LUCAS: KNOWING AND COACHING...
Monday night, we saw exactly why that's true.
Davis has had precious little time to get to know Brady Manek. The Oklahoma native committed to Carolina without having ever been on campus, and it wasn't long before he was packing up his car with the lime green accents and drove halfway across the country to enroll.
It quickly became obvious that Manek was an excellent three-point shooter with a terrific basketball IQ. He showed it in his very first game as a Tar Heel, a 20 point performance in just 29 minutes against Loyola. He hit six three-pointers against Tennessee, five against Virginia (to go with five assists), and three on the road at Georgia Tech.
What Davis has learned by watching Manek is that he is also his own worst critic. He doesn't easily hide his frustration with himself when his shot isn't falling. At Miami he was just 2-for-8 from the field, with all eight of his attempts being three-pointers. Davis knew Manek was struggling.
So he called him into the head coach's office last week. The message was twofold. First, Davis wanted the forward to exert more leadership: "You're the most experienced player on this team," Davis told Manek. "You played in the Big 12 for four years. During tough times like this, the team needs to hear your voice. They would love to hear from you. I don't care that this is your first year here. I want you to feel the freedom to speak up."
At the same time Davis was asking Manek for more, he also wanted him to be a little more forgiving with himself. "Sometimes when you're frustrated, things go left," the head coach told him. "Even when you're frustrated, you have to stay with us."
"I'm not mad at my teammates," Manek said. "I just really want to do well."
"I understand that," Davis said. "But I need you to stay connected. Stay with us."
That was the prologue to Monday night, when Carolina went through a frustrating second half stretch that saw them lead Virginia Tech just 54-52 with 7:14 remaining. Manek had just missed a three-pointer and the Hokies had converted a layup, and Davis saw some of that frustration creeping through Manek's face during the subsequent media timeout.
"When he misses a shot or struggles defensively, he's so upset because he doesn't want to let down the team," Davis told Jones Angell on the Tar Heel Sports Network after the game. "It's difficult for him to go on to the next shot, to the next play."
Davis thought back to that talk in his office. He looked at Manek.
"Stay with us," the head coach said.
Manek nodded, remembering their conversation. "I've got you," he replied.
And he did. He swished a three-pointer with six minutes left that stretched the lead to five. Then he crashed the glass for a follow dunk off a Caleb Love miss 90 seconds later that pushed the advantage to six. And then, with under four minutes to play, he drilled another three-pointer, this time pushing the Carolina lead into double figures.
It was a seven-point, two-rebound stretch for Manek in the 3:30 following Davis' reminder. That's as many points as he had in the entirety of the Miami game, and this particular stretch essentially sealed a must-win home ACC game for the Tar Heels.
That's impressive resiliency from Manek, and it's also intuitive coaching from Davis. Roy Williams was fond of pointing out that very little of his job actually consisted of coaching the basketball team on the court. In this case, a conversation Davis made a point to have last week paid dividends several days later and had a direct impact on a Carolina win—a game that, perhaps, the Tar Heels don't win if Manek can't shake his frustration. Fortunately, we'll never have to know. That's coaching.
Davis was still beaming after the game in the Carolina locker room as he reviewed some of Manek's accomplishments with the team. Having just played a season-high 34 minutes, Manek looked gassed, deservedly wiping his face with a towel.
The very outer edges of a smile played on the corner of Manek's mouth. Davis, never at a loss for a grin, cackled. "It's OK, Brady, you can smile!" he said.
The line broke up everyone in the room, who soon surrounded Manek with high fives and hugs. It was far from the final step. But it was a small step toward a group becoming a team, with their big, red-headed sharpshooter an integral part of it and a head coach learning exactly how to push them.
MONDAY NIGHT'S WIN PROVED ONE OF HUBERT DAVIS' MOST FREQUENT AXIOMS.
From his very first day as the head coach at the University of North Carolina, Hubert Davis has told his players, "I can't coach you unless I know you."Monday night, we saw exactly why that's true.
Davis has had precious little time to get to know Brady Manek. The Oklahoma native committed to Carolina without having ever been on campus, and it wasn't long before he was packing up his car with the lime green accents and drove halfway across the country to enroll.
It quickly became obvious that Manek was an excellent three-point shooter with a terrific basketball IQ. He showed it in his very first game as a Tar Heel, a 20 point performance in just 29 minutes against Loyola. He hit six three-pointers against Tennessee, five against Virginia (to go with five assists), and three on the road at Georgia Tech.
What Davis has learned by watching Manek is that he is also his own worst critic. He doesn't easily hide his frustration with himself when his shot isn't falling. At Miami he was just 2-for-8 from the field, with all eight of his attempts being three-pointers. Davis knew Manek was struggling.
So he called him into the head coach's office last week. The message was twofold. First, Davis wanted the forward to exert more leadership: "You're the most experienced player on this team," Davis told Manek. "You played in the Big 12 for four years. During tough times like this, the team needs to hear your voice. They would love to hear from you. I don't care that this is your first year here. I want you to feel the freedom to speak up."
At the same time Davis was asking Manek for more, he also wanted him to be a little more forgiving with himself. "Sometimes when you're frustrated, things go left," the head coach told him. "Even when you're frustrated, you have to stay with us."
"I'm not mad at my teammates," Manek said. "I just really want to do well."
"I understand that," Davis said. "But I need you to stay connected. Stay with us."
That was the prologue to Monday night, when Carolina went through a frustrating second half stretch that saw them lead Virginia Tech just 54-52 with 7:14 remaining. Manek had just missed a three-pointer and the Hokies had converted a layup, and Davis saw some of that frustration creeping through Manek's face during the subsequent media timeout.
"When he misses a shot or struggles defensively, he's so upset because he doesn't want to let down the team," Davis told Jones Angell on the Tar Heel Sports Network after the game. "It's difficult for him to go on to the next shot, to the next play."
Davis thought back to that talk in his office. He looked at Manek.
"Stay with us," the head coach said.
Manek nodded, remembering their conversation. "I've got you," he replied.
And he did. He swished a three-pointer with six minutes left that stretched the lead to five. Then he crashed the glass for a follow dunk off a Caleb Love miss 90 seconds later that pushed the advantage to six. And then, with under four minutes to play, he drilled another three-pointer, this time pushing the Carolina lead into double figures.
It was a seven-point, two-rebound stretch for Manek in the 3:30 following Davis' reminder. That's as many points as he had in the entirety of the Miami game, and this particular stretch essentially sealed a must-win home ACC game for the Tar Heels.
That's impressive resiliency from Manek, and it's also intuitive coaching from Davis. Roy Williams was fond of pointing out that very little of his job actually consisted of coaching the basketball team on the court. In this case, a conversation Davis made a point to have last week paid dividends several days later and had a direct impact on a Carolina win—a game that, perhaps, the Tar Heels don't win if Manek can't shake his frustration. Fortunately, we'll never have to know. That's coaching.
Davis was still beaming after the game in the Carolina locker room as he reviewed some of Manek's accomplishments with the team. Having just played a season-high 34 minutes, Manek looked gassed, deservedly wiping his face with a towel.
The very outer edges of a smile played on the corner of Manek's mouth. Davis, never at a loss for a grin, cackled. "It's OK, Brady, you can smile!" he said.
The line broke up everyone in the room, who soon surrounded Manek with high fives and hugs. It was far from the final step. But it was a small step toward a group becoming a team, with their big, red-headed sharpshooter an integral part of it and a head coach learning exactly how to push them.
