UNC’s rebooted style, powered by newcomers, promises to be entertaining, more successful

R.L. Bynum,

By R.L. Bynum

CHARLOTTE — Not only will Carolina’s roster be drastically different this season, with numerous potential lineup combinations, but a rebooted style of play has players excited. Armando Bacot says that the offense is “completely different.”

The five transfers and two freshmen give Coach Hubert Davis plenty of options that some may not expect, depending on the opponent.

“We’ve kind of really changed up everything, and I think it’d be fun for the fans to see because it’s a lot of fun-style offense, and there’s more movement and a lot of guys getting involved,” Bacot said. “We’ve added a lot of secondary stuff again, kind of what we ran the first year — but with a twist a little bit — so it’ll be great.”

In No. 19 UNC’s easy win in a closed scrimmage on Saturday, No. 10 Florida Atlantic started four guards. In that case, RJ Davis said he started with Bacot, Notre Dame transfer Cormac Ryan, Stanford transfer Harrison Ingram and Brown transfer Paxson Wojcik.

RJ Davis said that the preseason vibe has been overwhelmingly positive.

“I think what makes that vibe feel that way is because I think the new players — the transfers, the freshmen — they’re excited to play here, and they’re excited to put that jersey on and run out that tunnel.”

Davis says there was plenty to be happy about with the scrimmage, in which UNC reportedly won 79–63 against an Owls team that made the Final Four last season.

“The ball movement was there; we were there with the defensive rotation,” he said. “So, it was definitely encouraging because you can see the potential that we have.”

There was a lot of angst last season from UNC fans about the small rotation, which ultimately contributed to six players transferring. While it was a jolt to fans to see many people leave, Bacot said he could sense toward the end of the season that several would move on.

“I kind of expected a lot of it,” he said. “For some of the guys, you can kind of get a feel like they would transfer. It’s just great that they all got to go where they wanted it to be and not have to be at UNC if they didn’t want to be here. I think they all are in good situations, and they’ll all excel.”

Hubert Davis always says that the players determine the rotation by how they play in practice and follow up those performances in games. Bacot says that he could see the Tar Heels going to an eight-to-10 player rotation if players are “doing what they’re told” and are effective.

“Judging off the first scrimmage, I think we’ll go pretty deep. That’s what it feels like,” Bacot said, adding that sophomore Jalen Washington and freshman Zayden High will play a lot, and West Virginia transfer James Okonkwo will also get his minutes. “I definitely think my minutes would go down a lot, which I don’t have a problem with.”

Could a Blue team with five new players entering the game at once? RJ Davis suggested that it’s possible.

“We have a lot of great players who are able to play a lot with minutes, and I think that’s what’s so good because it makes it such a dynamic team,” he said. “You can have a starting five in and then have a new fresh five come in and ready to impact the game as well. I don’t know how the rotation may look, but I definitely see that we go deep this year.”

Bacot says that coaches frequently have pushed during the preseason for more post-entry passes.

“The coaches, they’ve been making a huge emphasis on it,” Bacot said. “So, it’s really the guards’ and the wings’ job is to give me the ball. I think I’ll probably get a lot more shots this year.”

On a podcast earlier this week, Coach Davis said that he needs Bacot to dominant, and the fifth-year center embraces that sentiment.

“I think I can do it,” Bacot said. “That’s been a message, and I think that’s why they’ve been on me so hard. I think they want me to dominate every game and just be the best that I can be. I love it, because that’s what I want to do. Just them continuing pushing that in my head, I think it’ll definitely work out. I want to do it, and it’ll help me out to get to my goals and dreams.”

There are plenty of other differences in UNC’s style this season, thanks to plenty of guard talent with Ryan and freshman Elliot Cadeau joining RJ Davis and Seth Trimble.

“I think there will definitely be a lot of ball momentum,” Bacot said. “You add an Elliot Cadeau and the way he can really move the ball and get everybody involved? I think he’s gonna play a huge role in building a great continuity with everybody in terms of sharing the ball and creating movement and getting a lot of guys involved.”

The ball got stuck a lot in the half-court offense last season, but don’t expect that to happen much this season. The style didn’t look like what fans expect from UNC but RJ Davis said that it will be different this season.

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“I think we’re getting back into Carolina in terms of the pace running in transition, getting the ball out and running,” he said. “I also think the ball movement is going to be there this year. We have a lot of players who are able to space the floor out and not have to rely on Mondo in double-teams or triple-teams each game.”

Having more good 3-point shooters, including Ryan and Wojcik, will also help Carolina spread the floor.

RJ Davis says that having more playmakers — including Trimble, Ingram and Ryan — will help UNC get the ball up quickly.

“I think that will be different from last year in terms of playmaking ability and kind of spread the floor out,” he said.

All of that promises to add up to produce a fun team to watch, and one likely to win more.

DateMonth/dayTimeOpponent/event
(current ranks)		TV/
record
October
24FridayL, 78–76vs. No. 10 BYU in SLCExhib.
29WednesdayW, 95–53vs. Winston-Salem St.Exhib.
November
3MondayW, 94–54vs. Central Arkansas1–0
7FridayW, 87–74vs. No. 17 Kansas2–0
11TuesdayW, 89–74vs. Radford3–0
14FridayW, 97–53vs. N.C. Central4–0
18TuesdayW, 73–61vs. Navy5–0
Fort Myers Tip-Off
25TuesdayW, 85–70vs. St. Bonaventure6–0
27ThursdayL, 74–58vs. No. 9 Michigan State6–1
DecemberACC/SEC
Men’s Challenge
2TuesdayW, 67–64at Kentucky7–1
—————————
7SundayW, 81–61vs. Georgetown8–1
13SaturdayW, 80–62vs. USC Upstate9–1
16TuesdayW, 77–58vs. ETSU10–1
CBS Sports Classic
in Atlanta
20SaturdayW, 71–70vs. Ohio State11–1
—————————
22MondayW, 99–51vs. East Carolina12–1
30Tuesday7 p.m.vs. Florida StateESPN2
January
3Saturday2:15at SMUThe CW
10Saturday6 p.m.vs. Wake ForestACCN
14Wednesday9 p.m.at StanfordACCN
17Saturday4 p.m.at CaliforniaACCN
21Wednesday7 p.m.vs. Notre DameESPN2
24Saturday2 or 2:30at No. 21 VirginiaESPN or
ESPNU
31Saturday2 p.m.at Georgia TechACCN
February
2Monday7 p.m.vs. SyracuseESPN
7Saturday6:30vs. No. 6 DukeESPN
10Tuesday7 p.m.at MiamiESPN or
ESPN2
14Saturday2 p.m.vs. PittsburghESPN
17Tuesday7 p.m.at N.C. StateESPN or
ESPN2
21Saturday1 p.m.at SyracuseABC
23Monday7 p.m.vs. No. 16 LouisvilleESPN
28Saturday6:30 or 8:30vs. Virginia TechESPN or
ESPN2
March
3Tuesday7 p.m.vs. ClemsonESPN or
ESPN2
7Saturday6:30at No. 6 DukeESPN
10–14Tues.-Sat.ACC
tournament		Spectrum Center,
Charlotte
No.ClassPlayerPos.HgtWgt
8FreshmanCaleb Wilson (5 star)46–10215
5FreshmanIsaiah Denis (4 star)CG6–4180
3FreshmanDerek Dixon (4 star)CG6–5200
40SophomoreIvan Matlekovic57–0255
11SophomoreJonathan PowellG6–6190
2SophomoreJames Brown 56–10240
1SophomoreZayden High46–10230
44JuniorLuca Bogavac
(BO-guh-VAHTS)		W6–6215
4JuniorJaydon Young26–4200
13RS juniorHenri Veesaar
(VEH-sar)		57–0225
0JuniorKyan Evans16–2175
15JuniorJarin Stevenson46–10215
7SeniorSeth Trimble26–3200
Walk-ons
25SophomoreJohn Holbrook46–8230
32JuniorEvan Smith26–1195
6RS seniorElijah Davis26–3205

Former UNC players who transferred

PlayerClass next seasonPos.HgtWgtNext school
Elliot CadeauJuniorPG6–1180Michigan
Jalen WashingtonSeniorC6–10235Vanderbilt
Ian JacksonSophomoreG6–4190St. John’s
Cade TysonSeniorF6–7200Minnesota
Ven-Allen LubinSeniorC6–8230N.C. State
DateMonth/dayTimeOpponent/event
(current ranks)		TV/
record
October
24FridayL, 78–76vs. No. 10 BYU in SLCExhib.
29WednesdayW, 95–53vs. Winston-Salem St.Exhib.
November
3MondayW, 94–54vs. Central Arkansas1–0
7FridayW, 87–74vs. No. 17 Kansas2–0
11TuesdayW, 89–74vs. Radford3–0
14FridayW, 97–53vs. N.C. Central4–0
18TuesdayW, 73–61vs. Navy5–0
Fort Myers Tip-Off
25TuesdayW, 85–70vs. St. Bonaventure6–0
27ThursdayL, 74–58vs. No. 9 Michigan State6–1
DecemberACC/SEC
Men’s Challenge
2TuesdayW, 67–64at Kentucky7–1
—————————
7SundayW, 81–61vs. Georgetown8–1
13SaturdayW, 80–62vs. USC Upstate9–1
16TuesdayW, 77–58vs. ETSU10–1
CBS Sports Classic
in Atlanta
20SaturdayW, 71–70vs. Ohio State11–1
—————————
22MondayW, 99–51vs. East Carolina12–1
30Tuesday7 p.m.vs. Florida StateESPN2
January
3Saturday2:15at SMUThe CW
10Saturday6 p.m.vs. Wake ForestACCN
14Wednesday9 p.m.at StanfordACCN
17Saturday4 p.m.at CaliforniaACCN
21Wednesday7 p.m.vs. Notre DameESPN2
24Saturday2 or 2:30at No. 21 VirginiaESPN or
ESPNU
31Saturday2 p.m.at Georgia TechACCN
February
2Monday7 p.m.vs. SyracuseESPN
7Saturday6:30vs. No. 6 DukeESPN
10Tuesday7 p.m.at MiamiESPN or
ESPN2
14Saturday2 p.m.vs. PittsburghESPN
17Tuesday7 p.m.at N.C. StateESPN or
ESPN2
21Saturday1 p.m.at SyracuseABC
23Monday7 p.m.vs. No. 16 LouisvilleESPN
28Saturday6:30 or 8:30vs. Virginia TechESPN or
ESPN2
March
3Tuesday7 p.m.vs. ClemsonESPN or
ESPN2
7Saturday6:30at No. 6 DukeESPN
10–14Tues.-Sat.ACC
tournament		Spectrum Center,
Charlotte

Photo by Nell Redmond/theACC.com

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Published by R.L. Bynum

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