By R.L. Bynum
Fans will see next season’s Carolina’s men’s and women’s basketball teams for the first time on Friday, Oct. 13, when “Live Action with Carolina Basketball” is set for 7 p.m.
Fans can begin entering the Smith Center for the free event starting at 5:30 p.m., with students using gate C and the general public using gates A and B.
Live Action is the night before Carolina’s home football game against No. 22 Miami.
There will be plenty of newcomers to see, with the men welcoming five transfers and the women welcoming three transfers. There are two freshmen on the men’s team and five freshmen on the women’s team.
More details of the event haven’t been announced. But, if it’s like last year, there will be no dancing other than when players are announced, and there will be a short women’s scrimmage and a longer men’s scrimmage.
Men’s schedule so far
| Date | Month/day | Time | Opponent/event | Location | TV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| October | |||||
| 13 | Friday | 7 p.m. | Live Action | Home | |
| 27 | Friday | St. Augustine’s (exhibition) | Home | ||
| November | |||||
| 6 | Monday | Radford | Home | ||
| 12 | Sunday | Lehigh | Home | ||
| 17 | Friday | UC Riverside | Home | ||
| Battle 4 Atlantis | |||||
| 22 | Wednesday | Noon | Northern Iowa | Bahamas | ESPN |
| 23 | Thursday | Noon or 5 | Villanova or Texas Tech | Bahamas | |
| 24 | Friday | 1, 3:30, 6 or 8:30 | Michigan, Memphis, Arkansas or Stanford | Bahamas | |
| ACC/SEC Challenge | |||||
| 20 | Wednesday | 7:15 | Tennessee | Home | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| December | |||||
| Jimmy V Classic | |||||
| 5 | Tuesday | Connecticut | Madison Square Garden | ESPN | |
| CBS Sports Classic | |||||
| 16 | Saturday | 5:30 | Kentucky | Atlanta | CBS |
| Jumpman Invitational | |||||
| 20 | Wednesday | Oklahoma | Charlotte | ||
| 29 | Friday | Charleston Southern | Home | ||
| ACC opponents | |||||
| Home and road | Duke, N.C. State, Clemson, Florida State, Miami and Syracuse | ||||
| Home only | Louisville, Notre Dame, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest | ||||
| Road only | Boston College, Georgia Tech, Pittsburgh and Virginia |
Men’s roster
| No. | Class | Player | Pos. | Hgt | Wgt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | | Returnees | | | |
| 4 | Sr. | RJ Davis | PG | 6–0 | 175 |
| 7 | Soph. | Seth Trimble | PG | 6–3 | 192 |
| 13 | Soph. | Jalen Washington | 4 | 6–10 | 225 |
| 5 | 5th year | Armando Bacot | 5 | 6–11 | 235 |
| Incoming transfers | |||||
| 3 | 5th year | Cormac Ryan (Notre Dame) | 3 | 6–5 | 195 |
| 8 | 5th year | Paxton Wojcik (Brown) | 3 | 6–5 | 200 |
| 55 | Junior | Harrison Ingram (Stanford) | 3 | 6–7 | 230 |
| 32 | Junior | James Okonkwo (West Virginia) | 4 | 6–8 | 240 |
| 24 | Senior | Jae’Lyn Withers (Louisville) | 4 | 6–9 | 220 |
| ESPN rank | Incoming freshmen | ||||
| 2 | 10 (Class of 2024) | Elliot Cadeau (5 star) | PG | 6–0 | 175 |
| 1 | 64 (Class of 2023 | Zayden High (4 star) | 4 | 6–9 | 225 |
| Walk-ons | |||||
| 14 | Creighton Lebo | PG | 6–1 | 180 | |
| 22 | Rob Landry | 2 | 6–4 | 190 | |
| 34 | Dewe Farris | 4 | 6–7 | 210 | |
| | | Eligibility over | | | |
| | Leaky Black | 3 | 6–9 | 205 | |
| | Pete Nance | 4 | 6–11 | 230 | |
| Outgoing transfers | |||||
| Caleb Love (Arizona) | 2 | 6–4 | 200 | ||
| D’Marco Dunn (Penn State) | 3 | 6–5 | 190 | ||
| Dontrez Styles (Georgetown) | 4 | 6–6 | 210 | ||
| Tyler Nickel (Va. Tech) | 3 | 6–7 | 220 | ||
| Justin McKoy (Hawaii) | 4 | 6–8 | 220 | ||
| Puff Johnson (Penn State) | 3 | 6–8 | 200 | ||
| Will Shaver (UAB) | 5 | 6–10 | 260 | ||
| ESPN rank | 2024–25 freshman class | ||||
| 12 | Drake Powell (5 star) | 2 | 6–5 | 185 | |
| 17 | Ian Jackson (5 star) | 2 | 6–4 | 180 | |
| 68 | James Brown (4 star) | 5 | 6–8 | 225 |
Women’s schedule so far
| Date | Day/month | Time | Opponent/event | Location | TV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| October | |||||
| 13 | Friday | 7 p.m. | Live Action | Home | |
| November | |||||
| 8 | Wednesday | TBA | Gardner-Webb | Home | TBA |
| 12 | Sunday | TBA | Davidson | Home | TBA |
| 15 | Wednesday | TBA | Hampton | Home | TBA |
| 18 | Saturday | TBA | Elon | Home | TBA |
| Gulf Coast Showcase | |||||
| 24 | Friday | 1:30 | Vermont | Estero, Fla. | FloHoops |
| 25 | Saturday | 11 a.m. or 5 p.m. | Kansas State or Western Kentucky | Estero, Fla. | FloHoops |
| 26 | Sunday | 11 a.m., 5 p.m. or 7:30 | Iowa, Purdue Fort Wayne, Florida Gulf Coast or Delaware | Estero, Fla. | FloHoops |
| ACC/SEC Challenge | |||||
| 30 | Thursday | 7 p.m. | South Carolina | Home | TBA |
| December | |||||
| 6 | Wednesday | TBA | UNC Greensboro | Home | TBA |
| Hall of Fame Women’s Showcase | |||||
| 10 | Sunday | 5 p.m. | Connecticut | Uncasville, Conn. | TBA |
| 15 | Friday | TBA | Western Carolina | Home | TBA |
| Jumpman Invitational | |||||
| 19 | Tuesday | TBA | Oklahoma | Charlotte | TBA |
| ACC opponents | |||||
| Home and road | Duke, N.C. State, Virginia and Virginia Tech | ||||
| Home only | Miami, Pittsburgh, Syracuse, Louisville and Clemson | ||||
| Road only | Florida State, Notre Dame, Ga. Tech, Boston College and Wake Forest |
Women’s roster
| Year | No. | Returning players | Pos. | Height | |
| RS Soph. | 11 | Kayla McPherson | PG | 5–8 | |
| Senior | 25 | Deja Kelly | PG | 5–8 | |
| Soph. | 2 | Paulina Paris | PG | 5–9 | |
| Senior | 1 | Alyssa Ustby | F | 6–1 | |
| Senior | 31 | Anya Poole | F | 6–2 | |
| RS Soph. | 13 | Teonni Key | F | 6–4 | |
| Senior | 0 | Alexandra Zelaya | F | 6–4 | |
| Year | No. | Incoming transfers | |||
| Soph. | 24 | Indya Nivar (Stanford) | G | 5–10 | |
| Senior | 20 | Lexi Donarski (Iowa State) | G | 6–0 | |
| Junior | 5 | Maria Gakdeng (Boston College) | C | 6–3 | |
| ESPN rank | No. | Incoming freshmen | Pos. | Height | |
| 15 | Sydney Barker (walk-on) | PG | 5–6 | ||
| 30th | 10 | Reniya Kelly (4 star; Alabama POY) | PG | 5–7 | |
| 4 | Laila Hull (Indiana POY) | W | 6–1 | ||
| 90th | 22 | RyLee Grays (4 star; Texas POY) | F | 6–3 | |
| 4th | 21 | Ciera Toomey (5 star; Pa. POY) | F | 6–4 | |
| ESPN rank | Class of 2024 | ||||
| 29th | Blanca Thomas (5 star) | C | 6–5 | ||
| 68th | Jordan Zubich (4 star) | G | 5–11 | ||
| ESPN rank | Class of 2025 | ||||
| 22nd | Lanie Grant (5 star) | G | 5–9 | ||
| College careers over | Pos. | Height | |||
| Eva Hodgson | PG | 5–10 | |||
| Ariel Young | W | 6–1 | |||
| Malu Tshitenge | F | 6–3 | |||
| Outgoing transfers | |||||
| Kennedy Todd-Williams (Ole Miss) | W | 6–0 | |||
| Destiny Adams (Rutgers) | F | 6–3 |
Photo via @UNC_Basketball
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