Henri Veesaar Discusses Key Moments in Win vs Florida State

It was a strong start to conference play for the North Carolina Tar Heels, who defeated the Florida State Seminoles 79-66 on Tuesday night at the Dean E. Smith Center.

As it has been for the last month, the Tar Heels were slow-moving in the first half, making 1-of-7 shot attempts to open up the game. However, defense prevented North Carolina from falling too much behind.

What was peculiar for the Tar Heels in the first half was Henri Veesaar's lack of production. The Arizona transfer recorded zero points and five rebounds while attempting one shot in the first 20 minutes.

While speaking with the media during his postgame press conference, Veesaar explained his slow start and what the message was during halftime.

Veesaar's Thoughts

Dec 22, 2025; Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels center Henri Veesaar (13) celebrates during the first half against the East Carolina Pirates at Dean E. Smith Center. Mandatory Credit: Scott Kinser-Imagn Images | Scott Kinser-Imagn Images

"I mean, I feel like Coach [Hubert] Davis definitely emphasized, during halftime, I've got to be involved," Veesaar said. "In the first half he said I wasn't being aggressive enough, and I only had one shot. I was playing a little bit flat. And then [in the] second half, he kind of got me started with that. So that helped a lot."

Veesaar's demeanor completely switched in the second half, as the 6-foot-11, 224-pound center finished with 12 points, 12 rebounds, three assists, and one steal while shooting 6-of-7 from the field.

Despite making his presence felt by recording double-digit points and rebounds in the second half, Veesaar discussed how making an impact on the game does not just come down to how many points and rebounds you produce.

Dec 22, 2025; Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels center Henri Veesaar (13) dunks against the East Carolina Pirates during the second half at Dean E. Smith Center. Mandatory Credit: Scott Kinser-Imagn Images | Scott Kinser-Imagn Images

"Just keep playing, just try to help your team win," Veesaar said. "Like, it's not always your points and always your rebounds. Might be a box out. It might be a steal and somebody else scores, or you pull in somebody out of defending and they get a kick out three. It's not always about my stats or what I do. It's more like, however the team impacts from what I do, like I'm on the court and us just being able to win games."

Speaking of rebounds, Veesaar understands the importance of controlling the glass, and he feels that his head coach's repeated message is a main reason for prioritizing that aspect of the game.

"I mean, obviously I feel like I always have coach [Hubert] Davis say that the game comes down to whoever wins a rebounding battle, and we won that," Veesaar said. "So, we won the game. I think that's a big part of the game, no matter what, because you just want more bites of the apple being able to get more shots up than the opponent, and rebounding does just that."

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