Armando Bacot discusses the importance of breaking two more records in UNC basketball history

North Carolina big man Armando Bacot has already enjoyed one of the most prolific careers in college basketball history. On Saturday evening against the N.C. State Wolfpack, Bacot had the opportunity to set two more program records: the most rebounds in UNC basketball history and the most double-doubles in Tar Heel basketball history. Bacot had a monster performance against the Wolfpack with 23 points and 18 rebounds and in doing so, he broke both of those records. His spectacular performance played a huge role in carrying the Tar Heels to an 80-69 victory over N.C. State. Following the win, Bacot spoke with the ACC Network broadcast crew about further cementing his legacy in Tar Heel basketball lore.

Bacot now has 1,221 rebounds–two ahead of the program’s former all-time rebounds leader, Tyler Hansbrough. Bacot discussed how much it meant to him to break both records at home in front of the Tar Heel fans at the Dean Smith Center. “Yeah, I mean, it means everything. I knew coming into this game what was at stake and I knew next game, it would be at Syracuse. So I told myself before the game, I told my coaches and everybody I was going to get at least 18 rebounds. I’m just lucky I got to do it,” Bacot said.

Bacot shared a funny story about him and Tyler Hansbrough after he broke his record. “Yeah, when we [were] at half court, he was like, ‘When are we done taking these pictures?’ It took like a minute and a half. It got a little awkward. We were just smiling for like a minute and a half,” Bacot said.

One of the broadcasters asked Bacot if he gets two Mondo Burgers now. That’s of course the famous cheeseburger that was named after Bacot at the Town Hall Grill in Chapel Hill. The burger features onion straws, applewood smoked bacon, barbecue sauce, smoked gouda cheese, and lettuce on a brioche bun. “Hey, I might need to head over to Town Hall Grill and get two Mondo Burgers after that performance. I’ll have some for y’all, too,” the record-setting big man said.

Bacot then talked about the extensive number of hours and hard work he’s poured into accomplishing the things he’s done at North Carolina. “Yeah, well I mean, you know how it is. When you come to North Carolina, one of the biggest things that this program was built on was rebounding. And I mean, playing with Coach Rob early on and Coach Williams, that was just something they emphasized from day one. And that’s something I can control. I can’t control how many shots I make or fouls getting called on me, but I can control giving effort. And that most of the time translates to getting a lot of rebounds. And that’s just something that I’ve tried to work on since I’ve been here, fell in love with it, and I guess I’m pretty good at it,” Bacot said.

Carlos Boozer asked Bacot about a play early on in Saturday’s game in the first half. Bacot snatched the ball away from N.C. State big man, D.J. Burns, Jr. After stealing the ball, Bacot stared him down. Boozer asked the UNC superstar if that was a statement play for him to set the tone. “Yeah, I mean, N.C. State, they’ve got a great team this year and I really just wanted to light a fire under the rest of the guys on the team and just really get us going,” Bacot said. “I know once we all start get going and talking a little trash, the play ups. And I think this was one of those games where we just came focused, came locked in, and brought fire.”

He wasn’t kidding about the Tar Heels bringing the fire. Along with Bacot’s monster performance on his record-setting day, North Carolina also got a sensational performance from R.J. Davis, who poured in 26 points, grabbed four rebounds, and connected on two of his four three-pointers. One of those threes was a spectacular three-pointer from near half-court as the shot clock was winding down.

With the win, North Carolina moved to 14-6 overall and 6-3 in the ACC for the 2022-2023 campaign.