By R.L. Bynum
Fans will get their first chance to see the new-look Carolina men’s basketball team Saturday at the Blue-White scrimmage at the Smith Center.
What can you expect to see at the scrimmage, which is scheduled to start about an hour after the conclusion of the noon UNC-Clemson football game?
The Blue-White scrimmage replaces the Late Night event that the program staged for years and was revived last season for the first time since the 1970s. Seth Trimble scored a game-high 19 points a year ago to lead his Blue team to a 63–54 victory over the White team.
This year’s scrimmage will not be a full 40-minute game. According to UNC, the plan is to play two 12-minute halves, and the teams may be split one way for the first half and another way for the second half.
If it’s like last year’s scrimmage, Coach Hubert Davis will be sitting at a courtside table taking in the action.
Although the NCAA hasn’t yet cleared junior wing Luca Bogavac to play for Carolina, he can play in this scrimmage, as well as the Oct. 18 scrimmage in Cherokee. He can also play in the exhibition games Oct. 24 against BYU in Salt Lake City and against Winston-Salem State at home on Oct. 29.
There will be no live streaming broadcast of the scrimmage, so the only way to see it is to be there; however, it’s free. The Smith Center doors will open 15 minutes after the conclusion of the football game.
You can purchase a reserved seat, which includes exclusive access to a one-item autograph session after the game, for $150. You can buy that ticket here.
Not going to the football game? The best bet for parking is to use the park-and-ride Tar Heel Express at the Friday Center on N.C. 54. Those shuttles will begin to run at 3 p.m. You can get more information on that here. After the scrimmage, shuttles will be available to Franklin Street, as well as the Friday Center and Southern Village park-and-ride lots.
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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 |
| Freshman | Alexandros Samodurov | C | 6–11 | 212 | |
| RS freshman | 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 | |
| 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 and Pat Sullivan; Deon Thompson will be a graduate assistant, and Brandon Robinson will reportedly have a support staff position.
Players who left for the 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 |
Schedule revealed so far
| Date | Month/day | Opponent/event (final ranks) |
|---|---|---|
| October | ||
| 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 | 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 (date tentative) | 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 | 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
