LUCAS: THE MAN IN CHARGE...
Around 30 minutes after Carolina had defeated Appalachian State, 70-50, Hubert Davis settled onto a stool in the Tar Heel locker room. He was about to do his postgame radio interview with Jones Angell for the Tar Heel Sports Network, and it was some of the first moments of quiet he'd had since early in the day.
This being the last game before the holiday break, he was asked if he'd enjoy a bit of a respite at some point in the next several days—Tar Heel players will return home to their families beginning Wednesday morning.
Davis laughed a little and rubbed his face, as if he realized the folly of what he was about to say. "I'm already thinking about Virginia Tech," he said of the opponent that is eight days away.
The Tar Heel head coach said it with the good humor and charm he has demonstrated every day since he took over the program, but also with a bit of resignation that this is his life now. As an assistant coach, perhaps he might enjoy a day—an afternoon, maybe—of enjoying having all his kids back under his roof for a few days, a luxury those with children in college will understand.
But as a head coach, those breaks simply don't happen. There is always an opponent to prepare for or a recruit to correspond with or an athletic department issue to address or a visitor to entertain or…well, you get the picture. There is always, always something for a head coach to do. There is never an off button, which Davis realized soon after taking the job when he went to a youth soccer tournament to watch one of his kids play, and was immediately asked to pose for pictures. You see the big smile and might not realize that Davis, at heart, is an introvert. It's not in his nature to be constantly "on."
So "I'm already thinking about Virginia Tech," was an accurate assessment of what was on his mind at the moment, but it was also a larger commentary on exactly how his life has changed since April 5.
Every day includes some work intended to help the program today and some intended to help the program in the future. Kind of like Tuesday night's game.
Kerwin Walton had perhaps not strictly earned 16 minutes of second half playing time. He did not appear in the first half and had not made a field goal since Nov. 23 against UNC Asheville. It wasn't just a shooting slump; he was having trouble making an impact on the game, having totaled just four rebounds and four assists since that UNCA game with zero steals and zero trips to the free throw line in 50 minutes of playing time.
Strictly in terms of beating Appalachian State, there were other options. But, you know, Davis is already thinking about Virginia Tech…and Boston College…and the 19 Atlantic Coast Conference games his Tar Heels have to play starting Dec. 29. And his Tar Heels need Walton in those games—need a deadeye shooter who gets the bold type treatment on the opposing scouting report, someone to stretch the defense and create some openings around the three-point line for Carolina's other shooters (and this year, there indeed are other shooters, which is a pleasant change from Walton's freshman season).
It hasn't been an easy month for the Minnesota native. Davis has been a demanding coach, has constantly cajoled and encouraged Walton to play tougher defense, to be a better teammate, to put forth more effort even when the jumpers aren't falling. Even in the best of times, Walton is impassive, so it's sometimes difficult to tell if his struggles are especially weighty or if that's just Kerwin being Kerwin.
But never forget that Davis is a shooter, too. One of the best Carolina has ever had, in fact. So he knows how to manage a fellow shooter, and that's why he put Walton in the game early in the second half. He ran an inbounds play for him, only to watch Walton pass up a shot.
The coach left his shooter out there. And when Walton finally sank a three-pointer, his first since that Asheville game, Davis knew exactly what to do: "We called a second one right away," the coach said.
Walton made that one, too. The shots were largely inconsequential in a game in which Carolina utilized a hefty inside advantage and double-doubles from Armando Bacot and Brady Manek. But they might matter next week or next month.
So might this praise from the head coach: "Kerwin did a terrific job defensively."
All of this effort has a pretty simple name: it's coaching. Dean Smith didn't play Vince Carter enough as a freshman to suit you and Roy Williams didn't call enough timeouts and there are going to be things Davis does that don't immediately make sense from the outside. That's all part of coaching. But he has also been around enough great coaches to know that sometimes he has to do what might not come naturally. He can't be himself every day with every team, and so he had to run two extremely intense practices the last two days—"Bloody noses, guys getting banged up, it was a tough few days," said Armando Bacot—to remind his team of the toughness required to compete on a game-by-game basis at this level. That's not his personality. But he's learning that this team might require a different approach.
Over the next couple of days, most of us will think about what's under the Christmas tree or family gatherings or a big meal.
Davis will think about all of those things, because he loves them too much not to think about them. But unlike the rest of us, he'll have a few other things on his mind—like Virginia Tech.
Around 30 minutes after Carolina had defeated Appalachian State, 70-50, Hubert Davis settled onto a stool in the Tar Heel locker room. He was about to do his postgame radio interview with Jones Angell for the Tar Heel Sports Network, and it was some of the first moments of quiet he'd had since early in the day.
This being the last game before the holiday break, he was asked if he'd enjoy a bit of a respite at some point in the next several days—Tar Heel players will return home to their families beginning Wednesday morning.
Davis laughed a little and rubbed his face, as if he realized the folly of what he was about to say. "I'm already thinking about Virginia Tech," he said of the opponent that is eight days away.
The Tar Heel head coach said it with the good humor and charm he has demonstrated every day since he took over the program, but also with a bit of resignation that this is his life now. As an assistant coach, perhaps he might enjoy a day—an afternoon, maybe—of enjoying having all his kids back under his roof for a few days, a luxury those with children in college will understand.
But as a head coach, those breaks simply don't happen. There is always an opponent to prepare for or a recruit to correspond with or an athletic department issue to address or a visitor to entertain or…well, you get the picture. There is always, always something for a head coach to do. There is never an off button, which Davis realized soon after taking the job when he went to a youth soccer tournament to watch one of his kids play, and was immediately asked to pose for pictures. You see the big smile and might not realize that Davis, at heart, is an introvert. It's not in his nature to be constantly "on."
So "I'm already thinking about Virginia Tech," was an accurate assessment of what was on his mind at the moment, but it was also a larger commentary on exactly how his life has changed since April 5.
Every day includes some work intended to help the program today and some intended to help the program in the future. Kind of like Tuesday night's game.
Kerwin Walton had perhaps not strictly earned 16 minutes of second half playing time. He did not appear in the first half and had not made a field goal since Nov. 23 against UNC Asheville. It wasn't just a shooting slump; he was having trouble making an impact on the game, having totaled just four rebounds and four assists since that UNCA game with zero steals and zero trips to the free throw line in 50 minutes of playing time.
Strictly in terms of beating Appalachian State, there were other options. But, you know, Davis is already thinking about Virginia Tech…and Boston College…and the 19 Atlantic Coast Conference games his Tar Heels have to play starting Dec. 29. And his Tar Heels need Walton in those games—need a deadeye shooter who gets the bold type treatment on the opposing scouting report, someone to stretch the defense and create some openings around the three-point line for Carolina's other shooters (and this year, there indeed are other shooters, which is a pleasant change from Walton's freshman season).
It hasn't been an easy month for the Minnesota native. Davis has been a demanding coach, has constantly cajoled and encouraged Walton to play tougher defense, to be a better teammate, to put forth more effort even when the jumpers aren't falling. Even in the best of times, Walton is impassive, so it's sometimes difficult to tell if his struggles are especially weighty or if that's just Kerwin being Kerwin.
But never forget that Davis is a shooter, too. One of the best Carolina has ever had, in fact. So he knows how to manage a fellow shooter, and that's why he put Walton in the game early in the second half. He ran an inbounds play for him, only to watch Walton pass up a shot.
The coach left his shooter out there. And when Walton finally sank a three-pointer, his first since that Asheville game, Davis knew exactly what to do: "We called a second one right away," the coach said.
Walton made that one, too. The shots were largely inconsequential in a game in which Carolina utilized a hefty inside advantage and double-doubles from Armando Bacot and Brady Manek. But they might matter next week or next month.
So might this praise from the head coach: "Kerwin did a terrific job defensively."
All of this effort has a pretty simple name: it's coaching. Dean Smith didn't play Vince Carter enough as a freshman to suit you and Roy Williams didn't call enough timeouts and there are going to be things Davis does that don't immediately make sense from the outside. That's all part of coaching. But he has also been around enough great coaches to know that sometimes he has to do what might not come naturally. He can't be himself every day with every team, and so he had to run two extremely intense practices the last two days—"Bloody noses, guys getting banged up, it was a tough few days," said Armando Bacot—to remind his team of the toughness required to compete on a game-by-game basis at this level. That's not his personality. But he's learning that this team might require a different approach.
Over the next couple of days, most of us will think about what's under the Christmas tree or family gatherings or a big meal.
Davis will think about all of those things, because he loves them too much not to think about them. But unlike the rest of us, he'll have a few other things on his mind—like Virginia Tech.
