Hubert Davis stresses need for North Carolina to win rebounding margin

A longtime underling of Roy Williams, North Carolina head coach Hubert Davis understands the inherent value of the rebounding the basketball and praised his team’s efforts in that department in their win over Pittsburgh.

So far this season, Carolina is winning with offense, letting RJ Davis roam free and practically pull off Steph Curry impersonations for all of December while Armando Bacot remains an anchor inside. Then, this year, the two are surrounded by a much more fitting supporting cast, and that is NOT a shot at Caleb Love at all.

But for all their advantages offensively, the Tar Heels ran in mud in their ACC road opener vs. Pittsburgh. UNC shot just 36% from the field, 29% from three, and scored a season-low 70 total points. Who cares, says Davis, because UNC was able to rebound their way to a victory by grabbing 17 offensive boards. When asked about the performance on the glass afterward, Hubert Davis had this to say:

“I just, you know, I believe in it, I believe rebounding is the No. 1 determining factor to allow you to have success out there on the floor.”

For a program that has long stressed rebounding, the recent numbers on the boards simply weren’t good enough in Coach Davis’ eyes.

“You know, prior to Charleston Southern, we’ve been out rebounded three straight games in a row. Just can’t happen, not at this level, not in this conference. You have to control the boards.”

But rebounding was an emphasis in practice lately with UNC already reaping some benefits since they were able to score a win thanks to their rebounding on a night when they shot so poorly.

“So, just talking to them about it, showing them on the tape, holding them accountable at practice and also holding them accountable in the game. And one great thing is, you know, now they can see the benefit of of boxing out and rebounding and getting those tough loose balls, what it can do even on a night where, you know, I don’t think we shot the ball very well. We were able to defensively rebound the basketball and that just really helped us.”

North Carolina currently rates in the 100 area in terms of the best rebounding teams in the country, which is still top-third, but also a drastic step back from the force of nature the Heels were on the glass under Roy Williams.

Just take his 2017 team for example. They were a perfectly fine offensive team but really weren’t that great at shooting the ball. However, they still finished with a top-10 offense that season, despite some pedestrian numbers, due to the sheer number of extra opportunities afforded to them by grabbing over 40% of their own misses — good for No. 1 in the country that year.

You always hear about three-point math, that a decent three-point look is superior to one from two. But there’s even simpler and more stable math when it comes to offensive rebounding. Grab all the boards and that’s more shots for your team and less shots for the other. You can only shoot so many threes to catch up if the other team is doubling you up on the glass.

Plus, there’s far less volatility in rebounding. The great rebounding teams rebound great every game, typically, while excellent shooting teams are always prone for an off night.

Hubert Davis would certainly love to see such an effort consistently from his guys in this area going forward.