POSTGAME QUOTES
UNC 79, FSU 66
DECEMBER 30, 2025
DEAN E. SMITH CENTER, CHAPEL HILL, N.C.
UNC Head Coach Hubert Davis
On Caleb Wilson’s energy in and out of the game…
“You know, his personality and his game personality just light up the room. Whether it’s a steal, a rebound, a dunk. It just ignites us.”
On taking open threes…
“If it’s open 3, I want you to not only take it, take it one step further, I want you to make it.”
On Kyan Evans’ Performance…
“Even in the 2nd half, there were a couple where he missed and then he came out and he came right back in and knocked down a couple. And so, we always talk about how you react and how do you respond. And the way that he responded out there? Was a huge force.”
FSU Head Coach Luke Loucks
On this year’s UNC team…
“First of all, you start with a guy like Caleb Wilson. He has size, length, athleticism, so kudos to Hubert, his staff, for bringing a guy like Caleb in. That’s your prototypical UNC pro that’s going to go make a ton of money playing basketball, and he’s going to help win a lot of games. But I like their team too. I like the big kid, Henri [Veesaar]. He does a great job around the rim. And then their guard play, obviously, is just steady.”
Seth Trimble
On the team’s performance after the break…
“We played right in the second half. There are a lot of things we could have cleaned up. Guys are tired, but they worked hard today. The offensive rebounds we gave up and not getting out to shooters in time, things like that. We got a lot to learn from today, it’s hard to win games… It’s tough. You have to get back in rhythm. But we all love basketball and we all love to be out here.”
On Florida State’s interior gameplan…
“We had to adjust to [them packing it inside]. We had to kick it out. It made it harder for straight line drives and whatnot. It made it harder for our bigs to get post catches, and it disrupted our offense a little bit.”
On finishing possessions on defense…
“I think we did okay. There were a lot of opportunities where we had a lot of great stops. We did things really well, and the offensive rebounds let up or we fouled at the end or it was out on us. I feel like we did a decent job but we have to do a better job going into the rest of ACC play.”
On playing through contact…
“I’ve always been someone who loves contact. Never wanted to avoid it… I’ve always seeked contact because I know it puts me on the line. I shot 11 free throws today, and I really felt like I could have shot 15. It’s what this team needs. It needs an enforcer, somebody who from the perimeter can get the ball into the paint and create plays from there. This is what this team needs, so I’m all for it.”
Henri Vessaar
On his slow start…
“I mean, I feel like Coach Davis definitely emphasized, during halftime, I’ve got to be involved. In the first half he said I wasn’t being aggressive enough, and I only had one shot. I was playing a little bit flat. And then [in the] second half, he kind of got me started with that. So that helped a lot.”
On his impact tonight…
“Just keep playing, just try to help your team win. Like, it’s not always your points and always your rebounds. Might be a box out. It might be a steal and somebody else scores, or you pull in somebody out of defending and they get a kick out three. It’s not always about my stats or what I do. It’s more like, however the team impacts from what I do, like I’m on the court and us just being able to win games.”
On rebounding…
“I mean, obviously I feel like I always have coach Davis say that the game comes down to whoever wins a rebounding battle, and we won that. So we won the game. I think that’s a big part of the game, no matter what, because you just want more bites of the apple being able to get more shots up than the opponent, and rebounding does just that.”
Caleb Wilson
On tonight’s overall performance…
“It was a great game, honestly. Feel like we started out slow, but then once we picked it up, it was kind of in our control the whole game.”
On bringing the energy…
“I want to say it’s on me, but I feel like, you know, whenever we need something that’s gonna kind of get us back going, it’s really important that I can get that done. So I just play hard, and when I get the opportunity to show what I can do, I just do it.”
On physicality and effort…
“People get tired, and also, I mean nobody’s going to out-hustle me, so I’m going to get off the rebound and I’m going to do what it takes.”
On the Wilson-Veesaar duo…
“I feel like most teams are going to have to make a decision. Some teams, they’ll try to stop him. Some teams try to focus on me, but honestly, we’re just beginning. That’s how I feel, and we’re gonna keep going, keep pushing.”
Kyan Evans
On the key to winning…
“We knew what they were going to do, and they’re going to come in and play hard, and they were wanting to get a lot of threes up, and we wanted to hold them to as few as possible”
On ACC Play Intensity…
“We talked about that ACC play is going to be a lot different for us, and we want to come out and get a win, and that’s what we did.”
On using the holiday break to reflect…
“I just kind of went home, took a look in the mirror, honestly, and just kind of came back with a different mindset.”
On his performance…
“I think I wasn’t aggressive just on both ends of the court, and I want to change for the team and for my guys.”
