Veesaar Has 3 Thoughts on Where UNC Needs to Improve

Center Henri Veesaar was elite in this contest, totaling 26 points, six rebounds, one assist, and one block while shooting 9-of-12 from the field, including 2-of-2 from three-point range.

While speaking with the media during his postgame press conference, Veesaar explained the defensive liability in the loss.

Veesaar's Thoughts

• “We clearly have a lot of mistakes on defense,” Veesaar said. “Just not communicating or not talking or not listening. We’ve got to be just aware, to have a lot more defensive awareness than we have right now.”

• “We would double a ball screen, and then we have a wide-open guy right next to him,” Veesaar continued. “Just those little things. We can’t win that way.”

The 6-foot-11, 224-pound center gave Stanford credit for taking advantage of the opportunities that the Tar Heels presented. Veesaar also discussed how communication and rotation has to be better from North Carolina's perspective.

• “We’ve got to be more in the gaps. We got to do more helping. We got to just rotate better, be quicker out of it,” Veesaar said. “They did an incredible job of passing out. Then they got a lot of threes and just making the easy, simple plays. But we got a way better job with it being disruptive.”

This defensive trend is becoming alarming, as North Carolina appears to be influx against prolific and athletic guards who create open shots for themselves and others on a regular basis. Veesaar frustratedly discussed how this will be a learning experience for the team, and that they will study film and apply those adjustments moving forward.

• “Just go back, learn from this game, watch film on this game, and then concentrate on the next opponent and do whatever we can do to have the best defensive game there,” Veesaar said, “and just really change our identity as a team and show how physical we can be and how good we can be defensively, because I think that’s what coaches take pride in, and we’re not doing our job.”

• DB Withdraws Name From Portal, Will Return to UNC
• Why Wilson Frustrated Following UNC Loss to Stanford
• UNC Sets Sights on 2027, Potentially Point Guard of Future
• 2 Critical Factors Holding North Carolina Back This Season