Key Takeaways on UNC Basketball After ACC Tipoff

On this episode of the Tar Heels Insider Podcast, beat writer Grant Chachere talks about the biggest takeaway he had and why North Carolina fans should be excited for this upcoming basketball season.

To watch, check out the video below!

Here is Davis’ portion of the Main Stage Press Conference at ACC Tipoff

HUBERT DAVIS: Just a real honor and a privilege to be here with you guys for the next 10, 15 minutes, but also being alongside Henri and Seth. Just a joy to coach and really excited about this upcoming season.

THE MODERATOR: We'll open it up to questions.

Q. Player development has always been a thing for North Carolina. How are you developing some of the players, your new players, and some of your senior players? How are you developing them now to Tar Heel basketball?

HUBERT DAVIS: Well, I mean, player development, there's a number of things at the top of the list, and player development is one of them. In order for our team to be good, each individual player has to be good. One of the things that I always tell the guys as a coach, filter through comes from two things. One, obviously my personality, and, two, my experience as a player.

One of the things in terms of individual development that we speak about at great length every day is for our guys to be basketball players. I know that sounds simple, but for our guys to check a number of different boxes on both ends of the floor, not one-dimensional.

Mar 20, 2025; Milwaukee, WI, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels head coach Hubert Davis speaks at press conference during NCAA Tournament First Round Practice at Fiserv Forum. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-Imagn Images | Benny Sieu-Imagn Images

What great example of Seth and Henri, of guys that can get it done on both ends of the floor and do a number of things on the offensive end, whether it's around the basket or obviously outside from three-point range. And so those are things that we talk about and things that we individually develop and work on on a daily basis out there on the floor.

Q. 11 new faces on this team this season. For you, the glue and the cohesiveness, how do you keep a team together when there is so much change in the climate that we live in? What can be the glue of the North Carolina program?

HUBERT DAVIS: Yeah, you know, you're right. There's 11 new guys, and one of the things that is I think huge is college support the same as when I was in school. When the season was over you weren't allowed to have those opportunities with your coach until October 15th, and that's absolutely a different case now.

The 11 new guys, plus returners, like Seth, we've been on the floor for eight months, during the summer, individual workouts, team practices, team getaways, functions. We spent a ton of time with each other on and off the court. I always tell the guys that in order to play for me you have to know me and I have to know you, and the only way that we get to know each other is spend a lot of time together.

I'm thankful that we've had that time in the summer and in the fall heading into the season where we have a clear understanding of who we are on and off the court that allows us to be the best that we can be on the court. Q. The importance on size was a focus this offseason. How are the bigs coming along so far, and how valuable is it to get Zayden back on the roster?

HUBERT DAVIS: One of the things that heading into this season or in the offseason that we wanted to improve on, obviously as you mentioned, our size, but the thing that would take it a step further was not just size in the front court, but positional size. I mean, we've got really big guards. Seth is big, and Jonathan Powell is 6'6"; Luka is 6'6". And so we've got positional size. It allows us to do a number of things versatility-wise on both ends of the floor. I've always believed and always will believe that rebounding is the number one determining factor of the outcome of the game at both ends of the floor, and from an offensive rebounding standpoint, that's an area that

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