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.
| Date | Month/day | Scores | Opponent/event (current ranks) | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October | ||||
| 24 | Friday | L, 78–76 | vs. BYU in SLC | Exhib. |
| 29 | Wednesday | W, 95–53 | vs. Winston-Salem St. | Exhib. |
| November | ||||
| 3 | Monday | W, 94–54 | vs. Central Arkansas | 1–0 |
| 7 | Friday | W, 87–74 | vs. No. 17 Kansas | 2–0 |
| 11 | Tuesday | W, 89–74 | vs. Radford | 3–0 |
| 14 | Friday | W, 97–53 | vs. N.C. Central | 4–0 |
| 18 | Tuesday | W, 73–61 | vs. Navy | 5–0 |
| Fort Myers Tip-Off | ||||
| 25 | Tuesday | W, 85–70 | vs. St. Bonaventure | 6–0 |
| 27 | Thursday | L, 74–58 | vs. No. 11 Michigan State | 6–1 |
| December | ACC/SEC Men’s Challenge | |||
| 2 | Tuesday | W, 67–64 | at Kentucky | 7–1 |
| ————————— | ||||
| 7 | Sunday | W, 81–61 | vs. Georgetown | 8–1 |
| 13 | Saturday | W, 80–62 | vs. USC Upstate | 9–1 |
| 16 | Tuesday | W, 77–58 | vs. ETSU | 10–1 |
| CBS Sports Classic in Atlanta | ||||
| 20 | Saturday | W, 71–70 | vs. Ohio State | 11–1 |
| ————————— | ||||
| 22 | Monday | W, 99–51 | vs. East Carolina | 12–1 |
| 30 | Tuesday | W, 79–66 | vs. Florida State | 13–1, 1–0 ACC |
| January | ||||
| 3 | Saturday | L, 97–83 | at SMU | 13–2, 1–1 |
| 10 | Saturday | W, 87–84 | vs. Wake Forest | 14–2, 2–1 |
| 14 | Wednesday | L, 95–90 | at Stanford | 14–3, 2–2 |
| 17 | Saturday | L, 84–78 | at California | 14–4, 2–3 |
| 21 | Wednesday | W, 91–69 | vs. Notre Dame | 15–4, 3–3 |
| 24 | Saturday | W, 85–80 | at No. 9 Virginia | 16–4, 4–3 |
| 31 | Saturday | W, 91–75 | at Georgia Tech | 17–4, 5–3 |
| February | ||||
| 2 | Monday | W, 87–77 | vs. Syracuse | 18–4, 6–3 |
| 7 | Saturday | W, 71–68 | vs. No. 1 Duke | 19–4, 7–3 |
| 10 | Tuesday | L, 75–66 | at No. 25 Miami | 19–5, 7–4 |
| 14 | Saturday | W, 79–65 | vs. Pittsburgh | 20–5, 8–4 |
| 17 | Tuesday | L, 82–58 | at N.C. State | 20–6, 8–5 |
| 21 | Saturday | W, 77–64 | at Syracuse | 21–6, 9–5 |
| 23 | Monday | W, 77–74 | vs. Louisville | 22–6, 10–5 |
| 28 | Saturday | W, 89–82 | vs. Virginia Tech | 23–6, 11–5 |
| March | ||||
| 3 | Tuesday | W, 67–63 | vs. Clemson | 24–6, 12–5 |
| 7 | Saturday | L, 76–61 | at No. 1 Duke | 24–7, 12–6 |
| 10–14 | Tues.-Sat. | ACC tournament | Spectrum Center, Charlotte | |
| 12 | Thursday | L, 80–79 | Quarterfinals: vs. Clemson | 24–8 |
| NCAA tournament | ||||
| 19 | Thursday | L, 82–78, OT | First round: vs. VCU in Greenville, S.C. | 24–9 |
Roster assuming all players with eligibility other than Caleb Wilson and the seven players who entered the transfer portal return, which would put UNC three under the 15-player limit. 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 |
| Sophomore | Neoklis Avdalas — W | G | 6–9 | 215 | |
| Sophomore | Isaiah Denis | G | 6–4 | 180 | |
| Sophomore | Matt Able — X | G | 6–6 | 205 | |
| Junior | Maxim Logue — Y | C | 6–9 | 232 | |
| Senior | Terrence Brown — Z | G | 6–3 | 174 | |
| 4 | Senior | Jaydon Young | G | 6–4 | 200 |
| 13 | RS senior | Henri Veesaar | 5 | 7–0 | 225 |
| 15 | Senior | Jarin Stevenson | 4 | 6–10 | 215 |
| Walk-ons | |||||
| 25 | Junior | John Holbrook | 4 | 6–8 | 230 |
| 32 | Senior | Evan Smith | 2 | 6–1 | 195 |
W — Virginia Tech transfer; X — N.C. State transfer; Y — FAU transfer; Z — Utah transfer
In 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 | |
| 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 |
Key offseason dates
April 7 — Transfer portal opened
April 16 — Was the deadline to request an evaluation from the NBA Undergraduate Advisory Committee
Tuesday — Transfer portal closed
11:59 p.m. Friday — NBA early-entry deadline
Sunday — Deadline for UNC players on last season’s roster to enter the transfer portal
May 8–10 — G-League Combine in Chicago
May 10 — NBA Draft Lottery
May 10–17 — NBA Draft Combine in Chicago
May 27 (11:59 p.m.) — NCAA early-entry withdrawal deadline
June 23–24 — NBA draft at Barclays Center in Brooklyn
Nonconference schedule so far
(Other than the ACC/SEC Challenge, games without links revealed from reporting by Alex Rosinski)
(10 of 14 games)
Nov. 2 — vs. Western Carolina
Nov. 6 — vs. Wofford
Nov. 10 — vs. Wyoming
Nov. 13 — vs. Georgia
Nov. 20 — vs. Marshall
Dec. 1 or 2 — vs. SEC team in ACC/SEC Challenge
Dec. 12 — at Georgetown
Dec. 19 — vs. Kentucky in CBS Sports Classic at Madison Square Garden
Dec. 21 — vs. The Citadel
November or December — vs. Butler
Photo by Nell Redmond/theACC.com
