Members of the UNC men’s basketball team met with the media Thursday afternoon at the Smith Center to preview Saturday night’s game at No. 2 Duke. The Tar Heels have won three of their last four games at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Here are highlights from Thursday’s session:


R.J. Davis

Image via Todd Melet

On staying confident amid the team’s recent slide: People are counting us out. People aren’t believing in us. We’re having a hard time finishing games strong. But I see it. I see the vision for this team. I see how we could be great, how we can overcome this little obstacle we’re going through. We can do this. We’ve just gotta take it one possession at a time, one day at a time. We could literally flip a switch for this season.

On his personal history in the rivalry: It’s crazy that this is my last UNC vs. Duke [road] game. I’ve been in a lot of close games. I’m just grateful for the overall experience of the rivalry. It goes back way before me. To be a part of this is something you could only dream of as a kid. Even my freshman year, playing with no fans, to beating Coach K in the Final Four… stuff like that, it’s something I’m grateful for. I’m just going into Saturday with the mindset of having fun and coming out with the win.

On the mental approach to Saturday: You can’t let your emotions get the best of you. You’ve gotta treat it as another game on the calendar. I think that’s our best way to approach this game. We know the story, the background, the history. But we’ve gotta just look at it as another game to play.

Ian Jackson

Image via Associated Press/Frank Franklin II

On his recent scoring slump: It’s just that kind of stretch. It’s basketball. It happens. But I’m alright. I’m fine. My confidence is still super high. And my teammates trust me, I trust them. I’ll go out there and believe and play my game.

On Cooper Flagg: He’s a great player. He can do it all on the floor, whether he’s scoring or defending. He always has a way to impact the game. Him knowing that helps him a lot. His motor’s high… [but] there’s things that he doesn’t do well that we’ve gotta force him to do. We can’t let his defense impact [us] so much that it trickles down to his offense and gets him going.

Hubert Davis

Image via Todd Melet

On Duke: I think they’re fueled and tied to their defense. That’s the thing that allows them to be successful on the offensive end. They’ve got Cooper, who from an offensive standpoint can do a number of things. There’s not many people, especially in college, with his size that can not only create for himself but so easily create for his teammates. They just have a lot of moving parts on the offensive end that can hurt you, whether it’s around the basket with lobs and post-ups or being able to shoot the ball. They’re playing extremely well with tremendous confidence.

On Jalen Washington’s recovery from a sprained knee: He’s planning to practice [Thursday]. How much he’s gonna practice, I do not know. But that is the plan for today.

On his relationship with Duke head coach Jon Scheyer: I have tremendous respect for Jon. I think he’s done a terrific job in the three years he’s been there. I really enjoy spending time with him.

On preparing for the environment at Duke: We’ve played so many games on the road. We’ve been at Kansas, at Memphis, at Hawai’i. That’s just non-conference. We’ve been in spirited environments before. I think that really helps us in being able to compete on Saturday.

On the team putting together a complete effort: We have shown that, on both ends of the floor, we can play at a high and elite level. But can we stay there? Can we have that consistency? We’re really good defensively, and then in the second half a team shoots 51 percent against us. We’re really sharing the ball, we’re efficient on the offensive end, and then in the second half we only score 21 points and we’re turning the ball over. The overall consistency is the thing that I’ve focused on in the communication that I’ve had with the team.


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