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Hubert Davis reveals John Starks spoke to North Carolina players ahead of UCLA game

Chandler Vesselsby:Chandler Vessels•12/22/24•

ChandlerVessels

hubert davis
Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

North Carolina players were treated to some pregame words from a former New York Knicks star ahead of their game at Madison Square Garden on Saturday. John Starks, who played for the Knicks from 1990-98 and was teammates with current Tar Heels coach Hubert Davis, joined the team for its pregame meal before the CBS Sports Classic against UCLA.

Ultimately, it seemed as if the speech Starks gave inspired as UNC rallied from behind to pull off a 76-74 victory against the No. 18 Bruins. Speaking in his postgame press conference, Davis opened up about having Starks come speak to the Tar Heels and why he thought their play would him and other former Knicks proud.

“I had one of my former teammates come to the pregame meal, John Starks,” Davis said. “He talked to them about what it means to play in New York and play in the Garden. The way that they came back and the way that they fought and how resilient they were reminded me of what being a Knick is all about. I was really proud of them.”

North Carolina trailed by as many as 14 points with as little as 10 minutes remaining in the game Saturday. The Tar Heels eventually battled back to tied the game at 72 after Jalen Washington made a layup with 1:32 remaining.

UCLA would go on to retake the lead before RJ Davis was later fouled with 13 seconds remaining and had a chance to give UNC its first advantage since the opening minutes. He went on to make both shots as the Tar Heels claimed the win.

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Starks played college basketball for Oklahoma State before going on to his NBA career, and was named Sixth Man of the Year with the Knicks in the 1996-97 season. He retired from the league in 2002 with career averages of 12.5 points and 3.6 assists on 34% from 3-point range.

Davis scored 17 points in the victory against UCLA while Ian Jackson led the Tar Heels with 24 off the bench. The Tar Heels overcame a season-high 18 turnovers on the day to improve to 7-5 on the season.

North Carolina will look to carry over the momentum from this weekend’s win to its next game against Campbell at 8 p.m. ET on Dec. 29.