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University of North Carolina Athletics
Head coach Hubert Davis
Photo by: Jeffrey A. Camarati
UNC-Kansas Postgame Quotes
November 7, 2025 | Men's Basketball
POSTGAME QUOTES
UNC 87, KANSAS 74
NOVEMBER 7, 2025
DEAN E. SMITH CENTER, CHAPEL HILL, N.C.
Kansas Head Coach Bill Self
On the game getting away in the 2nd half…
"You know, obviously had to be something we ate or something I said at halftime, because we came out, and we weren't any good, and they were great. But I think it got away from us, you know, the first five minutes, second half…"
On Seth Trimble's performance…
"He blanketed Darryn [Peterson] in a way that, to me, was terrific. You know, Caleb [Wilson] was the best player probably in the game, but you can make a strong case for Henri [Veesaar] and for Seth, too. From my vantage point, without watching the tape, because the way he guarded Darryn and playing on top of everything…"
On Carolina and Kansas history…
"Carolina isn't Carolina without Kansas, and Kansas isn't Kansas without Carolina, and there's no way that you can look at it and feel any different based on the intertwined history of both programs."
On their response to the loss…
"How many teams are going to come in here and beat Carolina on their home court when they get cooking like that in the second half? Not too many. But it teaches us that there's a lot of things we've got to do to be better in those moments and be tougher and harder and more sound, which we obviously weren't."
On slowing down Henri Veesaar…
"We probably should have fouled more. He got behind us, and our ball screen coverage was awful…actually pretty good the first half, but awful second half, and they did a good job of attacking us and playing big to big"
Kansas Player - Bryson Tiller
On his three-point performance…
"I felt like it kind of gave a spark to the team, but, you know, obviously it wasn't enough. We didn't play smart enough, and we just got to clean it up before the next game."
On the second half…
"I don't think we came out super focused, like we should have been, but I feel like our energy just wasn't up. But we'll definitely clean that up before the next game."
Kansas Player - Darryn Peterson
Playing in the Carolina Environment…
"We will have a lot of other away games where the crowd's gonna be against us. So this is me and Bryson's first time playing a game like this. I think it's good for us and something to learn from."
UNC Head Coach Hubert Davis
On the changes between first and second half…
"In the first half, from an offensive standpoint, I think it was two things. One, we were turning the ball over. We had 10 turnovers, and I think they had 17 points off those turnovers. So it was almost like pick sixes for us — lot of standing, lot of holding, lot of dribbling. In the second half it was the exact opposite. We always changed sides of the floor. We had great ball and player movement that allowed us to find lanes to be able to attack the basket. And in the second half, we were pretty good."
On ambitions for the new team…
"The number one thing for me is I wanted this new team, this new group, to have evidence of what it's like to play in a game like this in the Smith Center, and to come up big. I just wanted them to have a taste of what it's like to be here."
On the White-out and Caleb Wilson' influence:
"This afternoon, we had a white-out, because Caleb went on social media and said, 'I want a white-out.' It's the first white-out I've ever had in 14 years here. And we had a freshman just say, 'We're having a white-out', and the whole 22,000 showed up in white – I really believe this: if he ran for student body president, he would win."
On beating Kansas for the first time in 23 years…
"Since I've been alive. I mean, we lost to Kansas in 1991 Final Four my junior year. My first year as an assistant, lost to Kansas second round of the NCAA tournament. Obviously, we lost to them in the National Championship game four years ago, and lost to them last year. So it's nice to, against a storied program, unbelievable coaching team, to be able to come out on the other side."
Seth Trimble
On putting together a complete game and their potential…
"Once we put a full game together, once guys get going for a full game, I feel like we can be very, very dangerous."
On breaking a long losing streak to Kansas…
"You know the history with Kansas and UNC obviously runs so deep, we haven't beat Kansas in 23 years. I made sure that we knew that, that we protect our home court."
On shooting struggles, and the second half turnaround…
"Go play basketball. We were worrying too much about missed shots, for guys or whatever it was. We're a great shooting team, we're gonna have bad shooting nights, like that first half. But it's about us being able to drop it right away and come out after halftime as a completely different team."
Jarin Stevenson
On the second half turnaround…
"I feel like we cleaned up our mistakes. They scored a lot off our turnovers, and I feel like we took care of the ball in the second half. We rebounded good, too. And, yeah, just a lot of energy and effort. The crowd got us into it. The bench was very good, and I feel like everybody contributed."
On outscoring Kansas 48-20 in the paint…
"Yeah, that's a big emphasis from Coach [Davis]: getting the ball in the paint, get a good look. If they collapse, then kick it out for an open shot. Again, offensive rebounding. And yeah, just it starts with the paint. Try to put pressure on the rim and make plays from there."
On Henri Veesaar's performance tonight…
"Yeah, he was rebounding the ball, being physical down there. He did a good job with 40 [Flory Bidunga]. 40 is a monster, very athletic. And then, yeah, Henri did a good job playing defense on him, getting the ball at the top of the key, making plays from there, knocking down the three."
Kyan Evans
On what changed in the second half…
"I think we just settled in. You know, first big home game with the crowd — first half was a little shaky. And then I think we just settled in second half and just started playing more like ourselves."
On how they responded to this game being such a big game, especially with the crowd…
"Yeah, I mean we love the crowd. They brought us energy. And you know, we got to give a little give-and-take with them. So it's fun just to interact."
On Caleb [Wilson]'s ability to be efficient and rise to the occasion…
"I mean, we see it every day, so it's not as crazy to us. But I mean, for him to come out and perform like that — just a young dude like he is — is special."
On Caleb's ability to always be 'locked in'...
"I think he takes his craft extremely serious all the time. I haven't seen him, as a young guy, just not just kind of fade away. He doesn't do that. He's just always locked in. That's what makes him who he is."
On what halftime was like…
"It was just super positive. Everybody knew what we had to do and was just looking forward to coming out and changing."
On whether or not they considered the historical impact of this game…
"We definitely had a conversation about it — just talking about what this meant and the history and the numbers of it. So, we knew what it was and we knew coming in that we wanted to get this win."
Henri Veesaar
On how his versatile shots can stretch the floor for the team…
"I feel like they had a great shot blocker in [Flory] Bidunga, so kind of getting him out a little bit, giving easier lanes in regards to driving other players, I think that helps. And just kind of be reading the game however they guard it. I think I was more efficient when I was rolling, but the pops helped bring him out – if I make a couple he has to step out."
On where the team's competitive fire came from…
"I mean, we all competitors. We all want to win. We have Kansas coming in here, it's like waiting for us to set the tone for the whole season… We embarrassed ourselves in BYU — we didn't play at all as we were supposed to. We were so sloppy there, so we wanted to know, [and] kind of for everybody to notice what we can do, and kind of start setting the tone for the whole season."
On what tone he thinks they set…
"I think we played very hard the whole game. As long as we have effort and play hard, the shots are gonna fall eventually, and we can make it happen. The first half, we couldn't make threes. Second half, we played great — I think we shot like 67%. And keeping that up, that just comes with hard work and playing hard."
On the second half's message…
"I feel like we didn't play good. It wasn't that they played good and that's why they were up. It was more we playing bad. We had a lot of turnovers. I had 4 turnovers, I think as a team we had 10 in the first half, and they had like 17 points off turnovers… I think their back-up four hit four threes in the first half, so just things like that. We need to clean it up, and as long as we step into the details and convert, that's always gonna happen."
On what went into outscoring them 48-20 in the paint…
"I mean, they were switching. We're kind of finding that Caleb [Wilson] did an amazing job finding me. Kyan [Evans] did an amazing job. All my teammates found me in the paint. I got a couple lobs, a couple dunks — just making that an emphasis and always trying to get in the paint. Because first half, we kind of played merry-go-round around the three-point line and we didn't get much pressure. We got them into foul trouble and then we didn't use it to get free throws. We just started shooting threes and kind of playing soft."
Caleb Wilson
On the importance of beating Kansas…
"I approached the game like I approach every other game, which is to go out there and try my hardest, but it was personal for me…we hadn't beaten them in 20 years. I wasn't even born. So, you know, they beat us in the National Championship…I want to impress my coach. I want to impress the world. I want the world to know who I am."
On his mindset for today's game…
"I don't feel nervous. I feel like I'm always prepared for whatever it is. I feel like nervousness and anxiety comes from mispreparation. I prepared for the game, I watched film, I did what I had to do."
On the crowd's energy and how he plays off of it…
"I love to have fun with it…it's the best crowd in the world, best place to be in the world. So I'm not gonna be out there touting and act like I'm too cool, like every time something big happens, I'm definitely gonna be excited and cheerful."
On his relationship with Henri Veesaar…
"Henri's my guy. He pushes me — he pushes me to be better every day and he always holds me accountable. It's nice to have a vet kind of like that with him, because he's taught me so many little things, like touch shots and things like that. But he's a great guy. He played a great game."
On the white-out…
"Coming out, seeing all the crowd show out, the white-out, and hearing all that noise, definitely something to be aware of."
On his offseason work..
"I just realized I had to change my game and be more of a facilitator, more of a playmaker, try to get a lot of assists, try to create for others. And also, I worked a lot on my ball handling and just shoot, doing everything really."
UNC 87, KANSAS 74
NOVEMBER 7, 2025
DEAN E. SMITH CENTER, CHAPEL HILL, N.C.
Kansas Head Coach Bill Self
On the game getting away in the 2nd half…
"You know, obviously had to be something we ate or something I said at halftime, because we came out, and we weren't any good, and they were great. But I think it got away from us, you know, the first five minutes, second half…"
On Seth Trimble's performance…
"He blanketed Darryn [Peterson] in a way that, to me, was terrific. You know, Caleb [Wilson] was the best player probably in the game, but you can make a strong case for Henri [Veesaar] and for Seth, too. From my vantage point, without watching the tape, because the way he guarded Darryn and playing on top of everything…"
On Carolina and Kansas history…
"Carolina isn't Carolina without Kansas, and Kansas isn't Kansas without Carolina, and there's no way that you can look at it and feel any different based on the intertwined history of both programs."
On their response to the loss…
"How many teams are going to come in here and beat Carolina on their home court when they get cooking like that in the second half? Not too many. But it teaches us that there's a lot of things we've got to do to be better in those moments and be tougher and harder and more sound, which we obviously weren't."
On slowing down Henri Veesaar…
"We probably should have fouled more. He got behind us, and our ball screen coverage was awful…actually pretty good the first half, but awful second half, and they did a good job of attacking us and playing big to big"
Kansas Player - Bryson Tiller
On his three-point performance…
"I felt like it kind of gave a spark to the team, but, you know, obviously it wasn't enough. We didn't play smart enough, and we just got to clean it up before the next game."
On the second half…
"I don't think we came out super focused, like we should have been, but I feel like our energy just wasn't up. But we'll definitely clean that up before the next game."
Kansas Player - Darryn Peterson
Playing in the Carolina Environment…
"We will have a lot of other away games where the crowd's gonna be against us. So this is me and Bryson's first time playing a game like this. I think it's good for us and something to learn from."
UNC Head Coach Hubert Davis
On the changes between first and second half…
"In the first half, from an offensive standpoint, I think it was two things. One, we were turning the ball over. We had 10 turnovers, and I think they had 17 points off those turnovers. So it was almost like pick sixes for us — lot of standing, lot of holding, lot of dribbling. In the second half it was the exact opposite. We always changed sides of the floor. We had great ball and player movement that allowed us to find lanes to be able to attack the basket. And in the second half, we were pretty good."
On ambitions for the new team…
"The number one thing for me is I wanted this new team, this new group, to have evidence of what it's like to play in a game like this in the Smith Center, and to come up big. I just wanted them to have a taste of what it's like to be here."
On the White-out and Caleb Wilson' influence:
"This afternoon, we had a white-out, because Caleb went on social media and said, 'I want a white-out.' It's the first white-out I've ever had in 14 years here. And we had a freshman just say, 'We're having a white-out', and the whole 22,000 showed up in white – I really believe this: if he ran for student body president, he would win."
On beating Kansas for the first time in 23 years…
"Since I've been alive. I mean, we lost to Kansas in 1991 Final Four my junior year. My first year as an assistant, lost to Kansas second round of the NCAA tournament. Obviously, we lost to them in the National Championship game four years ago, and lost to them last year. So it's nice to, against a storied program, unbelievable coaching team, to be able to come out on the other side."
Seth Trimble
On putting together a complete game and their potential…
"Once we put a full game together, once guys get going for a full game, I feel like we can be very, very dangerous."
On breaking a long losing streak to Kansas…
"You know the history with Kansas and UNC obviously runs so deep, we haven't beat Kansas in 23 years. I made sure that we knew that, that we protect our home court."
On shooting struggles, and the second half turnaround…
"Go play basketball. We were worrying too much about missed shots, for guys or whatever it was. We're a great shooting team, we're gonna have bad shooting nights, like that first half. But it's about us being able to drop it right away and come out after halftime as a completely different team."
Jarin Stevenson
On the second half turnaround…
"I feel like we cleaned up our mistakes. They scored a lot off our turnovers, and I feel like we took care of the ball in the second half. We rebounded good, too. And, yeah, just a lot of energy and effort. The crowd got us into it. The bench was very good, and I feel like everybody contributed."
On outscoring Kansas 48-20 in the paint…
"Yeah, that's a big emphasis from Coach [Davis]: getting the ball in the paint, get a good look. If they collapse, then kick it out for an open shot. Again, offensive rebounding. And yeah, just it starts with the paint. Try to put pressure on the rim and make plays from there."
On Henri Veesaar's performance tonight…
"Yeah, he was rebounding the ball, being physical down there. He did a good job with 40 [Flory Bidunga]. 40 is a monster, very athletic. And then, yeah, Henri did a good job playing defense on him, getting the ball at the top of the key, making plays from there, knocking down the three."
Kyan Evans
On what changed in the second half…
"I think we just settled in. You know, first big home game with the crowd — first half was a little shaky. And then I think we just settled in second half and just started playing more like ourselves."
On how they responded to this game being such a big game, especially with the crowd…
"Yeah, I mean we love the crowd. They brought us energy. And you know, we got to give a little give-and-take with them. So it's fun just to interact."
On Caleb [Wilson]'s ability to be efficient and rise to the occasion…
"I mean, we see it every day, so it's not as crazy to us. But I mean, for him to come out and perform like that — just a young dude like he is — is special."
On Caleb's ability to always be 'locked in'...
"I think he takes his craft extremely serious all the time. I haven't seen him, as a young guy, just not just kind of fade away. He doesn't do that. He's just always locked in. That's what makes him who he is."
On what halftime was like…
"It was just super positive. Everybody knew what we had to do and was just looking forward to coming out and changing."
On whether or not they considered the historical impact of this game…
"We definitely had a conversation about it — just talking about what this meant and the history and the numbers of it. So, we knew what it was and we knew coming in that we wanted to get this win."
Henri Veesaar
On how his versatile shots can stretch the floor for the team…
"I feel like they had a great shot blocker in [Flory] Bidunga, so kind of getting him out a little bit, giving easier lanes in regards to driving other players, I think that helps. And just kind of be reading the game however they guard it. I think I was more efficient when I was rolling, but the pops helped bring him out – if I make a couple he has to step out."
On where the team's competitive fire came from…
"I mean, we all competitors. We all want to win. We have Kansas coming in here, it's like waiting for us to set the tone for the whole season… We embarrassed ourselves in BYU — we didn't play at all as we were supposed to. We were so sloppy there, so we wanted to know, [and] kind of for everybody to notice what we can do, and kind of start setting the tone for the whole season."
On what tone he thinks they set…
"I think we played very hard the whole game. As long as we have effort and play hard, the shots are gonna fall eventually, and we can make it happen. The first half, we couldn't make threes. Second half, we played great — I think we shot like 67%. And keeping that up, that just comes with hard work and playing hard."
On the second half's message…
"I feel like we didn't play good. It wasn't that they played good and that's why they were up. It was more we playing bad. We had a lot of turnovers. I had 4 turnovers, I think as a team we had 10 in the first half, and they had like 17 points off turnovers… I think their back-up four hit four threes in the first half, so just things like that. We need to clean it up, and as long as we step into the details and convert, that's always gonna happen."
On what went into outscoring them 48-20 in the paint…
"I mean, they were switching. We're kind of finding that Caleb [Wilson] did an amazing job finding me. Kyan [Evans] did an amazing job. All my teammates found me in the paint. I got a couple lobs, a couple dunks — just making that an emphasis and always trying to get in the paint. Because first half, we kind of played merry-go-round around the three-point line and we didn't get much pressure. We got them into foul trouble and then we didn't use it to get free throws. We just started shooting threes and kind of playing soft."
Caleb Wilson
On the importance of beating Kansas…
"I approached the game like I approach every other game, which is to go out there and try my hardest, but it was personal for me…we hadn't beaten them in 20 years. I wasn't even born. So, you know, they beat us in the National Championship…I want to impress my coach. I want to impress the world. I want the world to know who I am."
On his mindset for today's game…
"I don't feel nervous. I feel like I'm always prepared for whatever it is. I feel like nervousness and anxiety comes from mispreparation. I prepared for the game, I watched film, I did what I had to do."
On the crowd's energy and how he plays off of it…
"I love to have fun with it…it's the best crowd in the world, best place to be in the world. So I'm not gonna be out there touting and act like I'm too cool, like every time something big happens, I'm definitely gonna be excited and cheerful."
On his relationship with Henri Veesaar…
"Henri's my guy. He pushes me — he pushes me to be better every day and he always holds me accountable. It's nice to have a vet kind of like that with him, because he's taught me so many little things, like touch shots and things like that. But he's a great guy. He played a great game."
On the white-out…
"Coming out, seeing all the crowd show out, the white-out, and hearing all that noise, definitely something to be aware of."
On his offseason work..
"I just realized I had to change my game and be more of a facilitator, more of a playmaker, try to get a lot of assists, try to create for others. And also, I worked a lot on my ball handling and just shoot, doing everything really."
Players Mentioned
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