UNC-Kansas Hubert Davis Q&A: ‘In the Second Half, We Were Pretty Good’

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — A huge second-half surge helped No. 25 North Carolina come from behind and rocket past No. 19 Kansas 87-74 on Friday night at the Smith Center.

Caleb Wilson topped all scorers with 24 points, seven rebounds, four assists and four steals, while Henri Veesaar added another 20-point effort in a game-high 37 minutes. The big men shot a combined 17-for-24 from the field, helping UNC to 52-percent shooting (34-for-66) on the night as a team. The Tar Heels connected on 66.7-percent shooting during the second half, when they outscored the Jayhawks 58-37.

A 10-2 scoring run to start the second half erased a 37-29 halftime deficit for UNC, before a second surge — this one a 12-0 run by the under-12 mark — gave the Tar Heels a double-figure lead that they never relinquished.

Watch coach Hubert Davis’s postgame press conference from Friday night in full, and scroll down to read some of his noteworthy comments.

Some of the players said there was simply more movement on offense in the second half. What did you guys adjust from the first half to the second half?

Hubert Davis: “Yeah, in the first half, from an offensive standpoint, I think it was two things. One, we were turning the ball over. We had 10 turnovers, and I think they had 17 points off those turnovers. So it was almost like pick-sixes for us. And then our offense, one of the things that we talk about is ‘point-five mentality.’ When you catch the ball, either shoot it, you pass it, or drive it. Ball movement, player movement, change sides of the floor, that’s not what we were doing in the first half. Lot of standing, lot of holding, lot of dribbling. And against a team like Kansas with their length and their athleticism, they were switching everything, whether it was on the ball or off the ball. It just wasn’t good offense for us. And so in the second half, it was the exact opposite. We always changed sides of the floor. We had great ball and player movement that allowed us to find lanes to be able to attack the basket, and in the second half, we were pretty good.”

What does it tell you about the makeup of this group to be able to turn things around to that degree in the second half?

Davis: “I mean, one of the things that we talk about a lot is, really, the only thing that you have control over is how you react and how you respond. And that’s one of the things I was really proud of them is, the things that we talked about at halftime, they immediately put it into action at the beginning of the second half. We said, ‘Look, if we would just take care of the basketball, or on a defensive end, just box out and rebound, we could be back in this game within three minutes.’ They call a timeout. It was like 17 on the clock, it was a tie score, and it was like, ‘Guys, we’re right there. Let’s just continue to do that.’ So for a new team, a new group, to respond that way, and it wasn’t just one, it was the whole team, that was really, really encouraging. I’m very proud of them.”

On top of everything else he provides, how important is Caleb Wilson’s effort on loose balls and hyping up the crowd?

Davis: “Yeah, I mean, him diving on loose balls and just his energy, and effort, enthusiasm, one of the things that we talk about, we just need one, and everybody will follow suit, and him diving on the floor and showing emotion. I tell the guys like, ‘If you have to play with emotion, if you’re doing something that you love at a place that you love, with people that you love, how can you not scream? How could you not have something come out of you?’ And the fans feed off of that, and it resonates with them because it shows somebody that he not only cares about his game, but cares about this program and this university.”

What led to the difference in 3-point looks your team got in the first half compared to the second half?

Davis: “I do think there’s a difference. There’s good threes and bad threes. And the threes that we were taking in the first half were absent of ball movement and changing sides of the floor. I always say, if we dominate points in a paint, we put max pressure on the rim, those are going to generate the wide open threes. That was the case in the second half. First half was one-on-one, up against the shot clock, didn’t move the ball, and the second half was much different. And when you have that type of ball movement and you’re wide open from three, those are the shots that usually go in.”

What made Henri Veesaar so effective in the second half after those four turnovers in the first half?

Davis: “He’s really gifted. Didn’t turn the ball over in the second half. He was really good protecting the basket, in the paint, rebounding the basketball … I think. Well, he had four rebounds. I think he only had one in the first half so, but he could pass, he could shoot, he could finish around the basket. I don’t even know how he did that reverse dunk. I liked it because it went in, but I don’t know how he did that. But he just knows how to play, and he settled us in, along with Kyan, and I felt like everybody, the whole group, settled down and played better in the second half, Jarin, Luka, everybody, and it was a complete team effort.”