CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — North Carolina got the response it needed in its 91-71 win over Clemson on Saturday after the weight literally got lifted from their collective shoulders.
UNC head coach Hubert Davis brought two, 15-pound weighted jackets into Thursday’s practice. He pointed out select players to rotate wearing the jacket during their drills and scrimmages. The players wondered if it was some kind of punishment for something they did. Davis used the tactic to prove a point.
“I was just thinking about something just to kind of give them a picture of what they were playing with,” Davis said. “Whether it’s the beginning of the year, the expectations, whether it’s the comments from the phone, the family and the friends — like you can’t play with that weight. You can, but you can’t jump as high, you can’t run as fast, you can’t be as efficient. And I just wanted them to play free and they played free (Saturday), and I’m just really proud of them.”
