Saturday night will mark the first UNC-Duke game since the two rivals met in the Final Four in New Orleans last April. It will also be the first installment of the rivalry featuring Blue Devil head coach Jon Scheyer. In fact, the game will be the first to feature neither former UNC head coach Dean Smith nor former Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski since 1961 (that’s 62 years for you non-math majors).
Questions abound before Saturday’s clash: how will UNC respond after its deflating loss to Pittsburgh? What will the rivalry look like with two relatively new head coaches? Will it feel the same after the Final Four? Here is what several Carolina players and head coach Hubert Davis had to say on Friday at the Dean Smith Center:
F Pete Nance
On his relationship with former Northwestern teammate Ryan Young, now playing for Duke as a graduate transfer:
We talk a couple times a week. We’re the same year; we came in together at Northwestern. So he’s a really good friend of mine, but we’ve both talked about it: not [Saturday]. It’ll be fun to be competing against him for a change.
He’s really smart. He knows how to use his body. He knows angles. He plays really hard. He’s a good rebounder. He’s a great player for sure.
On how much he knew about the rivalry growing up:
Very aware. I don’t know how you can’t be. My whole life I’ve been watching this rivalry and some of the great games that have gone on… it’s just surreal that I’m a part of it now.
On how much Hubert Davis has addressed toughness since the Pittsburgh game:
A good amount. We had our moments of being really tough, but having the ability to put it together for a full 40 minutes all at once is still something we’re waiting on and something we need to make happen right away. Excited to be able to put that in the works tomorrow.
G R.J. Davis
On the challenge of moving past the two emotional wins in 2022:
Last year is last year. We have a whole different team, they have a whole different team. We’re eager to win, so are they. We just have to move past that. We can’t dwell on it. Just move forward, and focus on what we did this year.
On what it takes for he, Armando Bacot and Caleb Love to all play well at once:
We’re just gonna have to dial in. I don’t think, as a group, we’ve played a “together” game, in terms of being disciplined, not just offensively, but defensively. We really keyed in on that [in practice]. I think the best is soon to come.
On what the team can do to prevent opponents from double-teaming Armando Bacot:
Just being a threat. We all know our capabilities and potentials as individual players. That’s getting the ball inside to Armando, but we can also penetrate and get the ball to the basket. We’re all talented, downhill players. We can either create for ourselves or create for others. That’s what we’re gonna have to do: live in the paint.
On his dislocated finger:
It’s better. Just getting the feel for it again. I’m doing a lot better.
Q: Will you be wearing tape [on the finger] Saturday?
No, I don’t think so.
On his injury at Syracuse:
Man, that hurt. It was like all my adrenaline rushed at one time. The impact of the hit caught me by surprise. I was down for a minute.
I couldn’t see. They kept telling me to try to open my eye, and I’m like, “I can’t.” At the moment, I didn’t know what to expect. I was just like, “I just need to get up off the floor and get out of here.”
G Caleb Love
On how he likes playing at Cameron Indoor Stadium:
Big-time players show up in big-time games. I definitely like playing in big-time atmospheres like that. I definitely like playing over there.
Just how loud it is, and how rowdy it gets. And seeing their faces when we beat them.
On what he’s been telling teammates who will be playing in their first Duke game:
I don’t think we’ve really talked about it as much. I’ll definitely tell them the atmosphere is like no other. Going in, we’ve just got to be poised and play our game.
On moving on from the Pittsburgh loss:
Next game up. If we hang our heads, it’ll lead into the game coming up. There’s no need to do that. We’ve moved past it, and we’ve been preparing really well for Duke.
On the advantages of having played in multiple games at Cameron Indoor Stadium:
We know what to expect. When things go left, how loud the crowd gets, we’ve been in those situations. So we know exactly what to expect and how to go forward from it.
On his impressions of the Blue Devils:
They play hard, and they play as a team. They’ve got [center Kyle] Filipowski as the head of the snake. Going in there, we’ve got to get open, make strong moves and just do what we do.
C Armando Bacot
On the opportunity for the team Saturday night:
I think this game is probably just as big as the other one [at Duke last season]. You’ve got two newer head coaches, so just being able to be the first game of the new chapter of [the rivalry] is huge. There’s bragging rights for both sides.
It’s huge. It’s a new look. I think this will shape how the next 10 or 20 years will look.
On the photo of him dunking at Duke last season:
It’s definitely an iconic image. I do have the photo somewhere. Helen [McGinnis], who shot the picture, I’m cool with her. It’s cool that she got that shot.
Not framed yet. I’ll frame it one day.
Image via The Daily Tar Heel/Helen McGinnis
On if he’ll be the target of boos:
I want people to boo me. I don’t think I get booed enough. I’m trying to get to that point.
I take in all that stuff. I try to look at the signs, the crowd, seeing who’s there. I want to take in everything and get the full experience.
On the build-up to this year’s game:
It definitely feels different. Not the same build-up as last year, because there was so much hype around it, so many different storylines. But for us in the locker room, we’re [treating] it the same as we [treated] it last year. But I will say on the outside, it doesn’t feel like it’s a Duke-Carolina week.
Head Coach Hubert Davis
On his message to the team after the Pittsburgh game:
I went at them. I just did. I asked them three questions: have you been told what to do, have you been taught what to do, and are you talented enough to do it? If you’re told and taught and talented enough to do it, tell me consistently why we aren’t doing this.
When we watch film, I want to accomplish two things: you should have learned something and you should feel encouraged. In a film session, I’m not trying to call you out; I’m trying to call you up.
On the environment at Duke:
As a player, you’re so into the game that the environment… you don’t pay attention to it. It’s not a factor. As a coach, it’s the same way. Our focus is on the game: where we play, when we play. If the environment plays a factor in how you play, I don’t think you’re focusing on the right things. Whether you’re a freshman or a fifth-year senior, it’s just a basketball game.
On coaching toughness:
That’s the message that has been sent the entire season. It’d be nice to not have to preach that every day, but that’s okay. Because it’s important to us and it’s important to our team to be the best that we can be.
On Puff Johnson’s status:
It’s been musical chairs in terms of who’s in, who’s out every week. I’m so thankful that Puff is at a point right now, in terms of his health, that he practiced yesterday and he’ll be ready to go for the game against Duke.
On the Blue Devils:
They’re a great rebounding team, especially on the offensive glass. Something’s gotta give: we’re the best defensive rebounding team in the ACC, and they’re the best offensive rebounding team. Rebounding will be very important.
They’re playing with a lot of confidence. They play with a sense of toughness and physicality from a defensive standpoint. We know what to expect there. Then on the offensive end, Filipowski’s special. He can create a shot for himself and for anybody else any time that he wants to. He’s a fantastic young player, but it’s not just him. They’ve got a really good basketball team. It’ll be a competitive test for us, but that’s something that we always like.
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