By R.L. Bynum
CHAPEL HILL — When Hubert Davis looks at preseason exhibitions, he sees more than a tune-up. He sees Friday night’s matchup against No. 8 BYU in Salt Lake City as a chance to learn about his No. 25 Tar Heels in a way that practice never can.
“There are huge benefits in playing games like this,” Davis said in a Smith Center press conference on Wednesday. “Obviously, playing against such a really good opponent in BYU gives us an opportunity to be able to take a clear look at ourselves on things that we’re doing well, things that we need to improve on before the regular season starts.”
The game will be played before a packed house at the Delta Center, home of the Utah Jazz, and is decidedly in contrast to closed scrimmages against Division I opponents that the Tar Heels have played in the past.
“Normally, it’s been behind closed doors in private,” Davis said of those scrimmages. “You have more of a hands-on approach in regards to, ‘Hey, let’s look at going up against a zone,’ or going up against a press, or, ‘Let’s do situational stuff.”
He compared Friday’s 9 p.m. ET game (ESPN+; find out how to watch in this story) to the NBA’s preseason, where teams use exhibitions to evaluate and adjust. For Davis, the setting matters just as much as the opponent.
“I think it’s also really beneficial for us to go on the road,” he said. “There’s a lot that you can learn about your team, and it’s something that is invaluable to be able to learn that prior to the regular season starting.”
It’s the second consecutive season that UNC has played an exhibition game in an NBA arena. This will be a neutral site, though, after last season’s 84–76 exhibition win at Memphis’ home arena, the FedExForum, which it shares with the Memphis Grizzlies.
While some might view exhibitions as glorified scrimmages, Davis pushed back on that notion.
“I’m not looking at this in a lab experience. They keep score,” he said. “It’s both. These types of games are very important for us in our development and in our growth as a team. And it’s also an exhibition game.”
The headline matchup will be a pair of five-star freshmen in Carolina’s Caleb Wilson and BYU’s A.J. Dybantsa.
Davis praised Wilson’s maturity and leadership during the preseason, calling him a great player and a great teammate who is confident and comfortable.
“I just came from a meeting with him just now. I texted him, I said, ‘Hey, I’d like to spend some time together before practice,’ ” Davis said. “He was like, ‘I’m already here, Coach.’ And so, he just walked right up into the office, and we sat down and talked for about 25 minutes. He cares. I couldn’t ask any more of what Caleb already has brought to this team and to this program.”
As for the other headliner in the game, Davis once recruited Dybantsa, who scored 30 points BYU’s 90–89 exhibition loss Saturday at Nebraska, and knows he’ll be a difficult player to defend.
“A.J. is not only an outstanding player, he’s just a really neat kid that obviously is extremely talented out there on the floor,” Davis said. “But he’s also somebody who loves the idea of team and teamwork.”
While the NCAA has cleared Montenegrin wing Luka Bogavac, the school is still working out institutional issues, and the timetable for resolving that is unclear. Davis said Bogavac could play on Friday, but he didn’t know.
The Tar Heels will not hold anything back schematically, though Davis acknowledged that the playbook would reflect what they’ve practiced so far.
“I don’t think there’s a situation where you hold things back,” he said. “There’s situational stuff that we haven’t practiced yet. In that scenario, you are playing what you have practiced at that point.”
Davis has been clear about his priorities since the team first started practicing. He wants the Tar Heels to play well defensively and be a good rebounding team to be the best team that they can be, adding that playing with pace and avoiding turnovers will also be important.
Davis said that the most considerable improvement he’s seen from his team has been on the defensive end.
“That’s just the No. 1 one on my list is for us to be a really good defensive team, and I’ve seen improvement in regards to individual one-on-one defense and the importance of communication and talking early, loud, clear and constant team defense-wise,” Davis said.
Davis said that he plans to experiment with different lineups and says that mixing that up will be important.
“You get an opportunity to do that obviously at practice, but that’s against each other,” he said. “Now, being able to do that against another opponent is something that’s going to be really huge for us.”
He likes the versatility this roster offers compared to past seasons.
“It will allow you to do different things on a defensive end,” Davis said. “That versatility will allow us to be a lot more versatile on the defensive end.”
Davis said that the competitive edge of this group has also stood out.
“This is a very competitive group,” Davis said. “It’s a team that I don’t have to poke and prod to get after it. They already do, and that’s exactly what you want. They compete extremely hard out there on the floor, and then they’re in the locker room laughing and joking around.”
Friday night will reveal how that hunger translates if the game isn’t going well.
“Everything is good when everything is going well, but how do you handle adversity?” Davis said. “The [other] team goes on a run — do you come together? Do you get stronger? Those are things that are really important to see and identify, especially before the regular season starts.”
Davis said that freshman guard Isaiah Denis is finally practicing fully after injuries slowed him at the start of preseason practice.
“Obviously a very gifted player, but just a great kid,” Davis said. “Such a joy to be around. He loves being a part of a team, loves being here, and I’m so thankful that he’s healthy enough to be able to participate fully in practice now.”
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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 | Alexandros Samodurov (Alex-ANN-drose 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.
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 |
Non-conference schedule
| Date | Month/day | Opponent/event (final ranks) |
|---|---|---|
| October | Exhibitions | |
| 9 | 7 p.m. Friday | vs. USC in Greensboro |
| 18 | 5 p.m. Sunday | vs. Indiana in Indianapolis |
| 27 | Tuesday | 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 | 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 | 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 opponents
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
Don’t play: Clemson
