Hubert Davis reacts to seeing North Carolina players smile after win vs. Virginia

Hubert Davis said the cure all to anything is winning and that’s exactly what North Carolina did against Virginia. 

Like a proud father, Davis loved seeing the reaction of his Tar Heels’ squad following a victory over the Cavaliers. UNC certainly hopes those smiles continue after this past weekend.

The Tar Heels are in the middle of a three-game winning streak, so that’ll certainly bring a smile to everyone’s face!

“That puts the biggest smile on my face, because there’s nothing better than seeing them smile and being happy,” Davis said. “I talked about the quietness of this team, the level of quietness, the noise has gone up like just in shoot around today. They were in shootaround today and they were yelling and jumping around. And at the beginning of the year, I had to start it. 

“Today, I just got to sit and watch it. And so the joy of being here, the joy of being together as a team and trying to become the best that we can be, has really gotten better. And as I said before, it’s always been a group that has enjoyed being together and being a team. From the start, the chemistry is a 10 out of a 10. They just love being around each other.”

Jae’Lyn Withers led the way with 16 points, 11 rebounds and one assist while Ian Jackson added 16 points of his own.

Davis cited more upbeat practice sessions and feistiness leading into this game and others recently.

“All of them and I’ve poked at them to make sure it goes that way,” Davis said. “I don’t know how you play this game, absent of emotion, and it’ll be a competitive practice tomorrow to get ready for Monday against Florida State. But the guys have responded, and I feel like we’re getting better every day.”

As far as how North Carolina has turned the corner, Davis said it was the little things.

“I think our attention to detail has been more consistent,” Davis said. “I think defensively, we’ve been better and consistent. I think getting to the offensive glass has been a huge change for us. We’ve gotten second-chance opportunities. We had 17 points off second-chance (opportunities). I can’t remember what we had in the first half against NC State, but that’s been huge. And then us being able to get to the free throw line and make free throws was huge for us today. And so we’re doing some things really well consistently.”