By R.L. Bynum
Among the many reasons North Carolina’s men’s basketball team often struggled last season was its inability to defend ball screens.
The No. 19 Tar Heels, who open the season at 7 p.m. Monday at the Smith Center against Radford (ACC Network), have the versatility to handle screens better this season and, at least in the 117–53 exhibition victory over Division II St. Augustine’s, took a dramatically different approach.
UNC’s adjusted defensive efficiency last season (97.2), according to kenpom.com, was ranked No. 46 in the country. It was the worst showing since Carolina went 14–19 (No. 94 ranked, 98.4) in 2019–20 and would have missed the NCAA tournament had it been played.
Since the infamous 8–20 season in 2001–02 (No. 174, 101.7), the only other UNC teams ranked lower than 39 were in 2014–15 (51, 96.0) and 2012–13 (55, 94.9).
Radford (21–15 last season) at No. 19 North Carolina (20–13)
7 p.m. Monday | ACC Network
Going from 6–10 Pete Nance to versatile Stanford junior transfer Harrison Ingram at the four spot gives Coach Hubert Davis many more options.
In the exhibition, UNC switched on screens at every position except for fifth-year center Armando Bacot, who was aggressively hedging in those situations. The approach was productive in the exhibition against a much less talented opponent but also seems to have the potential to work against stiffer competition.
“This year, we’ve got a lot of athleticism on the wing and at the four position, too,” Bacot said. “With Pete, we could definitely switch, too. But he was also such a good shot blocker, so we wanted to have him around the rim.”
In addition to the 6–7 Ingram, two 6–9 frontcourt reserves — Louisville transfer Jae’lyn Withers and freshman Zayden High — can guard anybody on the court.
“We also realize we can switch more on the guards and trust them guarding out there,” Bacot said. “So it’s great having those athletic small guys.”
Notre Dame transfer Cormac Ryan is a dogged defender, as is senior guard RJ Davis and freshman guard Elliot Cadeau.
With Bacot in the lane, Carolina appeared to play a good bit of the “no middle defense” that Baylor used during its Final Four run in 2021 that works to prevent drives to the basket.
Only 14 of St. Augustine’s 53 points came inside, and the Falcons had no second-chance points.
All of that was, of course, against a Division II team. But if the Tar Heels keep that approach, it should make them more efficient on the defensive and against better competition.
NOTES — UNC is 101–12 in season openers and has won 18 in a row since the Santa Clara loss in Oakland, Calf., to start the 2004–05 season. … Carolina hasn’t lost a home opener since falling to Hampton to start the 8–20 season in 2001-02. … Ryan is 25. Six former UNC players in the NBA are younger: Cole Anthony (23), Leaky Black (24), Walker Kessler (22), Nassir Little (23), Day’Ron Sharpe (21) and Coby White (23). … RJ Davis enters the season shooting 85.0% from the free-throw line, which is the best career percentage in program history, topping the 84.8% of Shammond Williams (1994–98). … This is the third meeting with Radford. UNC beat the Highlanders 101–58 in the first round of the NCAA tournament on its way to the 2009 national championship and also won 95–50 in the Smith Center on Dec. 4, 2016. … In online rankings, Radford is No. 168 on kenpom.com, No. 152 on barttorvik.com and No. 176 on teamrankings.com. … Radford, which went 21–15 last season and lost 63–56 to Charlotte in the College Basketball Invitational semifinals, is picked to finish second in the Big South. The Highlanders beat Division III Mary Baldwin in a Nov. 1 exhibition game 114–54. … Radford has eight program wins over Power Five schools, including a 62–59 victory at No. 17 Texas on Nov. 11, 2018. … Redshirt senior 6–1 guard DaQuan Smith (led the team in scoring last season at 13.9 points per game) and senior 6–5 guard Bryan Antoine (11.9) made the preseason All-Big South team. … Wes Durham and Dan Bonner will be on the ACC Network call of the game. … Pete Chilcutt, one of four former UNC stars who will be filling in for Eric Montross this season, will be the analyst on the Tar Heel Sports Network for Monday’s game.
| Date | Month/day | Score | Opponent/event (current ranks) | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October | ||||
| 27 | Friday | W, 117–53 | vs. St. Augustine’s | Exhibition |
| November | ||||
| 6 | Monday | W, 86–70 | vs. Radford | 1–0 |
| 12 | Sunday | W, 90–68 | vs. Lehigh | 2–0 |
| 17 | Friday | W, 77–52 | vs. UC Riverside | 3–0 |
| Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas | ||||
| 22 | Wednesday | W, 91–69 | Northern Iowa | 4–0 |
| 23 | Thursday | L, 83–81, OT | Villanova | 4–1 |
| 24 | Friday | W, 87–72 | Arkansas | 5–1 |
| ACC/SEC Men’s Challenge | ||||
| 29 | Wednesday | W, 100–92 | vs. No. 6 Tennessee | 6–1 |
| December | ||||
| 2 | Saturday | W, 78–70 | vs. Florida State | 7–1, 1–0 ACC |
| Jimmy V Classic in New York | ||||
| 5 | Tuesday | L, 87–67 | No. 1 Connecticut | 7–2 |
| CBS Sports Classic in Atlanta | ||||
| 16 | Saturday | L, 87–83 | No. 12 Kentucky | 7–3 |
| Jumpman Invitational in Charlotte | ||||
| 20 | Wednesday | W, 81–69 | Oklahoma | 8–3 |
| ————————— | ||||
| 29 | Friday | W, 105–60 | vs. Charleston Southern | 9–3 |
| January | ||||
| 2 | Tuesday | W, 70–57 | at Pittsburgh | 10–3, 2–0 ACC |
| 6 | Saturday | W, 65–55 | at Clemson | 11–3, 3–0 ACC |
| 10 | Wednesday | W, 67–54 | at N.C. State | 12–3, 4–0 ACC |
| 13 | Saturday | W, 103–67 | vs. Syracuse | 13–3, 5–0 ACC |
| 17 | Wednesday | W, 86–70 | vs. Louisville | 14–3, 6–0 ACC |
| 20 | Saturday | W, 76–66 | vs. Boston College | 15–3, 7–0 ACC |
| 22 | Monday | W, 85–64 | vs. Wake Forest | 16–3, 8–0 ACC |
| 27 | Saturday | W, 75–68 | at Florida State | 17–3, 9–0 ACC |
| 30 | Tuesday | L, 74–73 | at Georgia Tech | 17–4, 9–1 ACC |
| February | ||||
| 3 | Saturday | W, 93–84 | vs. No. 13 Duke | 18–4, 10–1 ACC |
| 6 | Tuesday | L, 80–76 | vs. Clemson | 18–5, 10–2 ACC |
| 10 | Saturday | W, 75–72 | at Miami | 19–5, 11–2 ACC |
| 13 | Tuesday | L, 86–79 | at Syracuse | 19–6, 11–3 ACC |
| 17 | Saturday | W, 96–81 | vs. Virginia Tech | 20–6, 12–3 ACC |
| 24 | Saturday | W, 54–44 | at Virginia | 21–6, 13–3 ACC |
| 26 | Monday | W, 75–71 | vs. Miami | 22–6, 14–3 ACC |
| March | ||||
| 2 | Saturday | W, 79–70 | vs. N.C. State | 23–6, 15–3 ACC |
| 5 | Tuesday | W, 84–51 | vs. Notre Dame | 24–6, 16–3 ACC |
| 9 | Saturday | W, 84–79 | at No. 13 Duke | 25–6, 17–3 ACC |
| ACC tournament Washington | ||||
| 14 | Thursday | W, 92–67 | Quarterfinals: Florida State | 26–6 |
| 15 | Friday | W, 72–65 | Semifinals: Pittsburgh | 27–6 |
| 16 | Saturday | L, 84–76 | Final: N.C. State | 27–7 |
| NCAA tournament | ||||
| 21 | Thursday | W, 90–62 | First round in Charlotte: Wagner | 28–7 |
| 23 | Saturday | W, 85–69 | Second round in Charlotte: Michigan State | 29–7 |
| 28 | Thursday | L, 89–87 | Sweet 16 in Los Angeles: No. 19 Alabama | 29–8 |
Key events, dates
Saturday, April 27, was the deadline for players to submit their names to the NBA draft
Wednesday — Deadline for players to enter the transfer portal
May 11–12 — NBA G League Elite Camp in Chicago
May 12–19 — NBA Combine in Chicago
May 17–19 — Evaluation for high school players at NCAA-certified events (EYBL in Indianapolis is one of those)
May 29 at 11:59 p.m. — Deadline to withdraw from NBA draft and maintain college eligibility
June 16 at 5 p.m. — Deadline to withdraw from the NBA draft
UNC schedule so far
Nov. 8 — at Kansas (final AP rank No. 20; final NET ranking No. 19)
Nov. 22 — at Hawaii (final NET ranking No. 172)
Nov. 25–27 — Maui Invitational — Auburn (final AP rank No. 18; final NET ranking No. 5), Colorado (unranked; No. 25), Connecticut (No. 1; No. 2), Dayton (No. 24; No. 23), Iowa State (No. 8; No. 6), Memphis (unranked; No. 75), Michigan State (unranked; No. 24)
Dec. 14 — vs. La Salle (final NET ranking No. 195)
Likely in late November — Opponent TBA in ACC/SEC Challenge
December — vs. UCLA (final NET ranking No. 107) in CBS Sports Classic (date, location TBA)
December — vs. Florida (final NET ranking No. 29) in Jumpman Invitational at Charlotte’s Spectrum Center (date TBA)
— Games home and away against Duke, N.C. State and Pittsburgh
— Home games vs. Boston College, California, Georgia Tech, Miami, SMU, Stanford and Virginia
— Road games vs. Clemson, Florida State, Louisville, Notre Dame, Syracuse, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest
Note: 2024 NCAA tournament teams are in bold.
Potential 2024-25 UNC roster
| No. | Class | Player | Pos. | Hgt | Wgt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | Freshman | James Brown (4 star) | 5 | 6–8 | 225 |
| — | Freshman | Ian Jackson (5 star) | 2 | 6–4 | 180 |
| — | Freshman | Drake Powell (5 star) | 2 | 6–5 | 185 |
| 2 | Soph. | Elliot Cadeau | PG | 6–1 | 180 |
| 1 | Soph. | Zayden High | 4 | 6–9 | 225 |
| — | Junior | Cade Tyson | 3 | 6–7 | 203 |
| 13 | Junior | Jalen Washington | 5 | 6–10 | 230 |
| 0 | Junior | Seth Trimble | 2 | 6–3 | 195 |
| 5 | Graduate | RJ Davis | PG | 6–0 | 180 |
| Eligible for fifth season | |||||
| 24 | Graduate | Jae’Lyn Withers | 4 | 6–9 | 215 |
| Walk-ons eligible for 5th season | |||||
| 14 | Graduate | Creighton Lebo | PG | 6–1 | 180 |
| 22 | Graduate | Rob Landry | 2 | 6–4 | 190 |
Photo via @UNC_Basketball
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