Hubert Davis praises Harrison Ingram for determination on rebounds

North Carolina‘s 96-81 win over Virginia Tech on Saturday marked their 20th victory of the season, currently sitting at the very top of the ACC standings ahead of the home stretch of the regular season.

It was yet another big game for Armando Bacot, who led all scorers with 25 points to continue his hot streak scoring the basketball. Eclipsing the 20-point mark for the third time in the Tar Heels’ last five games.

Bacot’s built up a strong reputation for his rebounding prowess during his career in Chapel Hill as well, ranked No. 1 in program history in career rebounds with 1603 boards and counting. But ever since Harrison Ingram joined the team this season, North Carolina has had more than just one of the nation’s best glass cleaners on their roster.

Ingram led the Tar Heels in rebounds for the second straight game and the 12th total time this season following his performance versus the Hokies. Ending the the day with 17 rebounds with five coming on the offensive side of the ball. After the game, head coach Hubert Davis was asked if Ingram’s rebounding ability, particularly on offense, reminds him of anybody.

“Armando,” Davis laughed and said. “He doesn’t do anything special, what he does is he goes every time.”

Ingram’s effort on the glass is hard to deny, averaging a career-high 9.1 rebounds per game while sharing the paint with North Carolina’s all-time rebounds leader. The Stanford transfer has posted some staggering individual rebounding performances this season, with Saturday’s game marking his second 17-rebound game of the season after grabbing a career-high 19 boards against NC State in early January.

“I mean there’s no technique. Rebounding is will, want to, desire, toughness, and every time the ball goes up yes you can look at the shot and you can anticipate if it’s a miss where it would go. But it’s all about pursuit and willingness to go get the ball. He goes every time, every time a shot goes up he goes, and so he puts himself in a position, even tip outs, loose balls,” Davis explained.

“I really believe this, the ball finds effort. It just does, and he goes to the offensive glass every time, it’s not surprising that the ball ends up in his hands.”

Bacot and Ingram rank No. 1 and No. 4 in rebounds per game in the ACC this season, as the Tar Heels also lead the conference in rebounding as a team and rank No. 10 in the nation largely due to the effort of their duo. Playing a major key in the team’s success as they look to finish the regular season strong with five games remaining until the postseason.