The Dean E. Smith Center echoed with the desperate screams of North Carolina junior varsity basketball coach Hubert Davis.
“Be quicker!” he exclaimed, after senior Lyle Jones failed to make a stop on defense.
“Slow down!” he commanded, following senior Max Konstanzer’s pass to nobody on a botched pick-and-roll.
“Take the charge!” he consistently pleaded to junior Toby Egbuna, whose foul allowed the Monarchs to tie the game at 26 a piece with 4:05 in the first period.
By halftime — with the team leading by just a bucket — Egbuna was fed up with his coach’s antics.
“(Coach) doesn’t cuss, but he was very close to cussing me out at halftime,” Egbuna said. “I was kind of pissed off.”
Egbuna — who describes himself as a relaxed guy — channeled his anger into aggressive play, leading the Tar Heels to a 73-52 victory over Methodist University’s junior varsity team Monday.
When Davis implored his team to finish inside, the junior post player answered the call.
“I wasn’t playing hard in the first half,” said Egbuna, who missed plenty of easy opportunities at the rim. “He lit a fire under me.”