‘Uplifting and positive’: How UNC basketball players reconnected, regained winning form
North Carolina basketball players have done plenty of analyzing what’s gone wrong this season.
Just three games into the season, they came up with essentially a covenant for how they wanted to play, and head coach Hubert Davis had the page laminated as a keepsake for his office.
Senior forward Armando Bacot sounded the alarm that things needed to improve after their 76-74 loss at Pitt on Dec. 30.
It took a lackluster first half and a 26-point deficit — the season’s largest — against Wake Forest on Tuesday, for things to finally sink in for the Tar Heels. So after having a prolonged postgame discussion in the locker room, junior guard R.J. Davis believed they needed to take a different approach on Thursday. This time, he asked that everyone focus on letting their guards down and express what they think.
“We’ve been having these meetings, I don’t think we’ve been having it the right way,” Davis said. “We were having meetings about trying to see what was wrong with the team and how can we build our chemistry. ... I feel like if you’re being vulnerable and letting the team know how you feel and what you’re dealing with, then that kind of helps. It makes me want to help Mondo and then vice versa.”
There were tears shed as each player took a turn revealing how they were feeling about where the team was headed. But after the serious talks, they just hung out as a team on Friday at walk-on Duwe Farris’ apartment. They had an informal team dinner and socialized with card games and Madden. R.J. Davis called the meeting and what followed, “great energy, uplifting and positive.”
The results were visible during Carolina’s 91-71 victory over Clemson on Saturday, and the Tar Heels hope that will carry over into Monday’s showdown with No. 19 Miami.
“We showed what we’re capable of and how good of a team we could be when we play together and when we’re connected,” forward Pete Nance said.
Hubert Davis admitted he got a bit emotional during the win over the Tigers because the team was playing so unselfishly. He cited two plays in particular: when Caleb Love passed up on a shot to get Puff Johnson a 3-point attempt from the corner; and when Love was the beneficiary of an R.J. Davis pass for a 3-pointer in the first half.
Carolina had 17 assists against Clemson after totaling a combined 23 during their three-game losing streak.
“I was emotional during the game and after the game because they were playing with the sense of joyfulness, and you could just see it in a way that they were playing,” Hubert Davis said. “It wasn’t just for when personally they made their play. It was when their teammates made a play. They were just as or even more excited and happy and joyful for their teammates.”
The Heels had the one element that has been missing too many times this season: Their three best scorers all played like it.
Love, Davis and Bacot have had plenty of games where they all scored double figures, but rarely have they all shot well at the same time. That changed on Saturday when they combined to go 20-for-35 from the field.
It was their second-best game collectively shooting since they combined to go 22-for-38 against College of Charleston, and just the eighth game they combined to shoot better than 50 percent from the field.
Love led the way with 23 points, including 6-for-9 from 3-point range. Bacot scored 19 points on 8-for-11 shooting from the field. Davis added 17 points including 4-for-10 from 3-point range.
“I knew coming into the game I just had to make the right plays as far as decision-making, the shot selection, that’s been up and down with me throughout the season,” Love said. “I told myself, we’re not gonna do that. I’m a junior and I shouldn’t be making those types of plays and so coming into the game, I told myself, make the right plays, make the right decision and everything else is going to work out.”
The Heels still have time to change the season’s narrative, beginning on Monday when they face the Hurricanes.
This story was originally published February 12, 2023 at 8:00 AM.