How UNC basketball players-only meeting, odd practice help end losing streak vs Clemson

CHAPEL HILL – North Carolina basketball coach Hubert Davis introduced a new practice tactic to the Tar Heels ahead Saturday's ACC matchup against Clemson.

Following Tuesday’s loss at Wake Forest that saw UNC trail by as many as 26 points, a postgame meeting that lasted more than 30 minutes and a players-only meeting after Thursday’s practice, Davis wanted to give the Tar Heels an example of the pressure they’ve been playing with this season.

Throughout Friday’s practice, Davis made some of the Tar Heels put on a 15-pound weighted vest. As practice progressed, players were trying to figure out if their teammates had done anything wrong to deserve the vest treatment.

“I told them this is what we’re playing with,” Davis said following UNC’s 91-71 rout of Clemson on Saturday.

“I said, ‘You gotta put that stuff down.’ I said, ‘All the noise from the phone, the family, the friends, the fans, just put the weight down. I would like you to play a game without this weighted vest and just allow you to play freely and having fun.’ The guys have met a number of times since we played Wake Forest and it showed in the way that they played together (against Clemson).”

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After three straight losses, the Tar Heels (16-9, 8-6 ACC) arguably played their best game of the season against the Tigers (18-7, 10-4), who entered the game in a tie atop the ACC standings.

For one day, at least, UNC was able to shake the weight and play freely as the Tar Heels dished out 17 assists on 32 made shots and saw their top trio – Caleb Love, RJ Davis and Armando Bacot – combine for 59 points.

“We did a lot of soul searching and just being honest with each other,” said Bacot, who had 19 points and 11 rebounds. “It kind of showed the difference (against Clemson). Consistency has been our problem all year, so I’m not satisfied. I just want to keep it going.”

Caleb Love, who had 23 points on 7-of-12 shooting with five assists, said the meetings leading up to Saturday “helped a lot.”

“I feel like it needed to happen for us to get to where we want to get to, which is a national championship,” Love said.

“We’re playing like our backs are against the wall from now on. Things needed to be addressed and we got it off our chest. Now, we’ve moved past it and we gotta build off this win.”

From the top-ranked team in the nation at the start of the season to a squad on the verge of a second four-game losing streak, the Tar Heels wanted to play loose and with joy Saturday.

“Just all the mental stuff, we’re all dealing with the pressure of playing at a university like this, being public figures and things like that,” Bacot said. “I thought we just did a good job of just blocking out everything.”

As for what it will take for the Tar Heels to bottle up Saturday’s performance as Selection Sunday for the NCAA Tournament draws closer, Bacot smiled before he gave a response to the question.

“Pray,” he said. “I’m just praying that we can put this together for the rest of the season. Hopefully, it can carry on.”

Staff writer Rodd Baxley can be reached at rbaxley@fayobserver.com or @RoddBaxley on Twitter.

This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: UNC basketball players-only meeting helps end losing streak vs Clemson