By R.L. Bynum
North Carolina will play a preseason exhibition men’s basketball game at Memphis on Oct. 15 as part of the inaugural Hoops for St. Jude Tip Off Classic at the FedEx Forum to benefit St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
The Tar Heels’ charity game with the Tigers will start at 7 p.m. ET and air on ESPNU. It’s the first game of a doubleheader, with the Memphis women taking on reigning national champion South Carolina at 9:30 p.m.
UNC and Memphis have never played in men’s basketball.
Tickets go on sale at 11 a.m. ET Saturday and can be purchased here. You can donate to St. Jude on behalf of UNC here.
Both teams were in the Bahamas at the Battle 4 Atlantis last season and will play in the Maui Classic in November, but couldn’t be matched up until the event’s third day.
Coach Penny Hardaway’s program, which finished 22–10 last season, faces charges of potential recruiting and academic violations. The school sent a letter to the NCAA last week alleging major violations.
The Tigers lost their top six scorers from last season’s team that didn’t make the NCAA tournament, finished fifth in the American Athletic Conference and lost in the first round of the league tournament.
Among the players who Memphis snagged in the transfer portal are 7–0 graduate center Mousa Cisse of Ole Miss, 6–4 redshirt senior guard Colby Rogers of Wichita State, 6–3 redshirt sophomore point guard P.J. Haggerty of Tulsa and 6–9 redshirt senior center Dain Dainja of Illinois.
Carolina is 4–0 in the FedEx Forum, all NCAA tournament games. The last two wins came in the NCAA South Regional in 2017 on the way to the national championship. Luke Maye’s shot on March 26, 2017, earned a 75–73 victory over Kentucky to earn a Final Four berth. In the regional semifinal, Maye had 16 points and 12 rebounds off the bench in a 92–80 win over Butler.
On UNC’s way to winning the 2009 national title, the Tar Heels won two games at the FedEx Forum in the South Regional, beating Gonzaga 98–77 and Oklahoma 72–60.
The Tar Heels will play Johnson C. Smith in an exhibition at the Smith Center on Oct. 27 before opening the season against Elon on Nov. 4.
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| 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 |
| Sophomore | 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 | |
| Junior | Alexandros Samodurov | C | 6–11 | 212 | |
| 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, Jorge Sanz, 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 | 7 p.m. Friday | 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 | Dick Vitale Invitational 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 | Tobacco Road Classic 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 | Nashville Hoops Showdown 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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