UNC’s Davis Explains Mid-Week Plan of Attack

The Tar Heels' head coach explained on Monday how his team will use the extra practice time to address things.

Jan 3, 2026; Dallas, Texas, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels head coach Hubert Davis yells to his team during the game between the Mustangs and the Tar Heels at Moody Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

It was a disappointing weekend for the North Carolina Tar Heels, who suffered a 97-83 loss to the SMU Mustangs at the Moody Coliseum on Saturday. It was not the type of performance we have been accustomed to seeing with the Tar Heels.

Defensively, North Carolina was lacking in multiple areas, but the most concerning part was the perimeter defense, which was exploited over and over again by SMU's stellar guard play.

During his weekly Monday radio appearance, head coach Hubert Davis discussed multiple things pertaining to the Tar Heels' performance on Saturday. North Carolina does not play until Saturday, but the 55-year-old head coach believes that will serve his team well.

Davis' Thoughts

Dec 30, 2025; Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels head coach Hubert Davis with guard Seth Trimble (7) and guard Derek Dixon (3) in the second half at Dean E. Smith Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

• “I’m excited about this week,” Davis said. “I love playing games, but I like practices even more, and it gives us a week to practice and look at some things against SMU that we have to tweak."

As mentioned, the Tar Heels' perimeter defense was non-existent, as the Mustangs were able to maneuver around North Carolina throughout the game. That led to open threes created by Boopie Miller. Davis explained how that was the Tar Heels' downfall in the loss.

• “I thought our presence on the ball wasn’t very good, and that sets the tone,” Davis said. “If you take care of the ball, everything else will take care of itself, whether it’s on the perimeter, post, transition, (or) ball screens.” 

Jan 3, 2026; Dallas, Texas, USA; SMU Mustangs guard Boopie Miller (2) shakes hands with North Carolina Tar Heels head coach Hubert Davis after the Mustangs defeat the North Carolina Tar Heels at Moody Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Film study has been an important element of North Carolina's learning experience this season. Unfortunately, this week's film session was filled with miscues, and Davis talked about how the film was revealing.

• “I think the film is huge,” Davis said. “I think you could tell the kids you didn’t box out here, or we could have done this better, but they need to see it. And they saw it today.”

Because North Carolina does not play until Saturday, there are more opportunities to get reps in practice. Davis discussed how this extra time off will allow the team to get back to basic before returning to action.

• “There’s times where you have to get back to drills that you’ve done earlier in the season just to put yourself in a position to be successful,” Davis said. “So, we’ll get back to that. We did it today and tomorrow and the rest of the week and make sure that everyone understands what we need to do on the defensive end. That’s our lifeline, being good defensively.” 

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