Hubert Davis: ‘He (Bacot) has the desire to win a national championship’

UNC basketball head coach Hubert Davis comments on the return of Tar Heels’ forward Armando Bacot.

UNC basketball received great news on Wednesday as All-ACC forward [autotag]Armando Bacot[/autotag] announced he would be returning to North Carolina for his senior season.

Bacot averaged 16.3 points and 13.1 rebounds per game last season while shooting 56.9 percent from the floor. He was named First Team All-ACC and came in second in ACC Player of the Year voting to Alondes Williams of Wake Forest.

On Wednesday, UNC head coach [autotag]Hubert Davis[/autotag] commented on Bacot’s decision to return.

Armando is the perfect example of what a Carolina player strives to be, He has excelled at the highest level as a player, in the classroom and in the community. I loved hearing the news (Tuesday) that he made the Academic All-ACC team after the season he had, which wasn’t just good, and not just great, it was historic. I felt he was the best player in ACC and the best big man in the country.

He’s coming back for his senior season for several reasons. One, he loves this place. Two, he has the desire to win a national championship. Getting to the final game and getting so close lit a fire inside of him to achieve that goal more than ever. He feels he can still get better and improve on parts of his game to put himself in a position to have a long and successful NBA career. And he feels this is the best place for him to do that. He loves his teammates, this university and his community, and we love him.

Bacot returns to North Carolina following a record-breaking season. He became the first player in NCAA Tournament history with six double-doubles in one NCAA Tournament as he averaged 15.3 points and 16.5 rebounds en route to a National Championship runner-up appearance.

He also set the ACC record for double-doubles in a single season (31) and tied the NCAA record that David Robinson set in 1985-86.

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