A lot about the importance of getting multiple stops downstretches to close games out. How satisfied were you overall with the second half, especially getting defensive stops to close this one out? Very, very satisfied. You know, at halftime I told them. And throughout the first half that, you know, we got an 8 or 9 point lead. Let’s extend it. Let’s put, um, consecutive good possessions together. I was encouraged at halftime. We, we didn’t extend it, but we didn’t blow it. And I said, OK, let’s take another step. Let’s get off to a good start, 1st 4 minutes of the game. Let’s raise our level even more. We’re just getting started and we started off on an 8-0 run and we just continued it throughout. No, in the second half, and so that’s something that, uh, we hadn’t done in a while, and, uh, I was very proud and very happy for him. Andrew, some of the guys said that a sense of urgency was born in the second half in Berkeley, and he carried that this week coming back, coming into this game. How much did you have to talk to them about having the right sense of urgency and how much did you maybe see in them that they kind of recognize what Henry called a little bit of a Well, I mean, uh I, I don’t, the way that I communicate with them since the first time they came together in, in June, I’ve always talked about a sense of urgency. Um, I, I’m, I’m somebody that, uh, um, any practice, any shootaround, any game, it’s an opportunity to get better and it’s life. And so, um, But I was really proud of them, uh, tonight. Um, we had two really good practices. Uh, another thing that I was happy with was just the chatter in the huddles, uh, during timeouts, multiple people talking. I love that. I, I encourage that. I love conversations. I love, um, having those conversations throughout a game and I encourage those guys to speak up. And a number of people were speaking up and saying good things about, um, let’s get stops, let’s, let’s continue to box out. We’ve got to talk on defense. That wasn’t a good shot. We got to get back to get the ball inside, share the ball. Um, that’s one of the things that I was, uh, really happy about. Brian and Rod. Uh, Hubert, I know a lot of the talk about like over the last couple of games has been defending the 3 ball. Notre Dame came out and shot 6 for 12 in the first half, but then 2 for 13 in the second half. Derek and Caleb both said the communication was kind of better in that second half. Did you tell them anything in the second half, or were the adjustments being made and what did you see in improvements defending the three ball? No, we, we talk about communication all the time and the communication at times wasn’t there in the first half. Um, you know, there, there are times where, you know, we’ll switch on the ball and Um, you know, Notre Dame does a good job of setting ghost screens from behind, very tricky, but, um, the communication didn’t match up, uh, in transition. And we talked about that during the game in the first half and also the second half, and I thought they did a much better job, especially when we went to our quote unquote small lineup where Caleb is at the 5. we did a much better job of communicating the second half. Rod and Spencer, Hubert, it’s, it’s a long flight back from California. What did you kind of reflect on and think on in trying to get these guys back on track, uh, this week? Yeah, I mean, I mean, there was a number of things, you know, just looking at. The number one thing from last week for us was There were multiple possessions where we were making mistakes like in back to back possessions. So like, we would turn the ball over, not get back on defense, give up a 3. We would get to the free throw line, miss 2 free throws, come back down, give an and 1, and I, I felt like Last week, we were letting one play. Affect us on the other end to the next play. And I talked to them about that and I said basketball is a game of mistakes. You just, I mean, next play, next possession, and I felt like we didn’t do that last week and, um, And so I talked to them and thought about that, but I also thought about, let’s move forward. And not, OK, we didn’t play well in California. Let’s not dwell on that and talk about it and think about it the rest of the year. I didn’t want to do what I felt like we did, lead it to the next possession, lead that to the next game against Notre Dame. I wanted to be positive with these guys, give them confidence to go out there and play. And they were able to do that tonight. Spencer, Coach Henry and Derek, uh, just said that, I know you said you had two good practices this week. They said there was definitely, uh, an increased level of both focus and intensity in practice. Uh, would you agree with, with that assessment going in tonight? I would, I would. And, um, somebody that stepped up dramatically in, in that, in that space in leadership was Caleb. I mean, he’s, he, last couple of days and including tonight, he’s one of the guys that was, More vocal, more vocal in practice, more vocal, uh, right before, uh, we went out, uh, for warm-ups, um, um, for the game, I said my last words before we went out to the floor and he said, Coach, can I say something? And he went after the team. He said, look, let’s go out there and compete. He’s never done that before. And so, um, I really like that from him. Murph NRL coach, an off the court question, I know that Coach Williams and Tyler have come out very publicly about keeping the Smith Center on campus, not taking it to, to Carolina North. I wonder if you’ve been asked to give your opinion or if the administration’s talked to you at all and what your thoughts are about the, the future of this place and, and where you guys should play basketball. Well, I mean, obviously, I love this place. This is home to me. I’ve said this before. This is where I went to school and, uh, this is where I played. But it’s much more than just basketball for me. Smith Center is home for all the relationships and the conversations that I’ve had here. Um, every time that I come into work, I can remember every conversation, interaction that I had with Coach Smith and Coach Guthridge, Coach Williams, with all my roommates, my teammates, my friends. Um, Chapel Hill is where I fell in love with my wife, where we got married, where I became a Christian and Smith Center is basically home plate for that. And so, um, but I, I love the leadership of, uh, Chancellor Roberts and I love what him being Chancellor of the school and, um, I just love working for him. Pat. What have you seen from Jaden recently to earn him that start and how did you like the combination of Derek and Jane in the backcourt? Well, um, the only reason that I went that way to start the game is I felt like that group played the best against Cal. I felt like that group played the closest. To not where I’ve wanted us to be, but the closest in terms of the effort and the energy and enthusiasm, the will and the want to that I, that I require every time as you get out on the floor and so, Um, I wanted that group to start the game because I thought it was a group that really led us to come back against Cal. Last two, Pat, then Shelby, uh, you were here in the back. Um, great bounce back performance for you guys tonight, but how do you make sure that that carries over? You know, it’s one thing to do when your backs are against the wall, but to repeatedly bring this level is another kind of challenge. Yeah, I agree with you. You know, um, I, I encourage the team every time that we win is to, is to enjoy winning. It’s very difficult to win. It’s very difficult to win in, in conference in the ACC and so that should be celebrated and then Tomorrow we’ll start our preparation and practice for Virginia and You know, this is This is I, I think sometimes lose sight. This is the first ride with this group, and we have 11 new players. And so we’re going through this for the first time and we’re learning, we’re growing, we’re getting better, and I’m looking forward to practice and preparation to play a really good Virginia team. Last one, Shelby. Just going back to what you said about, um, Caleb and him maybe finding more of his voice with this group and being a leader, um, you know, he’s obviously a very vocal guy, very confident guy that’s been obvious since coming here. So just maybe what from your perspective has been the switch recently where you’ve seen him speaking up more in the huddle practices. No, I mean, we, we spent some time together the last couple of days in my office and um. It’s different now. When I was in school. I think maybe I said one word my freshman year. Um, I think. Um, my 2nd year, I maybe said 5, my sophomore year, then, but everything was built on seniority and then, you know, when you became a senior, you’re almost automatically gifted that leadership position whether that was something that was in your personality or not. You know, everything’s different now, you know, when I was in school, it didn’t matter how good you were, I wasn’t good enough to do this, but everybody stayed 4 years. It’s not this way anymore, you know, people go to the NBA after 1 year, the transfer portal. So one of the things that I encourage everyone is to be a leader within their own personal and it doesn’t matter what classification you are. I don’t care if you’re a freshman, walk-on, senior, you’re a starter, you don’t get any minutes. Um, I want guys to speak up. I want guys to be leaders and, um, I’ve enjoyed the um Caleb being more vocal the last three days. I think it’s really ignited our team. He has a personality that just Um, encourages guys. He’s a great teammate. He lights up the room every time he steps in it. And so now that he’s using his voice, it’s really motivating guys in a good way. Thank you, coach. Thank you everybody. Yeah, thank you.
