Hubert Davis has always kept his post-game speeches short in the locker room. Get in and get out. Never be too personal.
But UNC's head coach opted for something different following North Carolina's overtime victory against Boston College. And it came after 39 minutes of disappointment before the Tar Heels somehow managed to defeat the Eagles.
Hubert Davis talked about his experiences. His players are aware of his story, but he thought he would tell it one more time. Everything significant that has happened throughout his life has happened in Chapel Hill. He became a Christian at UNC. He met his wife in Chapel Hill and married her there too. He bought his first house in the town. It's where he decided to raise his three kids. Plain and simple, Chapel Hill is the head coach's home. He owes everything to the University, and he recognizes that.
"When you put on that uniform, when you're in that locker room, when you run through that tunnel and you play on that floor, it's more than just basketball," Hubert Davis said. "You're a part of something that is a part of your life. That's the emotion I played with, that's the emotion I coach with and that's the emotion that I want each player to play with."
But he also recognizes his team doesn't play with that same intensity, unless it's too late.
Sure, UNC scraped by with a 102-96 win against BC in overtime on Saturday afternoon in the Dean E. Smith Center. Yes, junior guard Seth Trimble made the game-tying layup with 12.9 seconds left. The Tar Heels outscored the Eagles 13-7 in overtime and held them scoreless over the last two minutes. But there were also repeated mistakes that have plagued North Carolina all season. Boston College scored a season-best 96 points behind a season-high 14 threes, recording a 66.7 shooting percentage from behind the arc in the second half. Davis said UNC didn't play defense at all. And this all comes after two one-point losses to Stanford and Wake Forest in the last week.
Boston College entered the Smith Center with only one ACC win. The Eagles lost their last five. This was supposed to be an easy win for the Tar Heels.
"This group has always found it [late]," Hubert Davis said. "They have found it when they needed it and it's needed at the jump ball [too]. That's something that's just going to have to change."
