North Carolina
Armando Bacot: '[Clemson] really helped us'
The North Carolina Tar Heels will start their ACC Tournament run on Thursday after having a bye on Tuesday and Wednesday. Armando Bacot spoke with WRAL Sports' Kacy Hintz ahead of Heels' opening game
Yeah. So when, when, when Humbert told you that you the first team because you made the all defensive team, how quickly did three and D pop in your mind? I was messing with coach walking, um to practice yesterday and I said that to him shooting like 50 40 90 so look good. 90 not 9090 like 80. They up any uh, pick and pop place for you now. But I think for me in the position, I'm in do different stuff, especially with just how we play defense with a lot of like protyle defense, just like icing screens doing different things like that switching out. That was one of the main things I wanted to really improve on this year and to be first team and top three in the defensive player of the year. And that was for me, I was, oh, we were super excited. I mean, we were really honest that it unanimous. I was, I mean, even I got a vote, I was like, I mean, that's pretty crazy. I thought it would be like a unanimous decision. But I mean, we all were excited for RJ because I mean, just how far he's come since he's been here from freshman year to now and to get to that point, I mean, it was huge. What about that? Caleb went in, you guys talked to him since he got that award? Yeah, I talked to him. I was super pumped for him too. I mean, just to see both of them go their separate ways and it worked out for both of them. It was just another of the award. Just what did it mean for you to see Coach Davis recognized as ac coach of the year. Well, initially we didn't know because nobody said anything when they were telling us the awards, uh we didn't know, but then coach Lebo kinda stopped everything and told us he won coach of the year. But I mean, it makes sense and the first thing to do just, I would say just like a lot more films, just even locking and even more and everything. I always felt like on switches and stuff. I could really move my feet, especially with guys. I felt good in those positions, but just watching film, looking at guys like Marc Gasol and different people like that, that the way they defend screens and different things like that. But also coach Sully was a huge help too cause last year, obviously he couldn't coach on the floor with just whatever the rule was or whatnot. But just having him on the staff has been huge for us. Defensively. I mean, you see, we were number six adjusted rated in the country. I mean, just everything he's done for us this year has been amazing. I'm a defensive end. He does, it, he does always seem like, you know, the posing scout really well, like you might be like bluffing a little bit sometimes with the jokes, but like, it always seems like you, have, you started studying other teams more than you did in the past, maybe for sure. But time too has helped me because I know how teams play now and they'd be in my fifth year. I got that advantage of playing against teams so many times now. I really understand it, but just getting older and understanding basketball at a higher level now just allow me to be able to just defend different guys and know what they like to do and things of that nature. Armondo, I guess either over the off season or even during the season. Were there any, you know, defensive drills you were doing differently to kind of, you know, I guess, get the, you know, mental reps down of, of, of, you know, positioning and anything like that for sure. This year we've done, I mean, defense is one of our main focuses more this year and a lot of one on one drills and big man coach sell giving me different pointers and things and I think just overall as a team, just the trust level that's been huge trust this year because I feel like in years past speci specifically last year in screens, guys were kind of scared to sell out in a sense to help their teammate because we wasn't sure if my teammate will help us. But just having that trust level of me, knowing me being high on the screen and being able to affect it, knowing Harry will be there to help tag my man. That's played a huge role in everything this season. I think that's really the underrated part of just the team cause you look at the numbers RJ having big games, me having big games, cormac everybody having big games. But really, it just boils down us playing as a team that's been like the biggest part of us this whole year and to come bounce back and confidence and have a waiver and coach the same and stick to the same thing that we've been doing. It's been huge and it shows like once coach get guys that he all recruited and it's his team and we play the way that he wants to play. It's great results have Armando. Um How much, how important is it for you guys um to win this tournament, you specifically uh somebody that is decorated as you haven't been able to do that. Um How, how important or, or unimportant is that to you as opposed to next week happening as well. It's, I mean, we're desperate to win this tournament. It's something that nobody here has won and we wanna win it bad because it's a lot of things. First, we wanna be able to hang another banner for the team, but also it affects our seat and in March and obviously the tournament isn't easy so we can and the, we just really celebrated that night and then we all got over it and, um, we know coming into this, we gotta either play Florida State or Virginia Tech and those two teams that play us. Well, so really since that game, we've all been locked in on what's next and we've honestly forgot all about it. Do you remember what happened after the first two games eclipsing game at home? Have you talked about what happened then and how to avoid that? I think we really just learned our lesson from it, but it was also a quick turnaround too. You like in a game like that, you beat Duke and then obviously all the stuff after that and then just making a quick transition. I don't think any of us really realize in a sense of what was to come. And obviously Clemson came in hungry too and we just didn't really grasp that. But honestly, that was a great lesson for us just listening, listening to you talk about the, the tournament title and trying to chase that the number one seed. How important is that? Uh maybe for you personally to try to achieve one of those. I think I saw somewhere like, number one c goes to the final four, maybe like 40% of the time or something. It was something crazy like that. But just knowing that, um, better than our chances to not play a easier schedule, but play a higher seed, it helps us. Really. Is there something that you guys have been kind of emphasizing and practice going up to the tournament this week in particular? No, because we really don't know who we're playing, but we've been doing both teams, scouts. So that's been different. But it's been great for us to play against a bunch of different looks and how teams and players and I mean, really, we just got to keep playing hard, stay locked in and don't underestimate anybody. What's it like, uh, dividing up that time, I guess? Is it like, you know, half of the normal prep time? You look at VT half of the normal time, you look at that. How, yeah, it's weird but because it's the first time I've really done it since I've been here, but we don't know who we're gonna play. So we gotta just be ready. Can you tell me about the excuses? Jar? Yeah. Um, that's something that he keep in his, um, office and luckily I've never had to put anything in there, but there has been guys where you had to put some in the excuse draw. Is that something that maybe. Yes. Um, because you don't wanna get put in there. What did you, what did you tell Caleb when you talked to him? I just told him I was proud for him, happy for him. And, um, I mean, it was well deserved the way he's been able to carry that team in Arizona. They played great all year and, I mean, we may play them and it's nothing more than I love to see that. That would be a lot of fun. That would be a lot of it. I know I talk a little bit, how do you get to see in real time as? Oh, they play so late man. II, I try to go to sleep early honestly. So, but I do, I always look at the highlights and see how he does. What do you think the level of the defense overall in the team is, is it, is it as good as it was during the 10 game win streak or better? I'll say around the same, I think during that 10 game win streak that was like peak defense, but we wanna stay around that peak and especially around this time and just correct and stuff and getting better even more. I mean, it'll be a little tougher now just with how the tournament is and not being able to scout teams is hard and a quick turnaround. But as long as we stick to our principles and stick to what we're doing, we should be fine. You familiar with that? Do you think of that? 100%? We got a bunch of guys that care and everybody wanna play hard. And I think that's one of the greatest things about being a part of this team because we got guys that's going out there competing every day, like every day in practice. We're always getting into it and I mean, it's the best and it's a lot of fun and it's just so competitive really. Since day one, I think just our runs in the summer were different than usual. We were always physical getting into arguments and everybody wanted to win and, I mean, credit to the new guys that came in, but also me and RJ too, came in with a different mindset this year. What was Coach Davis's thought of the day for day? If there was one? Oh, I might get in trouble. I don't let me look at, excuse your time. Yeah. I don't know if I looked at the hard enough it was, um, the time to measure success is when all is said and done. Not when there's more to be said and more to be done. And on that note we're done. Yeah.