By R.L. Bynum
CHAPEL HILL — It will quickly become evident to Carolina fans that Harrison Ingram is a versatile player who can help the Tar Heels in many ways.
If you don’t believe it, just ask him.
“The best part of my game is my versatility,” said the 6–7, 235-pound junior transfer from Stanford after starting UNC’s 117–54 exhibition victory Friday over Division II St. Augustine’s.
You might suggest that Ingram fills the stretch-four role of Brady Manek for UNC’s Four Four team two seasons ago. He can fill that role, but his game will give the Tar Heels much more.
“I think it’s doing a bit little everything,” said Ingram, who has quickly put into practice the Carolina tradition of pointing to the passer to thank him. “I’ll be in a stretch-four role. I’ll be in a defensive role. I’ll be in a playmaking role. I’ll be in a scoring role, a posting-up role.”
Watching him answer reporters’ questions after the game, you could tell he’s full of energy and excited about playing at Carolina. The same energy will make him a productive part of how UNC becomes a successful team.
“This is like a dream come true,” said Ingram, a Dallas product who was thrilled to have his parents in the Smith Center on Friday. “Playing North Carolina basketball? You can’t get higher than that.”
Ingram, the 2022 Pac-12 Freshman of the Year and a former McDonald’s All-American, is on the 20-player watch list for the Julius Erving Award given to the country’s top small forward. He was ESPN’s No. 22-ranked player in the high school Class of 2021.
Ingram says that the entire team’s intensity on Friday night was no surprise because every player shows their passion daily in practice. He calls the competitiveness “crazy,” suggesting you can only appreciate it if you were to come out and watch it.
“We get into it,” Ingram said. “We have a lot of people who like to talk — like me — I like to talk a lot. Elliot [Cadeau], Zayden [High], Armando [Bacot], we’re always on different teams. So, every day, we’re getting into it. We never cross the line, but we get right up to that line. Every day, if you don’t show up, you’re gonna get killed.”
In the exhibition, Ingram saw that intensity channeled into on the ball and off the ball on defense, with excellent ball movement and a lot of sharing the ball on offense.
“Y’all haven’t seen the half of it,” said Ingram, who scored a career-high 24 points last season on Nov. 24 against Ole Miss. “We didn’t run half of our plays out there. It’s coming. We’re coming. We’re coming for everybody, I promise.”
His numbers during the exhibition win hint the areas he can help: 16 points, 6 of 11 from the floor, with nine rebounds, three assists and three blocks in only 25 minutes. Ingram scored a pair of 3-pointers and hit a career-high of three seven times at Stanford.
“I try to be perfect. I can’t tell you that on camera,” said Ingram, who was, of course, on camera in the below embedded video.
Ingram suggested that the playbook fits his diverse skill set.
“Of all the plays we have, I have touches in the paint, I have touches outside, I’m setting the screen, I’m using the screen, I’m decoy,” Ingram said.
Just don’t ask him what his best position might be. He doesn’t have an answer.
“You put me on the court, I’ll make it work,” Ingram said. “If you want me to post up, you want me to guard the best player? On this team, I don’t have to do as much on the offensive end, so I can really show my defensive ability. I feel like I was showing that [Friday]. Just showing people that I can guard for full court, and I pick up one through five, and I can lock people down.”
In two seasons at Stanford, he averaged 14.2 points, shot 39.8% from the floor, 31.6% from 3-point range and averaged 8.5 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game.
“I feel like my shooting has been under the radar,” Ingram said. “I know that, at Stanford, the shots I would shoot were a lot tougher than shots I’m getting here. I’m getting good catch-and-shoot 3s from good playmakers like Elliot and RJ [Davis]. I’m getting easier shots.”
Playing in the system Coach Hubert Davis has gone to this season, Ingram says he expects his 3-point shooting percentage to increase. It helps that opposing teams will pay so much attention to fifth-year center Armando Bacot.
“He’s a monster,” Ingram said. “Going inside, they double him; I get wide-open shots, wide-open touch shots, wide-open 3s in the corner. Everything just becomes so much easier.”
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He thinks spacing and ball movement will make perimeter shooting easier for the entire team. Ingram wasn’t surprised that the Tar Heels made eight of their first 10 3-point attempts against St. Augustine’s.
“Those are all easy shots for us,” Ingram said. “It’s so much easier to shoot when someone passes you than to dribble.”
Ingram said he is enjoying the faster tempo Carolina is revving up this season.
“We want teams to know when they see that North Carolina game on the schedule, and they see our bus, and they see our plane when we get there, they know they have to run,” Ingram said.
“We’re trying to run, [when a] team scores, we’re getting out quick, we’re pushing it,” Ingram said. “We’re all trying to turn everything into a primary break and Coach tells us, if we see we see an advantage, take it. Shoot open shots. Everyone has confidence.
And the Carolina team is quickly becoming confident that Ingram will be a major factor in the Tar Heels rebounding from last season’s frustrations.
Schedule revealed so far
| Date | Month/day | Opponent/event (final ranks) |
|---|---|---|
| October | ||
| 9 | Friday, 7 p.m. | vs. USC in Greensboro (exhibition) |
| 18 | Sunday | vs. Indiana in Indianapolis (exhibition) |
| November | ||
| 2 | Monday | vs. Western Carolina |
| 6 | Friday | vs. Wofford |
| 10 | Tuesday | vs. Wyoming |
| 13 | Friday | vs. Georgia |
| 20 | Friday | vs. Marshall |
| 27 | Friday | vs. West Virginia in Charlotte |
| December | ||
| 1 | Tuesday | ACC/SEC Challenge vs. No. 13 Arkansas |
| 6 | Sunday | vs. Butler |
| 12 | Saturday | at Georgetown |
| 15 | Tuesday (date tentative) | vs. N.C. State in Greensboro |
| 19 | 2:30 Saturday | CBS Sports Classic vs. Kentucky in New York |
| 21 | Monday | vs. The Citadel |
| January | ||
| 30 | Saturday | vs. No. 5 Illinois in Nashville, Tenn. |
ACC games
Home and away: Duke and Louisville
Home only: California, Georgia Tech, Miami, N.C. State, SMU, Stanford and Virginia
Away only: Boston College, Florida State, Notre Dame, Pitt, Syracuse, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest
| 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 — U | C | 7–0 | 205 | |
| Sophomore | Neoklis Avdalas — W | G | 6–9 | 215 | |
| Sophomore | Isaiah Denis | G | 6–4 | 180 | |
| Sophomore | Matt Able — X | G | 6–5 | 196 | |
| 1 | Senior | Terrence Brown — Y | G | 6–3 | 174 |
| 4 | Senior | Jaydon Young | G | 6–4 | 200 |
| 15 | Senior | Jarin Stevenson | F | 6–10 | 215 |
| Graduate | Angelo Brizzi — Z | G | 6–3 | 193 | |
| Graduate | Cameron Fens — V | C | 7–0 | 255 | |
| Walk-ons | |||||
| 25 | Junior | John Holbrook — SA | F | 6–8 | 230 |
| 32 | Senior | Evan Smith | G | 6–1 | 195 |
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.
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 entered 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 | Pacific |
| Seth Trimble | Graduate | G | 6–3 | 200 | Louisville |
Schedule revealed so far
| Date | Month/day | Opponent/event (final ranks) |
|---|---|---|
| October | ||
| 9 | Friday, 7 p.m. | vs. USC in Greensboro (exhibition) |
| 18 | Sunday | vs. Indiana in Indianapolis (exhibition) |
| November | ||
| 2 | Monday | vs. Western Carolina |
| 6 | Friday | vs. Wofford |
| 10 | Tuesday | vs. Wyoming |
| 13 | Friday | vs. Georgia |
| 20 | Friday | vs. Marshall |
| 27 | Friday | vs. West Virginia in Charlotte |
| December | ||
| 1 | Tuesday | ACC/SEC Challenge vs. No. 13 Arkansas |
| 6 | Sunday | vs. Butler |
| 12 | Saturday | at Georgetown |
| 15 | Tuesday (date tentative) | vs. N.C. State in Greensboro |
| 19 | 2:30 Saturday | CBS Sports Classic vs. Kentucky in New York |
| 21 | Monday | vs. The Citadel |
| January | ||
| 30 | Saturday | vs. No. 5 Illinois in Nashville, Tenn. |
ACC games
Home and away: Duke and Louisville
Home only: California, Georgia Tech, Miami, N.C. State, SMU, Stanford and Virginia
Away only: Boston College, Florida State, Notre Dame, Pitt, Syracuse, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest
Photo via @UNC_Basketball
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