By R.L. Bynum

CHAPEL HILL — It went from the Luka watch to watching Luka after Bogavac finally became eligible to play, and he was integrated seamlessly into the already-talented No. 25 Tar Heels.

Adding Bogavac’s passing ability to the already fluid half-court game, combined with North Carolina relentlessly pushing the pace, helped the Heels roll to a 94–54 opening-game victory Monday over Central Arkansas.

Bogavac stayed in the dressing room wearing his quarter-zip and khakis while his teammates went through early warmups on the court. By the time the team returned to the dressing room, Coach Hubert Davis had already delivered the good news to the Montenegrin wing.

There was a quick switch to the uniform for Bogavac, whose mother has been in town for two weeks and was able to watch his college debut.

“Just to see the smile and the reaction from Luka was something that I’ll remember for the rest of my life,” said UNC coach Hubert Davis, proudly describing Bogavac’s burning desire to be part of the program, the university and the community. “At the time I found out, I told him to get his uniform on — you’re playing. I didn’t think it was time to sit down and have some coffee and tea and talk.”

As will be the case in most games, though, the night was accentuated with the Caleb Wilson show. The sensational freshman slammed seven dunks and led the way with 22 points in his college debut.

“He brings high energy out there, and you combine that with the length and athleticism and the giftedness that he has out there on the floor? He did everything — he ran the floor, attacked offensive glass, hit a three, drove, he’s a great passer and penetrator,” Davis said.

Asked about Wilson’s dunk spree, Davis wasn’t focused on the flash but the effectiveness.

“Whether it’s an offensive rebound, post, out of bounds, underneath, in transition, he’s looking to take the rim down, and he’s always been that way,” Davis said.

Wilson’s frontcourt mate, redshirt junior Henri Veesaar (14 points, career-high 10 rebounds), registered his first career double-double, which Davis was shocked to hear.

“From an offensive standpoint, that was our No. 1 emphasis over the last three days,” Davis said. “We have to dominate points in the paint. We’ve got length and we’ve got athleticism to be able to take advantage of that.”

From the guards to the nice high-low action between Wilson and Veesaar, the ball is rarely going to stick and often will slither through the net after an easy inside bucket or a 3-pointer after a kick-out.

Carolina collected 23 assists on 33 field goals after reaching that assist total only four times last season and only exceeded it with 24 against Virginia Tech.

“I just felt like everybody was sharing the basketball. Sometimes I think we turned the ball over because we were sharing too much,” Davis said, musing about a Kyan Evans alley-oop pass that Wilson and Seth Trimble both thought was for them, and instead the play produced a turnover.

“I’ve never seen the alley-oop to two guys,” Davis said. “We’ve talked about good to great and not just settling for a good shot. I think we’re good enough to get a great shot every possession.”

Evans (15 points, six rebounds, five assists and team-high four steals) put up the most impressive overall numbers and was the catalyst on many transition chances.

“One of the things that he’s been consistent with is just instinctively,” Davis said. “He’s really good at pitching the ball ahead in transition. I thought he was really good at that, trying to give us early opportunities. Him getting five assists tonight, only two turnovers? I thought it was a really nice start for him.”

Bogavac (10 points, three rebounds, five assists, two steals) led some fast breaks as well. Bogavac quashed the notion that he’s just a shooter, and Davis backed him up on that.

“He’s a basketball player,” Davis said. “He can handle it. He can pass it. He can initiate offense. Gives us another playmaker out there on the floor.”

The competition ramps up significantly on Friday when No. 19 Kansas (1–0) visits the Smith Center for a 7 p.m. game (ESPN).

Davis said he isn’t looking at Luka’s debut as prep for Kansas.

“He’s been practicing and didn’t get to play against BYU or Winston Salem State,” Davis said. “Even though he was a part of the team, you feel a little separation when you’re not dressing out, and it was nice to have everybody dressed.”

Carolina forced 17 turnovers and outscored Central Arkansas 26–3 on fast-break points.

“I think we can be a really good defensive team,” Davis said. “I think we can be a really good rebounding team. I think from an offensive standpoint, our ability to be able to score near the basket, but also be able to shoot the ball from the perimeter, is something that I’m excited about.”

Wilson had four dunks in the first 3½ minutes as eight of UNC’s first nine field goals came at the rim. The exception was an Evans 3-pointer, as the Heels jumped to a 23–13 lead on a Bogavac layup with 13½ minutes left in the first half.

Bogavac scored his first 3-pointer during an 18–0 run that ballooned the lead to 26 on an Evans 3-pointer at the 6½ mark of the first half, as Central Arkansas went scoreless for nearly eight minutes. An Evans 3-pointer with 51 seconds left gave Carolina a 51–23 halftime lead.

UNC went up by 35 when Wilson capped a 12–5 run to start the second half with his first 3-pointer with 16½ minutes remaining. UNC went nearly six minutes without a field goal during a stretch of sloppy play before an Evans 3-pointer and a Veesaar dunk put the lead at 32 with 8:53 left.

The lead reached 40 on an Isaiah Denis 3-pointer with 37 seconds left

NOTES — Kansas, which won at Louisville 90–82 and at home to Fort Hays State 71–35 in exhibition games, opened its season Monday night with a 94–51 home win over Green Bay. … It was UNC’s largest margin in a season opener since a 115–75 win over Howard on Nov. 29, 1975, and the biggest margin in any game since 52-point win over American last November. … Wilson, who became the 40th UNC player to start his first game as a freshman, was named Monday to the 50-player preseason watch list for the Naismith Trophy, given to the national player of the year. … Wilson’s 22 points were the most by a freshman in his UNC debut since Cole Anthony scored 34 against Notre Dame on Nov. 6, 2019. … UNC’s starters were a combined 24 for 39 from the floor (61.5%). … Central Arkansas didn’t attempt its first free throw until 11:40 remained in the game. … It was the first meeting between UNC and Central Arkansas, which fell to 0–3 all-time against ACC competition after losing 87–68 to Georgia Tech last season and 105–54 to Duke in 2019. … UNC is 104–12 in season openers and has won 21 in a row since losing to Santa Clara in the 2004–05 national championship season. … UNC is 10 Smith Center wins away from 500 (490–90).

No. 25 UNC 94, Cent. Ark. 54

UNC lineup combinations

Score	Time	1	2	3	4	5	Segment score
Starters	20:00	Evans	Trimble	Stevenson	Wilson	Veesaar	13–5
13–5	16:12			Bogavac			1–3
14–8	15:46					High	7–2
21–10	13:55	Dixon	Powell		High	Veesaar	2–3
23–13	12:40				Stevenson		6–0
29–13	10:12		Trimble	Powell			0–0
29–13	8:55	Evans		Stevenson	Wilson		4–0
33–13	7:51			Bogavac	Stevenson	Wilson	0–0
34–13	7:00				Wilson	High	6–2
40–15	5:37		Powell				0–2
42–17	4:18					Brown	0–2
42–19	3:46	Dixon					2–0
44–19	2:46			Young			0–2
44–21	2:33				Stevenson		1–2
45–23	1:54	Evans	Trimble			Veesaar	6–0
51–23	Half			Stevenson	Wilson		12–5
63–28	16:16			Bogavac			2–2
65–30	14:36	Dixon	Powell			High	0–2
65–32	13:55				Stevenson		2–2
67–34	11:40					Veesaar	2–6
69–40	10:32	Evans	Trimble	Powell	Wilson		5–2
74–42	8:39			Bogavac			6–7
80–49	5:13	Dixon		Young			4–0
84–49	4:10		Young	Powell	Brown	High	0–0
84–49	3:34			Evans			5–5
89–54	1:40		Davis	Smith	Holbrook	Matlekovic	5–0
94–54	Final

Date	Month/day	Time	Opponent/event (current ranks)	TV/ record
	October
24	Friday	L, 78–76	vs. No. 10 BYU in SLC	Exhib.
29	Wednesday	W, 95–53	vs. Winston-Salem St.	Exhib.
	November
3	Monday	W, 94–54	vs. Central Arkansas	1–0
7	Friday	W, 87–74	vs. No. 17 Kansas	2–0
11	Tuesday	W, 89–74	vs. Radford	3–0
14	Friday	W, 97–53	vs. N.C. Central	4–0
18	Tuesday	W, 73–61	vs. Navy	5–0
			Fort Myers Tip-Off
25	Tuesday	W, 85–70	vs. St. Bonaventure	6–0
27	Thursday	L, 74–58	vs. No. 9 Michigan State	6–1
	December		ACC/SEC Men’s Challenge
2	Tuesday	W, 67–64	at Kentucky	7–1
			—————————
7	Sunday	W, 81–61	vs. Georgetown	8–1
13	Saturday	W, 80–62	vs. USC Upstate	9–1
16	Tuesday	W, 77–58	vs. East Tennessee State	10–1
			CBS Sports Classic in Atlanta
20	Saturday	3 p.m.	vs. Ohio State	CBS
			—————————
22	Monday	8 p.m.	vs. East Carolina	ACCN
30	Tuesday	7 p.m.	vs. Florida State	ESPN2
	January
3	Saturday	2:15	at SMU	The CW
10	Saturday	6 p.m.	vs. Wake Forest	ACCN
14	Wednesday	9 p.m.	at Stanford	ACCN
17	Saturday	4 p.m.	at California	ACCN
21	Wednesday	7 p.m.	vs. Notre Dame	ESPN2
24	Saturday	2 or 2:30	at No. 23 Virginia	ESPN or ESPNU
31	Saturday	2 p.m.	at Georgia Tech	ACCN
	February
2	Monday	7 p.m.	vs. Syracuse	ESPN
7	Saturday	6:30	vs. No. 3 Duke	ESPN
10	Tuesday	7 p.m.	at Miami	ESPN or ESPN2
14	Saturday	2 p.m.	vs. Pittsburgh	ESPN
17	Tuesday	7 p.m.	at N.C. State	ESPN or ESPN2
21	Saturday	1 p.m.	at Syracuse	ABC
23	Monday	7 p.m.	vs. No. 11 Louisville	ESPN
28	Saturday	6:30 or 8:30	vs. Virginia Tech	ESPN or ESPN2
	March
3	Tuesday	7 p.m.	vs. Clemson	ESPN or ESPN2
7	Saturday	6:30	at No. 3 Duke	ESPN
10–14	Tues.-Sat.	ACC tournament	Spectrum Center, Charlotte