North Carolina
Bacot: Need to go to [Virginia] with mindset of hitting singles not home runs
Armando Bacot talks to the media ahead of a road matchup at Virginia
Um I don't wanna put you on the spot here, but I think you can handle it the criteria for having your jersey or Rafters. Do you think it should be amended? For example, the Olympic thing doesn't really factor doesn't fit anymore and the league expanding so much and guys maybe not staying around so much two time first in my AC C. Do you think that should be in there in place of the Olympics? Because you care a lot about this. I've talked to you before. You care a lot about this through this program. You understand this stuff? Do you think that that would be a suitable exchange? Definitely. I mean, I'm not opposed to it, I think um, just with everything, everything is changing in college basketball. I mean, here it's a lot different than what it was. So, I mean, I feel like it's definitely something that we should probably look at or will be looked at changes something big. Well, sir, you could have left obviously the past several years and gone pro. I'm wondering if there was a point when you realize it might be more financially beneficial to, to stay here in college. Yeah. Well, um, I think for me just leaving the school just in general was tough just because just had so much fun here and just all the relationships I built and built and, I mean, just what I meant to the school in general and what it meant to me. I think it was just even bigger than anything that I really could have imagined. But, I mean, obviously the money parts of it, I mean, it's good too that it, it's good while I'm on that subject. Do you have, are you willing to share like a number of nil duals you have, has that ever been revealed? And you share? Uh, yeah, I, I really don't know, like the number of deals I really did but it's been a lot now. You're wearing one right now. It would appear. No, I'm actually not, but this is like one of my favorite cobras, our parents, but I don't got no deal with them now. Set me up for $1. Yeah. So what's your favorite? Favorite deal? I've done. Um, probably me fine because I was able to give back like a lot, a lot of money to charity. And I thought that was really cool because it impacted a lot of people. So that was good for me. Um, I guess thing about, you know, tomorrow you play U VA number of times in your career, just what is, so, I guess unique about you know, face them, their style of defense obviously offensively, they take the time as well, but it was kind of unique in the preparation for that. It's different because they play so slow and we wanna play fast. And when you have like two completely different styles of play, something has to give. And I think for us, our approach going into this game, we gotta be patient in a sense to where we're making the right play, but still keeping our pace and limited turnovers. That's a huge thing versus a team like that. You don't wanna turn the ball over and you also don't wanna play down versus the UB A because the way they pa they pace, they play is tough to come back versus them once you're down. So I think we gotta go over there with a mindset of hidden singles and not home runs. You guys, obviously, you know, games against teams where for example, like, you know, Tony Bennett has been there for a while. He plays other teams that have same coaches, same styles, things like that. Is there like a degree in which you can kind of quote unquote, figure out a defense like UV, since you've seen this to me, I never know playing against U VA because I feel like I have probably my best college game ever versus U VA, but also my worst game too. So I really never know how to, what's gonna happen versus U va but we are a lot different as a team this year, especially the actions, we run the different things we do. So feeling confident and good, they like to double post and here what you're saying that you're so much better. All that sticky when it gets to you. How much of a factor tomorrow for you getting rid of the ball, we have to, there, there's not a scoring option, it's gonna be pivotal. Um That's gonna be a huge part of the game. I need to get the ball on my hands like to set but also make the right reason and get guys open and not do too much and not try to throw a lot of cross court passes and they're so physical in the way. They double once you hold the ball and they get you in the corner, there's gonna be a turn over every time. So I just gotta be smart and we'll have a lot of guys moving around and Harry playing the four, it definitely helps me a lot cause they double with the 45 and he could really shoot the ball. So it'll be tough in situations for them to double me. Why do you think it's so hard to win there if you guys haven't won there in like 12 years? Regardless of how good they are even, it seems to be hard to win there. Their play style is just tough because like I said, we're a fast team and they're a slow team. So it's just weird and luckily I've been able to beat them a couple of times, but this one for sure, definitely means a lot to us because we haven't beat them in 12 years. Coach Davis, I think, since he found the coach staff have been them. So it's a huge game for us. How important is it in, in that same respect that you've got guys like Elliott and Harrison and Cormack that they haven't experienced any of that and the history doesn't impact the number of players that would impact the game. I guess it's different because they're not coming in with that sense of pressure or understanding of what it is. So it allows to play more free, but we also too have to like, let them know and understand like, what you get is you might look at them on paper in a sense and see like they're not scoring as many points, but they are capable of doing that. And, um, I mean, how they defend, it's just gonna be tough and Elliott being a freshman, he hasn't got a chance to really play U VA. I have a feeling of like actually what we're getting ourselves into, so that'll be fun. There's some huge games this weekend, top four teams in the league are all playing each other, like just for you and your career to be in sort of this chase for the regular season title in the AC C like how meaningful is it to you? I mean, there's, it's a big stretch run coming up here and you guys could win the league. Like just what does that mean to you to be a part of it? It's a lot of fun. It's given a lot of purpose to the end of the season. We get a chance to, like you said, go for the league and this is a huge n for us playing U VA and, and Duke has been playing amazing basketball. And what's the fourth team, Duke and Wake and playing to each other? Duke? Yeah, Wake Forest is a great matchup for them too. So it's just fun and we know a lot is at stake with this game. So we're ready, man. How the practice has been during this often for you guys just lead up to this game hard. Honestly. Um I wa I didn't, I thought it would be more resting but it really wasn't. But it was good for us though because we got a lot of stuff done and we corrected a lot of things and it was great. It was a great way to practice was you played Virginia three times last season? But in two of those games, you were hurt. Uh Do you feel like there's like some get back for you going into this matchup for them? Definitely three of the games I played versus usually I've been like hurt. So hopefully I get a chance this time to be healthy and be able to play in front of my family and stuff like that. Yeah. Yeah. That, that one that, when you had 29 and 22 though, they didn't double you that day, did they? What aj was talking about? You know, the way it was just weird. It was weird. I went in there with like no expectation. I didn't know what was gonna happen but I, I wanna say they didn't double game. I feel like it was just single coverage. You just, and it helped that. I got a lot of rebounds too, man. Are you? You? 23? 23? Yeah, you obviously been around a long time in college basketball. Cormac Ryan 25. Does he, does he act old or is it, it's just a number question. He acts old. I'll say that he, he definitely does a lot of immature stuff too. So it's definitely funny like seeing him and Elliott like interact and them joking around with each other and Elliott and his a and they always give him a tough time for being an old guy and it's great having a guy like him on my, on the team. That's 25 cause obviously y'all know people pick on me for being old, but it's like three other guys on the team my age too. So I love the stuff from me on the road to the one that said they get social security, they tearing me up. I wanna go back a little more to the regular season title thing. Like Hubert was, has said to us that, you know, that's something he talks about with you guys. Like, that's a talking point. Um Like, what do you sense from Hubert when he gets it? He got kind of like serious with us last week. You know, we were joking around and all of a sudden he was like leaning forward in his chair and, you know, getting after like, what do you sense from him when he talks about trying to, to win the league? Just a sense of urgency. We really wanna get this championship and have a chance to hang a banner, one of the three we're going for. So it's something that we really want, something that we really need and, and we're all on the same page knowing what we gotta do in the path we need to take to get there. Um, last week, uh, before the midweek body. He was kind of going over like the schedule and everything you mentioned. You guys do a, you call it a run shoot, uh, drill like a solo. What does that kind of look like? It sounds like it was kind of like a conditioning thing. What does that kinda look like? You got a lot of conditioning running going, just shooting, doing different skill stuff. So it was tough this week. It really was, but we got better. Her mother was, this time kinda draws near to an end for your, you know, your time here. It sort of goes through your mind. Is there a, a heightened anticipation or pressure or a, a desire to pick things up for yourself? But you know, how do you approach things toward the end for you here? Not really, I'm just taking it day by day and soaking in everything and we got some good, great games coming up. So I'm super excited and just having fun right now. Honestly, it's been a lot of fun this year. So I'm just trying to just take it step by step, day by day. Is this game much fun. You have any special significance in your last game in your hip state for sure, but I definitely wanna beat them. That's the main thing. We haven't beat them there since I've been here. So it's something that we wanna get done and be able to say we were the team to beat U VA at U VA in the last 12 years. Thanks. I appreciate y'all. Definitely appreciate you, man. Thank you.