By R.L. Bynum
Armando Bacot is coming back to Carolina for a fifth season.
Jeff Goodman of Stadium broke the news Wednesday afternoon after talking to Bacot.
“The primary reason I am coming back is because I don’t want to leave North Carolina this way. But I also know I need to improve and feel like this is the best place to do that,” Bacot told Goodman after the Tar Heels finished 20–13 and missed the NCAA tournament. “I’m using my last year of eligibility,” Bacot said. “I felt it was the right decision for my future.”
Bacot is UNC’s career leader in rebounds (1,003), double-doubles (68) and double-figure rebounding games (75). He earned third-team All-America honors from the Associated Press, Sporting News and USBWA this season and also was a third-team pick in 2021-22. He was the only ACC player on the first-, second- or third-team AP or USBWA All-America teams. Bacot has averaged 13.7 points and 10.1 rebounds over his career, including 15.9 points and 10.4 rebounds (which led the ACC) last season after averaging 16.3 and 13.1 as a junior.
Bacot will be the second UNC player to get two senior days and play five seasons after Leaky Black returned for a fifth season.
The news came on the same day that Puff Johnson became the fourth Carolina player to enter the transfer portal, joining Justin McKoy, Dontrez Styles and Tyler Nickel.
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Bacot, who became the 19th Tar Heel to earn multiple All-ACC first-team honors, has a chance to rewrite many record books.
He is fifth in ACC history with 1,335 rebounds. Bacot has 68 double-doubles, eight more than any other UNC player, which is 19 off of Tim Duncan’s ACC record.
For his career, Bacot has 1,809 points, 1,003 rebounds and 160 blocks. Sam Perkins is the only other Tar Heel with more than 1,800 points, 1,000 rebounds and 150 blocks (2,145, 1,168 and 245).
Bacot and Cole Anthony were freshmen on the 2019–20 UNC team. Anthony will play his fourth NBA season as Bacot plays his fifth college season.
Bacot career-highs
Points: 29 vs. Virginia (Jan. 8, 2022) and Georgia Tech
(Jan. 15, 2022)
Field goals: 12 vs. Virginia (Jan. 8, 2022)
Free throws: 9 six times (last time vs. Duke, March 4, 2023)
Offensive rebounds: 9 vs. Virginia (Jan. 8, 2022) and vs. Syracuse
(Feb. 28, 2022)
Rebounds: 23 vs. James Madison (Nov. 20, 2022)
Assists: 7 vs. Miami (Jan. 25, 2020)
Blocks: 6 vs. Oregon (Nov. 29, 2019), at Charleston
(Nov. 16, 2021) and vs. N.C. State (Jan. 29, 2022)
Steals: 4 vs. Elon (Dec. 11, 2021)
The class for next season is listed.
| No./ Stars | Class | Player | Pos. | Hgt | Wgt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 star | Freshman | Maximo Adams | SF | 6–7 | 205 |
| 3 star | Freshman | Malloy Smith | CG | 6–5 | 190 |
| 5 star | Freshman | Sayon Keita | C | 7–0 | 215 |
| 4 star | Freshman | Kevin Thomas | W | 6–7 | 190 |
| Freshman | Alexandros Samodurov | C | 6–11 | 212 | |
| RS freshman | Cade Bennerman — W | C | 7–0 | 205 | |
| Sophomore | Neoklis Avdalas — X | G | 6–9 | 215 | |
| Sophomore | Isaiah Denis | G | 6–4 | 180 | |
| Sophomore | Matt Able — Y | G | 6–5 | 196 | |
| 1 | Senior | Terrence Brown — Z | G | 6–3 | 174 |
| 4 | Senior | Jaydon Young | G | 6–4 | 200 |
| 15 | Senior | Jarin Stevenson | 4 | 6–10 | 215 |
| Graduate | Angelo Brizzi — ZZ | 2 | 6–3 | 193 | |
| Walk-ons | |||||
| 25 | Junior | John Holbrook | 4 | 6–8 | 230 |
| 32 | Senior | Evan Smith | 2 | 6–1 | 195 |
W — Northwestern transfer. X — Virginia Tech transfer; Y — N.C. State transfer; Z — Utah transfer; ZZ — Buffalo transfer
Michael Malone’s coaching staff: Chuck Martin, Bryan Tibaldi, Sean May and Pat Sullivan; Deon Thompson will be a graduate assistant, and Brandon Robinson will reportedly have a support staff position.
Players who left for the transfer portal
| Player | Class next season | Pos. | Hgt | Wgt | Next school |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Luka Bogavac | Senior | W | 6–6 | 215 | Oklahoma State |
| James Brown | Senior | C | 6–10 | 240 | Howard |
| Derek Dixon | Sophomore | G | 6–5 | 200 | Arizona |
| Kyan Evans | Senior | G | 6–2 | 175 | Minnesota |
| Zayden High | Junior | C | 6–10 | 230 | South Florida |
| Jonathan Powell | Junior | G | 6–6 | 190 | Pittsburgh |
| Ivan Matlekovic | Junior | C | 7–0 | 255 |
Schedule so far
(Other than the ACC/SEC Challenge, games without links revealed from reporting by Alex Rosinski or Rocco Miller)
(13 of 14 games)
Oct. 18 — exhibition game vs. Indiana at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis
Nov. 2 — vs. Western Carolina
Nov. 6 — vs. Wofford
Nov. 10 — vs. Wyoming
Nov. 13 — vs. Georgia
Nov. 20 — vs. Marshall
Nov. 27 — vs. West Virginia at the Dick Vitale Invitational at Charlotte’s Spectrum Center
Dec. 1 — vs. Arkansas in ACC/SEC Challenge
Dec. 6 — vs. Butler
Dec. 12 — at Georgetown
Dec. 15 (tentative date) — vs. N.C. State in a non-conference game in Greensboro
Dec. 19 — vs. Kentucky in CBS Sports Classic at Madison Square Garden, 2:30 p.m.
Dec. 21 — vs. The Citadel
Jan. 30 — vs. Illinois in Nashville, Tenn.
ACC games
Home and away: Duke, Louisville
Home only: California, Georgia Tech, Miami, N.C. State, SMU, Stanford, Virginia
Away only: Boston College, Florida State, Notre Dame, Pitt, Syracuse, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest
