By R.L. Bynum
CHAPEL HILL — Newcomers have injected some important intangibles missing last season into North Carolina’s roster.
During the Tar Heels’ 2022 run to the national championship game, Brady Manek was fiery, didn’t hesitate to call out teammates or throw things in disgust. After nobody filled that role last season, transfers Harrison Ingram (top photo)and Cormac Ryan (below photo) are bringing an intensity level and physical play to the team that’s making a big difference.
While Ryan seems to roll out of bed fired up, Ingram saves it for the games, the next being UNC’s ACC opener at 2 p.m. Saturday (ACC Network) against Florida State (4–2).
“Off the court, [Ryan] is an intense guy, no matter what,” Ingram said. “You see him all the time; he’s always locked in. Whereas me, off the court, I’m very different than on the court. Off the court, I’m very kind of goofy and fun-loving. But on the court, I don’t know, I feel like when the game starts, I just lose myself in the game. I don’t even know what’s going on. I just have to control my emotions sometimes.”
That passion cost Ingram when he picked up a technical foul that contributed to him fouling out of UNC’s 83–81 overtime loss to Villanova on Nov. 23 in the Battle 4 Atlantis semifinals. Considering Ingram has arguably been the Tar Heels’ best player this season, they might be undefeated had he not fouled out of that game.
“I didn’t get the call, and I also had technical foul,” Ingram said. “I think I could have been smarter and used that foul elsewhere. But it was a physical game and we just matched their physicality.”
Ingram admitted that his intensity initially caught new teammates off guard.
“Definitely in practices, at the beginning of the practices, they were a little surprised,” Ingram said. “But I think that’s just become who I am, and they’re kind of used to that. I feel like our team has something to prove.”
Part of the fire that drives Ingram is his perception of how others evaluated his game going into the season.
“I feel like I’ve had something to prove this whole year,” Ingram said. “Coming in, I feel like I was doubted. People don’t think I am as good as I think I am. Every game, I feel like I am coming out with an intensity and a fire that I didn’t have last year.
“In general, we all have a chip on our shoulders,” he said. “From start to finish, we are all coming out with intensity. Even in practice, it’s intense every day. Even [Tuesday], we had a practice and we were going at it, diving on balls a day before a game. I feel like everybody has that intensity. “
Carolina expected Ingram would bring a versatile skill set, but not such prolific perimeter shooting after he made only 31.6% of his 3-point attempts during his two seasons at Stanford.
He leads Tar Heels with at least six attempts in 3-point shooting percentage at 48.5%, and his 16 3-pointers are second only to RJ Davis’ 17 on 16 fewer attempts.
Ingram never scored more than three 3-pointers in a game for Stanford (doing it seven times), but has a career-high four in three games as a Tar Heel, including Wednesday’s 100–92 home victory over No. 10 Tennessee.
Ingram said that the improvement is a combination of his confidence level going up and getting better shots in Carolina’s system.
“I’m not having to take as many off-the-dribble shots as I had to take [at Stanford], last second [of the] shot clock,” Ingram said. “We don’t really get to the last second of the shot clock because we play so fast. I’m more aggressive towards the rim. Most of the 3s are catch-and-shoot type of threes. At Stanford, I’m pretty sure I shot 40 [percent] over my two years on catch-and-shoot 3s, and those are the shots I’m taking mostly here.”
Ingram’s confidence level and the confidence the coaches and his teammates have in him seem to be going up with every impressive performance.
“The way we’re playing or sharing the ball, everyone knows their spots,” Ingram said. “Everyone’s getting their role. We’re still defining roles because we’re still [at the] beginning of the season, a brand new team. I think everybody’s kind of fitting into the role and kind of figuring out where they need to be on the court.”
Not only does Ryan rachet up the intensity level, the 25-year-old imparts helpful tips to his younger teammates that he’s gleaned from years of college basketball experience.
“He was playing college basketball when I was in high school. When he says something, I listen,” Ingram said. “He’s been in the ACC for three or four years now. He was at Stanford before I was. I know that he sees stuff that I might not see just because I’m younger.”
An example of that came during the first half of UNC’s 87–72 win over Arkansas in the Bahamas on Nov. 24 at the end of a time out when they were walking back onto the court.
“I had two turnovers where I turned my back, and I would spin, and they would come get it,” Ingram said.” He told me stop spinning. I stopped spinning in the second half, and it started working.”
And with Ingram on the court, the Tar Heels continue to work opponents at both ends of the court.
NOTES — Armando Bacot leads the ACC in rebounding (11.57 per game), offensive rebounding (3.71) and defensive rebounding (7.86). … Ryan leads the league in free-throw percentage at 95.5% and RJ Davis is third at 93.1%. … Freshman point guard Elliot Cadeau is fourth in the ACC in assist-to-turnover ratio at 3.22 (29 assists, nine turnovers). … In ACC team rankings, UNC leads in scoring offense (87.43), is second in rebounding margin (+6.43), third in scoring margin (+15.14), third in 3-point shooting percentage (43.1%), fourth in offensive (39.57) and defensive (33.14) rebounding per game. … On the ACC Network call of the game will be Wes Durham, Cory Alexander and former Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim. … The Seminoles lost their ACC/SEC Men’s Challenge game on Wednesday at home against Georgia 68–66. … Senior 6–5 guard Daren Green Jr. leads the Seminoles in scoring (14.5 points per game) and 3-point shooting (16 of 42, 38.1%). Redshirt junior 6–5 forward Jamir Watkins averages 13 points and a team-leading 5.8 rebounds. … Florida State has 20 players on its roster. … This is the first time UNC has opened ACC play against the Seminoles since the 2006–07 season. … The Tar Heels are 56–14 in ACC openers, including 62–8 in when they are home games. … Carolina leads the series with FSU 53–16, including 43–15 since the Seminoles joined the ACC for the 1991–92 season, 23–4 in Chapel Hill, 20–4 at the Smith Center and 2–0 under Hubert Davis. UNC has won three of the last four meetings, winning 77–66 at Tallahassee last season. … Carolina gets two days off after the game before facing reigning national champion and No. 4 UConn at Madison Square Garden at 9 p.m. Tuesday. The Huskies (7–1) lost 69–65 at No. 5 Kansas on Friday night.
UNC season statistics
Florida State season statistics
UNC-FSU KenPom comparison
| UNC | Florida State | |
| Overall ranking | 11 | 73 |
| Offensive efficiency | 120.5 (5) | 108.9 (90) |
| Defensive efficiency | 97.2 (37) | 99.3 (65) |
| Effective FG% | 53.0 (83) | 52.7 (95) |
| Turnover % | 13.9 (23) | 17.9 (190) |
| Offensive rebound % | 34.1 (69) | 29.4 (183) |
| FTA/FGA | 46.0 (24) | 34.5 (158) |
| Strength of schedule | 79 | 102 |
| 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 |
Photos via @UNC_Basketball
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