By R.L. Bynum

Brigham Young forward Kanon Catchings visited North Carolina on Friday but committed to Georgia on Sunday, according to multiple reports.

That bad news for UNC soon wasn’t so bad. Another Carolina target, Alabama transfer forward Jarin Stevenson, who grew up in Chatham County and played at Seaforth High School, committed to the Tar Heels on Sunday night, according to multiple reports.

When Catchings, who has also visited Georgia, committed to BYU, the four-star recruit out of Brownsburg, Ind., was the highest-rated player pick the Cougars in that program’s history at 37th, according to ESPN. He initially committed to Purdue during his sophomore year in high school.

Once projected to be a first-round pick in this June’s NBA draft, Catchings started and averaged 25 minutes per game over the first 14 games. He never started after Jan. 11, and only averaged 11 minutes over the last 17 games, playing fewer than 10 minutes in seven games.

His best game last season was when he came off the bench on Jan. 28 to score 23 points, making all eight shots — including three 3-pointers — in a 93–89 overtime victory over Baylor. He became the only Division I freshman this century to be perfect from the field and the free-throw line with at least eight field-goal attempts, at least four 3-point attempts, and at least three free-throw attempts.

Catchings scored multiple 3-pointers 10 times — including in a 72–61 Nov. 29 win over N.C. State — at least three seven times, at least four five times and a season-high five in a 96–85 overtime loss to Ole Miss on Nov. 28. He had 43 3-pointers for the season, shooting 35%.

He had 18 steals and 13 blocks. The negative statistics were that he only shot 58.7% at the free throw line and had 21 assists against 24 turnovers.

His mother Tauja played at Illinois and was picked in the 2000 WNBA draft, his grandfather Harvey played 11 seasons in the NBA, and his aunt Tamika won four Olympic gold medals, was named WNBA MVP, and was a 10-time All-Star for the Indiana Fever.

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Catchings’ season-highs

Category	Value	Date	Opponent
Assists	3	Dec. 20	Florida A&M
Blocks	3	Nov. 5	Central Ark.
Steals	3	Jan. 18	Utah
3-pointerse	5	Nov. 28	Ole Miss
Free throws	5	Feb. 11	West Virginia
FT attempts	7	Nov. 16	Idaho
Rebounds	7	Dec. 3	Providence
Field goals	8	Jan. 28	Baylor
3-point attempts	11	Nov. 5	Central Ark.
FG attempts	14	Nov. 28	Ole Miss
Points	23	Jan. 28	Baylor
Minutes	32	Nov. 28	Ole Miss

Date	Time/ scores	Month/day	Opponent/event (current ranks)	TV
		October	Exhibitions
9	W, 88–70	Friday	vs. No. 21 USC in Greensboro
18	L, 76–58	Sunday	vs. Indiana in Indianapolis
27	W, 89–82, OT	Tuesday	vs. Charlotte
		November	Regular season
2	W, 80–72	Monday	vs. Western Carolina	1–0
6	7 p.m.	Friday	vs. Wofford	ACCN
10	7 p.m.	Tuesday	vs. Wyoming	ACCN
13	7 p.m.	Friday	vs. Georgia	ESPN2
20	9 p.m.	Friday	vs. Marshall	ACCN
23	7 p.m.	Monday	vs. Monmouth	ACCN
27	7 p.m.	Friday	Dick Vitale Invitational vs. West Virginia in Charlotte	ESPN
		December
1	7:30	Tuesday	ACC/SEC Challenge vs. No. 12 Arkansas	ESPN
6	3 p.m.	Sunday	vs. Butler	ESPN2
12	Noon	Saturday	at Georgetown	Peacock
15	7 p.m.	Tuesday	Tobacco Road Classic vs. N.C. State in Greensboro	ESPN2
19	2:30	Saturday	CBS Sports Classic vs. No. 23 Kentucky in New York	CBS
21	8 p.m.	Monday	vs. The Citadel	The CW
30	4 p.m.	Wednesday	vs. California	ACCN
		January
2	4 p.m.	Saturday	at Boston College	ESPN or ESPN2
5	9 p.m.	Tuesday	at No. 11 Louisville	ESPN or ESPNU
9	Noon	Saturday	vs. N.C. State	ESPN2
13	7 p.m.	Wednesday	at Florida State	ESPN2 or ESPNU
16	2:15	Saturday	vs. Stanford	The CW
19	9 p.m.	Tuesday	vs. No. 9 Virginia	ESPN
23	Noon	Saturday	at Syracuse	ESPN or 2 or U
26	7 p.m.	Tuesday	vs. SMU	ESPN or ESPN2
30	6 or 6:30	Saturday	Nashville Hoops Showdown vs. No. 3 Illinois in Nashville, Tenn.	ESPN
		February
2	7 p.m.	Tuesday	at Notre Dame	ESPN or ESPN2
6	2:15	Saturday	vs. Georgia Tech	The CW
8	6 p.m.	Monday	vs. No. 11 Louisville	ESPN
13	5:30	Saturday	at No. 2 Duke	ABC
20	7 p.m.	Saturday	at Wake Forest	ACCN
22	7 p.m.	Monday	vs. No. 14 Miami	ESPN
27	7 p.m.	Saturday	at Virginia Tech	ESPN
		March
2	9 p.m.	Tuesday	at Pittsburgh	ESPN or ESPN2
6	6 or 6:30	Saturday	vs. No. 2 Duke	ESPN
9–13		Tues.-Sat.	ACC tournament in Greensboro

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No.	Class	Player	Pos.	Hgt	Wgt
25	Freshman	Maxi Adams	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.

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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

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Photo via byucougars.com