Hubert Davis clears up reason for recent meetings with North Carolina players

Following North Carolina‘s dominant win over Tobacco Road rival Duke, there was plenty of joy and jubilation surrounding the Tar Heels. However, in the postgame press conference, UNC head coach Hubert Davis was tasked with addressing the recent comments from his star big man Armando Bacot.

Following North Carolina’s shocking road loss to Georgia Tech, Bacot revealed that he and Davis had a conversation surrounding the team’s play and his touches in the 74-73 loss. And while their conversation might seem out of the ordinary to some on the outside, the Tar Heels headman set the record straight, providing more context to the nature of their conversation.

“I don’t know if things had been weighing [on him]. This is not out of character; I told you guys that, first of all, I require the guys to stop by the office at least one time a week,” said Davis. “And I tell them we can’t talk about basketball. We gotta talk about school, whatever you’re watching on Netflix, what’s your favorite thing they like to eat. But I call the guys into the office all the time. And I’ve talked to Armondo, I’ve met with Elliott, RJ, [and] with Harrison.”

“These are things that I do every week. I just text guys and say, ‘Stop by the office. Let’s catch up, and let’s talk.’”

Following their loss to Georgia Tech, who is ranked near the bottom of the ACC but also has victories over Clemson and top 10-ranked Duke, a conversation between the two parties was warranted. In that contest, Bacot’s presence was nearly non-existent. In 29 minutes of play, he attempted just eight shots, which was the second-fewest of the starters only to freshman guard Elliott Cadeau. And of those eight attempts, he connected on four shots, shooting 50 percent from the field, which was the highest field goal percentage for any starter.

“I wanted to talk to Armondo this time, not just about life, but about basketball. It’s really important for me for Armondo to finish out his career the right way. And I just wanted to hear how he was feeling. I heard those comments from him saying ‘taking a backseat role’, and I wanted to ask him is that what you said. And I wanted to tell him I’ve never said that to you; that’s not what we want, and that’s not what we need. It was just a really good conversation.”

Whatever the reason for the conversation, it appears to have had a profound impact on Bacot and the team as North Carolina bounced back with a massive win over Duke in which the Tar Heels star big man finished the game with an efficient 25-point, 10 rebound double-double on 10-13 shooting from the field. Bacot also led North Carolina an assist with five and finished the night as the game’s leading scorer.