UNC-NC STATE POST-GAME QUOTES
Armand Bacot
Q: Armando, how much of an emotional boost was it to know that Coach Williams is going to be honored and the 1982 team is going to be recognized? I mean, basically, like you can’t lose a game where all of this happens, right?
“Definitively. I agree 100%. Just have these Coach guys [Roy] Williams and Michael Jordan and other guys are coming back. I mean, it was huge. And it was a surreal feeling. And once we found out yesterday, we were all even more excited just to be in a state game. We knew the energy was going to be there, and it was going to be a big game. It was just the icing on the cake.”
Q: Hey, Armando, given some of the challenges of the past few weeks. Is it good for this team? They experienced this today when everything seems to be going your way?
“Yeah, I mean, it was especially good for a lot of guys who weren’t there my freshman year. I didn’t get a chance to play in a big rivalry game with that environment. I mean, it was a great environment. And it was fun and just for us to be thrilled. Right now, after a tough week that we had last week, I mean, it’s just awesome. And we’re feel good right now.”
Q: Armando, I’m just curious. When did you know that Michael [Jordan] was going to be here today? Has he had the opportunity to speak to the team?
“Yeah, I saw something on Instagram that said [he might come]. I didn’t know I didn’t even believe it because he hadn’t done it since I got here. So when I was in the practice room yesterday with Coach Williams, he told me that Michael Jordan and maybe like Sam Perkins and James Worthy were coming. So I was super excited.”
Q: Armando, you joined much of that lineage today by becoming the 79th 1,000-point scorer in Carolina history. What does it mean to join this?
“It’s great to know, to be part of such a strong tradition and to join the other 78 players who have also scored 1000 I think it’s just a testament to my coaches and teammates and how much they push me and how much I believe in myself.”
Q: Armando I just want to ask you about the first half and just kind of the feeling of what was going on I mean the three going in front was just skyrocketing this place was going into it, you know, like how the first half felt, it seemed like all the good things were pouring out at that point.
“Yeah man we just caught fire early I think we hit like 10 threes in the first half and we’re hard to beat shooting the ball like that and it was just a lot of fun watching the guards hit their shots and everybody just hitting shots.”
Brady Manek
Q: Brady from the margin of victory in the crowd to Michael Jordan sitting courtside. Is that how you imagined Carolina basketball when you moved here?
“Most definitely. It’s an unreal experience. It was definitely one of the reasons to bring me here, a game like that. And you know, with Michael here, it’s 30 times better. is awesome. It’s amazing. It was a really fun game. We had a great time there. We all played really well.
Q: YesWe obviously had some good shots and you yourself had eight threes in the game. But what was different today, especially given the recent fights you’ve had?
“We went out, we played together. We played hard. It was just a super fun game. The crowd was awesome. Everyone before the game was talking about the NC State UNC rivalry, the two schools hate the to each other. I didn’t really understand it. But being in this game, it was special and you could tell that people cared about people and wanted to be here. It was great.”
Q: Back to defense. Did you feel from the start that you were kind of clicking with the rotation and it was helping the defense? You said it was a great team defensive game. Did you have this feeling at the beginning without obviously having seen the film?
“Yeah, I’d say we were lucky to make some tough shots. And the guys were helping on the open guys. Our guys were helping on the ball screens. We were forcing them to do contested mid-range jumpers, threes challenged, challenged at the rim We just had a great day and hopefully we can keep doing it and keep going and looking forward to playing the rest of the year.
Hubert Davis
Q: Hubert, Leaky was just telling us that Michael’s message to the team was to play with passion, and to play even more with passion, which we know is a lot. How would you describe that scene of Michael talking to the crew and what it might have done for your guys?
“Well, I think our team played with a lot of passion, energy and tenacity. And one of the things that we talked about, in preparation for the three games this week, is that there has three things that we wanted to focus on. Number one, being the best defensive team that we could be. Number two, rebounding really well in the basketball. And the third thing is taking care of the basketball. And I told them so I am not a very big stats guy but when you look at stats there is a difference between wins and losses in terms of average points per game I think it was 63 to 90. There was a statistic difference in terms of basketball rebounding, and there was a statistic difference between winning and losing and taking care of the basketball and not turning the ball over. said if you take these three things, and we do very well these things the attack will take care of And in combination with the energy and the effort that a Thanks to the passion they had, we played very well today. And I’m just very proud of this team.”
Q: Yeah, Hubert, given the quality of your team in front of the 82. Guys today, how soon would you like the 1993 team to go to the Smith Center?
“Yeah we’re getting the 93 team, the 2017 team, if we’re going to play like that let’s bring them all here. It was really neat. For me personally to have the 82 team here because I just remember of them winning the national championship. You know, I think I said before the press conference yesterday, I remember missing the first half of the championship game against Georgetown, because I was a scout and we had a scout reunion and my parents wouldn’t allow me to skip the scout reunion to watch the whole game. So I only got to watch the second half. But you know, to have Michael here and Buzz Peterson and Matt Doherty. For our guys to see them and see the bond that they’ve had for so many years because they’ve shared experiences of playing together and being a team, I think that’s really encouraged them and it’s gave a great visual of what it’s like to be a team and what it means to be successful here in North Carolina.
Q: How important is it to see what Puff did today with a career-high eight points, six rebounds.
“Well, what I like about Puff is that he doesn’t care when he comes into a game. The way he comes into the game, the way he comes into the game, he just wants to play. And I just saw him before I came here. He was in a training room. And nothing was wrong with him. He was just explaining that he was on fire. He said he couldn’t stop. stop moving. And I mean, he just dives to the ground. He was keeping everybody out there on the ground. He was bouncing. He you know, all this season, I’ve been talking a lot about energy, d effort and tenacity. I never need to mention that to Puff. He plays with a sense of urgency and joy that I think really only comes from his inability to play for the past two years. He has barely played last year, he’s been injured most of the year this year And so when he’s lucky enough to get on the pitch, the joy of playing, the joy of being healthy , the joy of have the opportunity to be there on this ground. It just shows in his game. And he played very well today. He’s 6-8, he’s long, he’s versatile defensively. I really feel like he can still improve because he’s not even in a rhythm offensively. And so I was really proud of Puff, his energy and his effort and the plays he made today.”
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