, and without them, Luka wouldn’t be here and he wouldn’t be on the court.”

Does Caleb Wilson’s dunking ability remind you of Brice Johnson? Or what other former Tar Heel does he remind you of?

Davis: “I never thought about it that way, but that’s a great description. I mean, Bryce, his bounce was real, and his second bounce was even better. And for Caleb, it’s that way. I mean, whether it’s an offensive rebound, post out of bounds, underneath, in transition, he’s looking to take the rim down, and he’s always been that way. It’s one of the things that we always emphasize, is putting pressure on the rim, living in the paint, living in the free throw line and dominating points in the paint. And he’s got the length and athleticism to be able to get there, and he did another really good job tonight.”

People talk about Luka’s shooting, but he showed some of his passing ability tonight. How does he help the ball move in this offense?

Davis: “Well, there’s a number of things. I mean, we’ve talked before about how much more size we have this year. And I’ve talked about positional size. I mean, at the wing position, Luka’s six, almost six-seven. So he’s a big guard. Obviously, he can shoot the basketball, but you’re right. He’s a basketball player. He can handle it, he can pass it, he can initiate offense. Gives us another playmaker out there on the floor. And I thought he did a really nice job defensively as well.”

Henri Veesaar worked hard tonight for his first career double-double.

Davis: “That was shocking to me. That was his first career double-double. When they said that after the game, I was like, ‘Oh, but Jesus, that’s crazy.’ I just didn’t think that was real, but that it was something, from an offensive standpoint, was our number one emphasis over the last three days. I just talked about, we have to dominate points in the paint. We’ve got to do a better job of looking inside. And we’ve got length, we’ve got athleticism to be able to take advantage of that. I don’t know what it was for the game, but in the first half, we were shooting 72 percent in the paint. And I was like, guys, we took 18 threes, but we’re shooting 72 percent in the paint. That’s where our strength is. And so when you do that, you put pressure on the opposing team, you get into the penalty, you knock down free throws. And I thought we did a better job hitting free throws today, but Henri did a really nice job of giving us a post presence, and that’s something that we’re going to continue to look at every game all day long.”

What did you like about Kyan Evans? He’s shooting the ball well, but also getting others involved.

Davis: “One of the things that he’s been consistent with him is just instinctively, he’s really good at pitching the ball ahead in transition. I thought he was really good at that, trying to give us early opportunities in transition. Thought he made really sound decisions, and obviously, his ability to be able to shoot the basketball is something that’s very valuable to us, and him getting five assists tonight, only two turnovers. I thought it was a really nice start for him, and I was really proud of him.”

Do you think this team has one of the highest ceilings you’ve coached at Carolina?

Davis: “The only thing that we talk about is reaching our full potential. Obviously, we’re nowhere near that. I think we can be a really good defensive team. I think we can be a really good rebounding team. I think from an offensive standpoint, our ability to be able to score near the basket, but also be able to shoot the ball from the perimeter, is something that I’m excited about. That’s just the potential of this group, and it’s really exciting to have this process to start the year and to see how good this group can become.”

In terms of points in the paint, how has this team evolved offensively from last season?

Davis: “Well, it’s a much different team than last year, but that’s always been an emphasis for us. That’s just who I am as a coach. I like shooting threes, but the first thing I always say is, you know, I want to layup or dunk or post catch. Get out and get to the free throw line, and so we’ve got some guys that can do that, that can check those three boxes, but we also have guys that can shoot the ball from three. But I just always have felt this from Coach Williams. The number one determining factor and outcome of a game is rebounding and dominating points in the paint. And so that’s rubbed off on me, and that’s who I am as head coach.”

Twenty-three assists tonight, UNC only did that once last year. How does that show the ball movement of this offense?

Davis: “I just felt like everybody was sharing the basketball. Sometimes I think we turned the ball over because we were sharing too much. I’ve never seen the alley oop to two guys. I didn’t even know what to say after that, but we’ve talked about ‘good to great’ and not just selling for a good shot. I think we’re good enough to get a great shot every possession. One of the things that Central Arkansas does is they throw a number of different defenses at you, a number of different ball screen defenses out of bounds, underneath. They’ll switch it up, they’ll pick up full court, they’ll press. And I thought we handled that really well, and just instinctively hitting the open guy and having 23 assists, I really like that, and that’s something that I talked to them after the game about. I told them after the game, one, the assist, and then number two is I was really proud of their preparation leading up to Central Arkansas. There were a lot of moving parts that we had to get prepared to be able to play them. And they accepted it, they learned, and they were able to implement it out there on the floor.”