UNC Forward Henri Veesaar Chats with Media For 1st Time

North Carolina forward Henri Veesaar met with the press for the first player media availability session of the new basketball season. Veesaar talked about his transferring from Arizona, coming over from Europe and playing with Seth Trimble.

Q: On Hubert's take so far as a player and the process in bringing him to UNC.

Yeah, I mean he's been great getting to know and also coaching him. He's been fantastic in the classroom and also on the court as a player. He's somebody that can do a number of different things on both ends of the floor. He's got great size. He can handle it, make plays with the ball in his hands, can shoot, score at many different levels, mid range, get to the bucket.

[He's] an excellent passer and somebody that had a burning desire to be here and to be a part of this program. As soon as he just walks into a room, it just brightens up. He just has that type of personality. I've really enjoyed being around him.

Q: On if it's in the range of playing the 1-3 spots?

He can do all those things. You know. [I've] spoken to you guys before, but you know, I don't have numbers like basketball players, and have to play on both ends of the floor, and have to be able to be impactful in a number of different areas. Luka can do that. As I said before, his ability to handle a basketball and pass and score many different ways, his versatility is something that is going to be fun to watch this year.

Q: How did Davis find Bogavac?

I went to Montenegro. Laughter) No, I did not. I was at the beach, and I saw him shooting threes, and I was like, 'Hey, how are you? (Laughter)

No, I mean, it's the same as anything when you're evaluating talent, whether it's high school, transfer portal, internationally. [It's] the same type of evaluation and also in regards to recruiting, whether it's high school or transfer portal or international, the two boxes that need to be checked, and I told you this before, it has to be a want and a need. And Luka, from a basketball standpoint, and also his personality, was a want and need for our program, and I'm very thankful that he's here.

Q: What was the checklist in building the roster?

I mean, I think a couple things. I thought we needed to be bigger, positional size, and we needed more size, you know. I think the number one determining factor of an outcome of the game is rebounding. I thought defensively we were okay rebounding percentage wise, but offensive rebounding was nothing near where we needed to be. I wanted to become more versatile, have different types of lineups, and I feel like with this roster, we've been able to identify both of those things.

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