UNC’s win over UNC-Asheville left Brady Manek unsatisfied. Here’s what he had to say
North Carolina forward Brady Manek sat down for his postgame video conference after the Tar Heels’ 72-53 win over UNC-Asheville with a bag of ice wrapped tight on his left shoulder.
It couldn’t cool him off.
Despite Tuesday night’s victory, Manek was heated with the way the Heels played. He was disappointed with the way they let the Bulldogs (2-3) rally from down 20 points to pull within seven with the ball and a chance to cut it to a two possession game. He was disappointed they didn’t win by more. He was disappointed that their emphasis on defense inadvertently led them to lose focus offensively.
“We got four McDonald’s All-Americans, most I’ve ever had on a team is one,” said Manek, who is a graduate transfer from Oklahoma. “So put four on a team, we should be really good and we’re not showing it. So we got to play better. We got to play harder. We got to play smarter. And we need to make up for what happened and keep moving forward.”
If the Tar Heels go on to win the ACC or reach the Final Four, chances are they’ll all point back to their two losses at the Hall of Fame Tipoff from the weekend as the reason for their success.
The losses are still very fresh on their minds and not just because of recency bias. As Manek put it, “we got stomped by two teams” at the Mohegan Sun Arena.
Junior forward Armando Bacot was a little more diplomatic in describing the impact of the losses, which helped move both No. 3 Purdue and No. 15 Tennessee up in the rankings.
“Going into the tournament at Mohegan, we definitely felt like we were the most talented or one of the most talented teams in that tournament,” said Bacot, who scored a game-high 22 points on Tuesday. “But obviously, it didn’t go the way we wanted. So I will say we’re not where I expected, but we are going in the right direction.”
Guard Caleb Love, who had a season-low four points, but dished five assists against UNCA, said the team watched two and half hours of video of their games against Purdue and Tennessee in the Tipoff. Love said UNC coach Hubert Davis didn’t just point out the mistakes that they made, he also showed them the difference in how their opponents executed plays with purpose.
“Coach Davis was telling us, we just got to run our stuff hard, we gotta be tougher, we got to be smarter,” Love said. “We just got to play together and trust each other. Like I said, this team has to be built on trust. And once everybody trusts each other then we’ll be better.”
Carolina (4-2) took a step forward with their defensive effor against the Bulldogs. After allowing both the Boilermakers and Volunteers to shoot more than 64 percent in a half and more than 54 percent in both games, the Heels held UNCA to a season-low 26.5 percent from the field.
Davis said he was pleased with the response after their dismal defensive performance from the weekend.
“They were a little shocked about what happened this weekend, in a good way,” Davis said. “It’s going to hold us accountable and it’s going to move us in the right direction. And I believe that it moved us in the right direction (Tuesday).”
The Heels kept going the wrong way as far as turnovers go. They had 18 turnovers, including 12 in the second half and that’s what helped propel the Bulldogs’ rally.
Davis said he wasn’t panicking because it’s just six games into the season. He added that he believed the turnovers were a matter of carelessness, not selfishness.
Manek, who finished with eight points and nine rebounds, was less interested in discussing why Carolina wasn’t playing up to its potential and more focused on how fast they can correct their issues.
Manek is the most experienced player on the team, having played four years at OU before using the NCAA’s eligibility waiver to play an additional season at UNC. Davis said he loved Manek’s “fire.”
“Saying that Brady came into the interview room hot, that puts a smile on my face, that means he cares,” Davis said. “And he’s right. This team can be really good and he understands that. And I’m glad that we’re very fortunate to have Brady Manek on this team and a part of this program.”
This story was originally published November 24, 2021 at 6:00 AM with the headline "UNC’s win over UNC-Asheville left Brady Manek unsatisfied. Here’s what he had to say."