By R.L. Bynum

For Carolina to be successful this season, Coach Hubert Davis says that Armando Bacot needs to be dominant.

Davis appeared on the “College Hoops Today” podcast with Jon Rothstein in an episode released on Monday afternoon.

Bacot, who AP named earlier on Monday to its Preseason All-America team, will play his fifth season at UNC this season.

When Rothstein mentioned how dominant Bacot was during Carolina’s run to the 2022 national championship game, that launched Davis into comments about what he needs from the center.

“Armando was dominant, and that is what is required of him — to be dominant on the boards,” Davis said during the episode. “He’s got to be the best rebounder in the country, to dominate in terms of defensively, protecting the paint for us, dominant in terms of scoring in the paint — because not only can he score, he gets teams into foul trouble.

“For us to be the team that we all hope that we can possibly be, Armando has to be dominant in those areas,” Davis said. “And that is his job. And that is not just in the games, but also in practice as well. That’s what we need from him.”

Bacot’s scoring average and rebounding average dipped last season compared to when Carolina made the Final Four, going from a scoring average of 16.3 points to 15.9 and a rebounding average of 8.9 to 6.3.

Rothstein also asked about another important element of that 2022 run: The stretch-four abilities that Brady Manek brought to the team. Davis mentioned that three candidates to fill that role are two transfers — Harrison Ingram from Stanford and Jae’lyn Withers from Louisville — and freshman Zayden High.

Davis said that the Tar Heels will need to check three boxes: win the rebounding battle, play good defense and have fewer turnovers than their opponents, and said that the team is headed in the right direction on all three counts during the preseason.

Davis told Rothstein that he also wants to pick up the tempo from what it was last year, and that freshman Elliot Cadeau should help in that regard.

“He’s just a gifted passer, playmaker,” Davis said of Cadeau. “He sees things that most players don’t see, and he sees things before most players even see things. He brings so much to the table. But, for Elliot, he’s such a team guy he wants and celebrates and thrives off the success of his teammates. He gets more excited helping his teammates be successful as opposed to him scoring.”

Listen to the entire interview here.

---

UNC schedule

Date	Month/day	Opponent/event (final ranks)
	October	Exhibitions
9	7 p.m. Friday, ACCN	vs. USC in Greensboro
18	5 p.m. Sunday	vs. Indiana in Indianapolis
27	7:30 Tuesday, ACCN Extra	vs. Charlotte
	November	Regular season
2	Monday	vs. Western Carolina
6	Friday	vs. Wofford
10	Tuesday	vs. Wyoming
13	Friday	vs. Georgia
20	Friday	vs. Marshall
23	Monday	vs. Monmouth
27	Friday, 7 p.m.	Dick Vitale Invitational vs. West Virginia in Charlotte
	December
1	Tuesday, 7:30, ESPN2	ACC/SEC Challenge vs. No. 13 Arkansas
6	Sunday	vs. Butler
12	Saturday afternoon	at Georgetown
15	7 p.m. Tuesday	Tobacco Road Classic vs. N.C. State in Greensboro
19	2:30 Saturday, CBS	CBS Sports Classic vs. Kentucky in New York
21	Monday	vs. The Citadel
30	Wednesday	vs. California
	January
2	Saturday	at Boston College
5	7 p.m. Tuesday	at Louisville
9	Saturday	vs. N.C. State
13	Wednesday	at Florida State
16	Saturday	vs. Stanford
19	Tuesday	vs. No. 17 Virginia
23	Saturday	at Syracuse
26	Tuesday	vs. SMU
30	Saturday	Nashville Hoops Showdown vs. No. 5 Illinois in Nashville, Tenn.
	February
2	Tuesday	at Notre Dame
6	Saturday	vs. Georgia Tech
8	Monday, 7 p.m, ESPN	vs. Louisville
13	Saturday	at No. 4 Duke
20	Saturday	at Wake Forest
22	Monday, 7 p.m, ESPN	vs. No. 24 Miami
27	Saturday	at Virginia Tech
	March
2	Tuesday	at Pittsburgh
6	Saturday	vs. No. 4 Duke
9–13	Tues.-Sat.	ACC tournament in Greensboro

---

Subscribe to read Tar Heel Tribune ad-free

Subscribe for a cleaner, smoother reading experience without the flashing banners, slow-loading elements, or those especially annoying pop‑up ads that interrupt the flow of the story. You’ll also get the first version of each story emailed to you. The only ads you’ll see are static, non-intrusive ads for UNC‑related books, and there are none currently on the site.

---

---

No.	Class	Player	Pos.	Hgt	Wgt
25	Freshman	Maximo Adams (MAX-ih-mo)	F	6–7	220
30	Freshman	Malloy Smith	G	6–5	180
21	Freshman	Sayon Keita (SIGH-on KAY-tuh)	C	7–0	205
5	Freshman	Kevin Thomas	W	6–6	205
35	Sophomore	Cade Bennerman — U	C	7–0	205
17	Sophomore	Neo Avdalas — W (NEE-oh ahv-DOLL-lus)	G	6–9	220
2	Sophomore	Isaiah Denis	G	6–4	185
3	Sophomore	Matt Able — X	G	6–5	200
22	Junior	Alex Samodurov (SAH-muh-DUHR-off)	C	6–11	225
1	Senior	Terrence Brown — Y	G	6–3	180
4	Senior	Jaydon Young (JAY-din)	G	6–4	200
15	Senior	Jarin Stevenson (JARE-in)	F	6–10	220
14	Graduate	Angelo Brizzi — Z (BRIZZ-ee)	G	6–3	200
54	Graduate	Cameron Fens — V (Fenz)	C	7–0	255
		Walk-ons
99	Junior	John Holbrook — SA	F	6–8	230
32	Senior	Evan Smith	G	6–1	200

V — South Dakota transfer; U — Northwestern transfer; W — Virginia Tech transfer; X — N.C. State transfer; Y — Utah transfer; Z — Buffalo transfer; SA — Holbrook is a designated student-athlete, so he doesn’t count against UNC’s 15-player limit.

Coach Michael Malone’s coaching staff — Associate head coach Chuck Martin; assistant coaches Bryan Tibaldi (tih-BALL-dee), Sean May, Jorge Sanz (HOR-hey sahnth), Pat Sullivan and Brandon Robinson; Director of player development Deon Thompson.

---

Former players at other schools

Player	Class	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	Pacific

---

UNC schedule

Date	Month/day	Opponent/event (final ranks)
	October	Exhibitions
9	7 p.m. Friday, ACCN	vs. USC in Greensboro
18	5 p.m. Sunday	vs. Indiana in Indianapolis
27	7:30 Tuesday, ACCN Extra	vs. Charlotte
	November	Regular season
2	Monday	vs. Western Carolina
6	Friday	vs. Wofford
10	Tuesday	vs. Wyoming
13	Friday	vs. Georgia
20	Friday	vs. Marshall
23	Monday	vs. Monmouth
27	Friday, 7 p.m.	Dick Vitale Invitational vs. West Virginia in Charlotte
	December
1	Tuesday, 7:30, ESPN2	ACC/SEC Challenge vs. No. 13 Arkansas
6	Sunday	vs. Butler
12	Saturday afternoon	at Georgetown
15	7 p.m. Tuesday	Tobacco Road Classic vs. N.C. State in Greensboro
19	2:30 Saturday, CBS	CBS Sports Classic vs. Kentucky in New York
21	Monday	vs. The Citadel
30	Wednesday	vs. California
	January
2	Saturday	at Boston College
5	7 p.m. Tuesday	at Louisville
9	Saturday	vs. N.C. State
13	Wednesday	at Florida State
16	Saturday	vs. Stanford
19	Tuesday	vs. No. 17 Virginia
23	Saturday	at Syracuse
26	Tuesday	vs. SMU
30	Saturday	Nashville Hoops Showdown vs. No. 5 Illinois in Nashville, Tenn.
	February
2	Tuesday	at Notre Dame
6	Saturday	vs. Georgia Tech
8	Monday, 7 p.m, ESPN	vs. Louisville
13	Saturday	at No. 4 Duke
20	Saturday	at Wake Forest
22	Monday, 7 p.m, ESPN	vs. No. 24 Miami
27	Saturday	at Virginia Tech
	March
2	Tuesday	at Pittsburgh
6	Saturday	vs. No. 4 Duke
9–13	Tues.-Sat.	ACC tournament in Greensboro

Photo via @UNC_Basketball