University of North Carolina Athletics
Michael Malone and Angelo Brizzi
Photo by: Jeffrey A. Camarati
November 6, 2026 | Men's Basketball
POSTGAME QUOTES
UNC 109, WESTERN CAROLINA 70
NOVEMBER 6, 2026
DEAN E. SMITH CENTER, CHAPEL HILL, N.C.
UNC 109, WESTERN CAROLINA 70
NOVEMBER 6, 2026
DEAN E. SMITH CENTER, CHAPEL HILL, N.C.
UNC Head Coach Michael Malone
On Jarin Stevenson's first play of the game…
"You know, I remember when I first got the job, and I met with him maybe the day after I got the job, and with his mom and dad, and we talked about how do we get him more aggressive. And I talked about you know knowing him and his personality… But on the court, his play can speak loudly. And that first play, I just said in front of the team, it's going to set the tone."
On Maximo Adams' first career double-double…
"Yeah, Maxi was great tonight… Just relentless pursuit, and we've seen that every day in practice…This is something that Maxi prides himself on…He was our defensive player of the game tonight..."
On the crowd's energy…
"...The crowd was great tonight. Shout out to our student body for showing up tonight and bringing energy on a really dark, rainy Friday. But I appreciate the crowd and the energy they brought. I thought they had a lot to do with the win as well."
On the team still getting used to playing with each other…
"We have a starting five that's never played one minute together prior to the season. We have 11 new players, and so I think each day that goes by, each battle, each contest that we go through, kind of brings us together even more. And you have that family, you have that togetherness, and that cohesion that improves… And just trying to really instill, like being selfless, is a huge part of what we're trying to build here. And it's not about you. When we're up by 20, it's not about you. It's still the team. It's still we, and we can continue to maintain that and drive that home. That's when you have a chance to build something special."
On how to continue pulling away in games moving forward…
"…Not getting bored with success…I thought tonight something we talked about was just keep playing the right way, keep building habits, and play as close to 40 minutes as possible… I kept on reminding them in the huddle, even as the lead was getting bigger, we're building habits. This is not just a nice game. This is going to help us in a game down the road, and I thought our guys showed maturity in that regard tonight."
Jarin Stevenson
On the mindset behind the increased aggressiveness of the game…
"Just go in and make plays. Don't be afraid to make a mistake. Just go out there and be aggressive. Once I had that open lane, I knew that I wanted to make an aggressive play and set the tone early."
On what went through his mind of the first play…
"Deep down, I really wanted to set the tone, get a dunk in, and do whatever I could to get two hands and dunk it in… It is something that has been in the back of my mind. To start the game, set the tone, and start out really aggressive, so our team is ready to go, and I am ready to go."
On the team having 25 3-pointers taken and a lot of action in the paint…
"I remember looking up at the second half, and we only had four threes, but that was because we were getting in the paint really well. Taking different actions and being able to drive. Then later on in the second half, once we were collapsing the defence, we were able to get a lot of open shots and open threes. Jaydon Young was hitting them. He is a great shooter, probably one of the best on the team. Alex Samodurov was hitting them. A lot of different guys were stepping up and knocking down shots."
Jaydon Young
On Maximo's impact on the team…
"He brings so much because he's a big physical guard that can battle with anybody. He has the heart of a lion, so like just going out there and giving us everything he has in the tank, whether that's scoring, whether that's rebounding, whether that's guarding, everything he has, he gives it every single day."
On Maximo riling up the team…
"It helps a lot to have a maniac on your team. He's really, I genuinely think he's a maniac. But he'll do the same thing in practice. Like he'll get a rebound and scream in everyone's face for an hour. Coaches, players, it doesn't matter. So I think he brings that energy every single day, and it definitely helps us out. It helps us a tremendous amount because everybody's not willing to do that at all times."
On the team not taking three steps back…
"Maximo Adams, his perfect quote. He came out. We leave the locker room. He was like two steps forward and three steps forward again, right before we ran out of the locker room. So I guess we're joking about that all night, and here we are."
On Young's shooting performance…
"I feel like I can get myself in a rhythm if I'm getting my reps in, but normally that starts way before the game. So like I shot earlier today before I went to class, and then I shoot after. I shoot right before the game, so it's just about getting reps. And Brandon Robinson is really really great with that. He works out with me every single day. He tells me like even if I'm making shots, he'll give me little critiques and stuff to help me out. So that definitely did a big number for me over the summer, and then just coming in with confidence like I always have, being able to knock shots down even when I'm missing. Like I try to keep myself focused mentally, and it worked out for me."
Maximo Adams
On why he was wearing the chain…
"This goes out to the defensive player of the game and Coach made an emphasis that you can't get back on offense without ending the possession on defense with a rebound and I had 11 of them."
On his mentality towards rebounds…
"Just every rebound, you got to have the mentality that I'm going to go get this no matter what. Obviously, I had a couple of rebounds that I had to work for, you know, tipping them in, and that team did a really good job of crashing. So, just boxing out and reading how the ball came out the rim, just grabbing it."
On how long he's played like this…
"I've been playing like this for a very long while. I mean, my dad obviously taught me to always play every possession like it matters the most. Each possession counts and you got to end every play on the rebound… Play with that intensity, play hard, and always stay focused."
On the increased aggression the team showed tonight…
"Jarin, obviously, he set the tone, but you know the last few couple of games we haven't been playing our best, so I think we came to the game with a chip on our shoulder and that's what set the tone for us."
Alex Samodurov
On improving on the boards…
"Every day, at practice we have to be there one hundred percent to be able to do this at the games. Today, I think we did a very good job on defensive rebounds."
On his largest adjustments during the first few games…
"I would say the physicality, how physical they play over here and how fast the game is over here."
On Maximo Adams' performance…
"He's very good. He puts up doubles. It's nothing for him. In every practice, he gets a double-double, I think. We're getting better. We're getting better."
On improving since the Western Carolina game…
"We didn't play very good Monday, but we saw the video, we saw our mistakes and we try to get better from the video and all the coaches trying to have the best for us to play good on the court."
On joining Neo Avdalas at UNC…
"...We have the same manager…He said to our manager that the team needs a big guy, and because we are friends and we were also teammates in Europe."
Terrence Brown
On Maximo Adams' intensity…
"He comes in, he's a great spark off the bench. He always has good energy, whether it's in practice or in a game, in the locker room, everywhere. He's just a really joyful person to be around and he's always got high energy no matter the circumstances."
On Maximo Adams' personality off the court…
"He always has high energy. He's always joking, like you can see his reactions when he scores is high energy, but it's also goofy. And that's the kind of person he is off the court. He just enjoys being here. He enjoys every second of where he's at and makes the best of it, and I feel like that's why he's so happy every single day."
On the tone that Jarin Stevenson's opening dunk created…
"That just set the tone, that we had a lot of high expectations coming into this game. Jarin set the tone because he usually goes in and lays it up. I didn't even think he was gonna dunk it. I told him, when he dunked it, I was flexing so long that he that dunked it, it felt like I pulled something in my chest, like I was flexing for so long."
On the biggest improvement since the Western Carolina game…
"I would say defensive rebounding. I think we've still gotta clean up the defensive rebounds, like not give up as much offensive rebounds, but definitely turnovers. We had a positive assist-to-turnover ratio. Coach said that we did a way better job with the turnovers and assist rate. And fast break points. We did a great job of fast-break points, and limiting their fast-break points."
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