By R.L. Bynum
Seth Trimble and Paxton Wojcik will use jersey numbers that no Carolina men’s basketball player has worn since 1950.
Carolina revealed the Tar Heels’ jersey numbers on Monday. After wearing No. 0 for his freshman season, Trimble, a sophomore guard, will be the first No. 7 since Simon Terrell (later the executive director of the North Carolina High School Athletic Association) from 1948 to 1950. Wojcik, a transfer guard from Brown, will be the first No. 8 since Dick Patterson in the 1949–50 season.
This is the first season that digits 6, 7, 8 and 9 are allowed since the NCAA barred them starting with the 1957–58 season. Last month, the NCAA announced that numbers from 0 to 99 would be permitted. One of the last previous players with one of those numbers was the late Bill Russell, who wore No. 6 at San Francisco.
The only other changes for returning players are for walk-ons who are switching to the numbers their fathers wore at UNC.
Guard Creighton Lebo is going from No. 25 to No. 14, the number his father, assistant coach Jeff Lebo, wore when he played for UNC from 1985 to 1989. Puff Johnson, who wore No. 14 the past two seasons, transferred to Penn State and will wear No. 4 there.
Guard Rob Landry is going from No. 15 to No. 22, which his father, Pearce Landry, wore from 1993 to 1995. Justin McKoy, who transferred to Hawaii, wore that number for the last two seasons. The No. 22 is honored in the Smith Center rafters for York Larese (1958–61), Bob Lewis (1964–67) and Wayne Ellington (2006–09).
The numbers for other newcomers are: No. 1 for freshman forward Zayden High, No. 2 for freshman point guard Elliot Cadeau, No. 3 for Notre Dame fifth-year guard transfer Cormac Ryan, No. 24 for Louisville transfer senior forward Jae’Lyn Withers, No. 32 for West Virginia transfer junior forward James Okonkwo and No. 55 for Stanford transfer junior guard Harrison Ingram.
High picked a number worn mainly by guards, most recently Leaky Black, Theo Pinson, Marcus Ginyard and Melvin Scott.
Cadeau picked a number worn by four other excellent UNC point guards — Raymond Felton, Joel Berry II, Coby White and Caleb Love. Felton and Berry both have their No. 2 jerseys honored.
Ryan will wear the same number worn by Shammond Williams, another outstanding guard. Kennedy Meeks, assistant coach Pat Sullivan and Reyshawn Terry also wore No. 3. Ryan wore No. 5 last season for the Irish. That number, of course, is taken by Armando Bacot, who likely will have his jersey at least honored when his career is over, joining Ty Lawson (2006–09) and Marcus Paige (2012–16).
Withers’ No. 24 was worn last season by Tyler Nickel, who transferred to Virginia Tech. Withers also wore that number at Louisville. It was also recently been worn by Kenny Williams. Before that, Walter Davis, Dante Calabria and Joe Wolf also wore that number. Davis’ jersey is honored.
Nickel and D’Marco Dunn, who transferred to Penn State, will both wear a number next season that they never could have worn for UNC: No. 23.
Okonkwo takes the number Pete Nance wore last season, which he also wore at West Virginia. Recent No. 32s include Luke Maye, Ed Davis and Rashad McCants, but Hall of Famer Billy “The Kangaroo Kid” Cunningham is the most decorated and the number is honored for him.
Ingram will be the first Tar Heel to wear No. 55, which he also wore at Stanford, since Christian Keeling in 2020. Walk-on Wade Moody wore that number in 2013–14. Before that, you have to go back to Matt Wenstrom, who wore that number for three seasons, including for the 1993 national championship team.
UNC schedule
| Date | Month/day | Opponent/event (final ranks) |
|---|---|---|
| October | Exhibitions | |
| 9 | 7 p.m. Friday, ACCN | vs. USC in Greensboro |
| 18 | 5 p.m. Sunday | vs. Indiana in Indianapolis |
| 27 | 7:30 Tuesday, ACCN Extra | vs. Charlotte |
| November | Regular season | |
| 2 | Monday | vs. Western Carolina |
| 6 | Friday | vs. Wofford |
| 10 | Tuesday | vs. Wyoming |
| 13 | Friday | vs. Georgia |
| 20 | Friday | vs. Marshall |
| 23 | Monday | vs. Monmouth |
| 27 | Friday, 7 p.m. | Dick Vitale Invitational vs. West Virginia in Charlotte |
| December | ||
| 1 | Tuesday, 7:30, ESPN2 | ACC/SEC Challenge vs. No. 13 Arkansas |
| 6 | Sunday | vs. Butler |
| 12 | Saturday afternoon | at Georgetown |
| 15 | 7 p.m. Tuesday | Tobacco Road Classic vs. N.C. State in Greensboro |
| 19 | 2:30 Saturday, CBS | CBS Sports Classic vs. Kentucky in New York |
| 21 | Monday | vs. The Citadel |
| 30 | Wednesday | vs. California |
| January | ||
| 2 | Saturday | at Boston College |
| 5 | 7 p.m. Tuesday | at Louisville |
| 9 | Saturday | vs. N.C. State |
| 13 | Wednesday | at Florida State |
| 16 | Saturday | vs. Stanford |
| 19 | Tuesday | vs. No. 17 Virginia |
| 23 | Saturday | at Syracuse |
| 26 | Tuesday | vs. SMU |
| 30 | Saturday | Nashville Hoops Showdown vs. No. 5 Illinois in Nashville, Tenn. |
| February | ||
| 2 | Tuesday | at Notre Dame |
| 6 | Saturday | vs. Georgia Tech |
| 8 | Monday, 7 p.m, ESPN | vs. Louisville |
| 13 | Saturday | at No. 4 Duke |
| 20 | Saturday | at Wake Forest |
| 22 | Monday, 7 p.m, ESPN | vs. No. 24 Miami |
| 27 | Saturday | at Virginia Tech |
| March | ||
| 2 | Tuesday | at Pittsburgh |
| 6 | Saturday | vs. No. 4 Duke |
| 9–13 | Tues.-Sat. | ACC tournament in Greensboro |
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| No. | Class | Player | Pos. | Hgt | Wgt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25 | Freshman | Maximo Adams (MAX-ih-mo) | F | 6–7 | 220 |
| 30 | Freshman | Malloy Smith | G | 6–5 | 180 |
| 21 | Freshman | Sayon Keita (SIGH-on KAY-tuh) | C | 7–0 | 205 |
| 5 | Freshman | Kevin Thomas | W | 6–6 | 205 |
| 35 | Sophomore | Cade Bennerman — U | C | 7–0 | 205 |
| 17 | Sophomore | Neo Avdalas — W (NEE-oh ahv-DOLL-lus) | G | 6–9 | 220 |
| 2 | Sophomore | Isaiah Denis | G | 6–4 | 185 |
| 3 | Sophomore | Matt Able — X | G | 6–5 | 200 |
| 22 | Junior | Alex Samodurov (SAH-muh-DUHR-off) | C | 6–11 | 225 |
| 1 | Senior | Terrence Brown — Y | G | 6–3 | 180 |
| 4 | Senior | Jaydon Young (JAY-din) | G | 6–4 | 200 |
| 15 | Senior | Jarin Stevenson (JARE-in) | F | 6–10 | 220 |
| 14 | Graduate | Angelo Brizzi — Z (BRIZZ-ee) | G | 6–3 | 200 |
| 54 | Graduate | Cameron Fens — V (Fenz) | C | 7–0 | 255 |
| Walk-ons | |||||
| 99 | Junior | John Holbrook — SA | F | 6–8 | 230 |
| 32 | Senior | Evan Smith | G | 6–1 | 200 |
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.
Coach Michael Malone’s coaching staff — Associate head coach Chuck Martin; assistant coaches Bryan Tibaldi (tih-BALL-dee), Sean May, Jorge Sanz (HOR-hey sahnth), Pat Sullivan and Brandon Robinson; Director of player development Deon Thompson.
Former players at other schools
| Player | Class | 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 |
UNC schedule
| Date | Month/day | Opponent/event (final ranks) |
|---|---|---|
| October | Exhibitions | |
| 9 | 7 p.m. Friday, ACCN | vs. USC in Greensboro |
| 18 | 5 p.m. Sunday | vs. Indiana in Indianapolis |
| 27 | 7:30 Tuesday, ACCN Extra | vs. Charlotte |
| November | Regular season | |
| 2 | Monday | vs. Western Carolina |
| 6 | Friday | vs. Wofford |
| 10 | Tuesday | vs. Wyoming |
| 13 | Friday | vs. Georgia |
| 20 | Friday | vs. Marshall |
| 23 | Monday | vs. Monmouth |
| 27 | Friday, 7 p.m. | Dick Vitale Invitational vs. West Virginia in Charlotte |
| December | ||
| 1 | Tuesday, 7:30, ESPN2 | ACC/SEC Challenge vs. No. 13 Arkansas |
| 6 | Sunday | vs. Butler |
| 12 | Saturday afternoon | at Georgetown |
| 15 | 7 p.m. Tuesday | Tobacco Road Classic vs. N.C. State in Greensboro |
| 19 | 2:30 Saturday, CBS | CBS Sports Classic vs. Kentucky in New York |
| 21 | Monday | vs. The Citadel |
| 30 | Wednesday | vs. California |
| January | ||
| 2 | Saturday | at Boston College |
| 5 | 7 p.m. Tuesday | at Louisville |
| 9 | Saturday | vs. N.C. State |
| 13 | Wednesday | at Florida State |
| 16 | Saturday | vs. Stanford |
| 19 | Tuesday | vs. No. 17 Virginia |
| 23 | Saturday | at Syracuse |
| 26 | Tuesday | vs. SMU |
| 30 | Saturday | Nashville Hoops Showdown vs. No. 5 Illinois in Nashville, Tenn. |
| February | ||
| 2 | Tuesday | at Notre Dame |
| 6 | Saturday | vs. Georgia Tech |
| 8 | Monday, 7 p.m, ESPN | vs. Louisville |
| 13 | Saturday | at No. 4 Duke |
| 20 | Saturday | at Wake Forest |
| 22 | Monday, 7 p.m, ESPN | vs. No. 24 Miami |
| 27 | Saturday | at Virginia Tech |
| March | ||
| 2 | Tuesday | at Pittsburgh |
| 6 | Saturday | vs. No. 4 Duke |
| 9–13 | Tues.-Sat. | ACC tournament in Greensboro |
Photo via @UNC_Basketball
