By R.L. Bynum
Any team that had to contend with North Carolina’s torrid defense last season should be warned. Coach Courtney Banghart says that her reconstructed roster should be better on defense.
Banghart, whose Tar Heels come off back-to-back Sweet 16 appearances, made that pronouncement during her summer media availability on Tuesday, and also covered many other topics.
“We can be [better on defense]. I think we can be much more aggressive defensively. We’ve got some elite athleticism now,” said Banghart, whose team led the ACC in scoring defense (59.1 points per game) and defensive field-goal percentage (36.6%), while ranking second in defensive 3-point percentage (27.7%). “I think at the perimeter spots that can really help us. We also have some elite athleticism at the guard spot on the offensive end. So, I think we can put people on their heels not only with action.”
Banghart says that next season’s team will be able to pressure the ball after a basket, putting multiple players in front of the opposing lead guards. Last season, her team was sixth in the ACC in turnover margin (+1.5) and steals (8.67 per game).
“We can create a little more friction defensively earlier in the possession,” Banghart said.
A big reason for the improvement is five-star freshman Kate Harpring, who Banghart said is the fastest on the team, in a backcourt with finally healthy senior Reniya Kelly. Banghart says that both are “twitchy,” decision-making guards who will be a challenge for defenders.
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“[Harpring] changes directions. She can stop on a dime, sort of like Reniya in that way,” Banghart said. “She’s also very fast, and she’s just a shot-maker. She makes more than she misses, at least in June, in July.”
Banghart pointed to last season as evidence that the pieces can come together quickly, even if the results don’t show up immediately.
“I felt like last year we were the worst defensive team in the league in June. Fortunately, when it mattered, by the end of the season, we gave up the fewest points per game in the ACC,” she said. “We figured it out, and I hope that this group uses their athleticism and uses their experience in a way that allows us to figure that out really soon, given our schedule, and also that we figure out how to rebound against the elite.”
Rebounding is a particular point of emphasis for Carolina, and Banghart said the answer may come from unexpected places.
“I thought last year we weren’t good enough on the glass,” Banghart said, lamenting that last season’s team had to replace Alyssa Ustby’s relentless rebounding ability. “We lost some ACC games early because we couldn’t rebound, and then we figured it out.”
She said this season’s Tar Heels will have to figure it out early, with four of their first six games against power-conference schools, including Oklahoma in Paris and South Carolina in Charlotte.
“We don’t have a full array of practice guys in the summer,” Banghart said. “So, I don’t know yet where our rebounding lies. But with the length and athleticism of our guards, they should be able to help.”
She singled out 6–1 Oklahoma State transfer Achol Akot as a difference-maker under the boards, calling her a “massive problem.”
“She was great on the glass playing the five actually at Oklahoma State,” Banghart said. “[Syracuse transfer] Sophie Burrows played a ton at the three and four, and those are long kids. And [Virginia transfer] Gabby White is probably as athletic as Indya Nivar, and Kate’s about 5–10. So I think we’ll be, we better be better rebounding-wise.”
Here’s what Banghart said on some other topics:
The mid-April transfer haul
While many fans were enjoying the Savannah Bananas show at Kenan Stadium in mid-April, Banghart was solidifying her roster with four players who visited the campus that weekend. After getting commitments from Achol, Burrows and Stanford transfer Chloe Clardy on successive days, she got the commitment from White two days later.
She credited her returning players for making Chapel Hill an easy sell.
“To go four-for-four, I think says a lot about our nine returners and the culture that they had built and the competitive consistency we’ve had,” Banghart said. “I give our staff a lot of credit that we really targeted. Once a name goes on the board, meaning they’re in the portal, you have to have seen enough and have enough quickness to know: do they fit what your discipline is, what you need? And these guys fit so perfectly where we really got lucky.”
Banghart said that things can happen very quickly in the transfer portal.
“You get to really watch your team all year long so you know where some of the holes are going to be,” Banghart said, “and then, of course, once your [players on your roster make] their decisions and you make your decisions with who you want and how you want it to come back, then you know what your holes are.
Banghart said during that pivotal time for building a roster, she and her staff develop a war-room mentality.
“I’ve got to make a quick decision about where they fit into what our predetermined needs are. We were very active in terms of having them on four successive days,” she said. “Did I think we’d bat 1.000? No, but I’m certainly glad we did because they’re the four we wanted, and that’s why we said you’ve got to get here right away.”
Banghart said the transfers shared a common trait beyond talent.
“There was a desire for all of the transfers who came in; they’ve seen the competitive consistency. They’ve played against us and know how we compete, and felt like they can help us try to take that next step to get into that last weekend,” she said of the Final Four. “We really felt like we needed length and athleticism and experience.”
Three of Carolina’s transfer additions, Burrows, White and Clardy, came from within the ACC, which Banghart said cuts both ways.
“The familiarity piece absolutely helps, because you’re not telling Sophie Burrows or Gabby White or Chloe Clardy this is what it’s like to play in our league, this is what it’s like to play at Carmichael, this is what it’s like to play against us,” Banghart said. “Instead, I’m asking them, what do you like about the league? What do you like about watching our teams play? How can you help us? I know Sophie’s game because I had to deal with it. I know Gabby White’s game; I know Chloe’s game; I had to deal with it.”
ACC’s experiment of playing the league tournament in Georgia
Asked about the ACC Tournament’s relocation to Duluth, Ga., after being held in Greensboro, Banghart said attendance should drive future decisions.
“I would play it on the moon if that’s where the most people would be there,” Banghart said. “If we say we’re going to get the most fans if we play it in Raleigh, let’s play it in Raleigh. If we’re going to get the most fans in Louisville, let’s play it in Louisville. I felt like we didn’t get the most fans, in my personal opinion, in Georgia. It was a little hard to get to, and there were fewer people there that I was familiar with in the seven other years that I had been.”
Banghart said the league’s priorities appear to be shifting.
“[In the past], we as a women’s game wanted to really prioritize competitive equity and all the things. And I think right now we want to prioritize revenue and we want to prioritize attendance,” she said. “I’m not sure that Georgia’s the best spot.”
Next season, the event returns to North Carolina, but at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte.
NCAA tournament seeding and expansion
Banghart also weighed in on the NCAA tournament’s move to seed teams purely by ranking rather than protecting conference matchups, along with the tournament’s expansion.
“I feel like that’s how it absolutely should be,” Banghart said. “I remember when I was at Princeton, having a lot of success, I was like, ‘We’re considered a mid-major because we don’t have good football. What is that? Our team against your team, let’s go.’ Conference affiliation allows you to better prepare yourself to be really good in March, but it shouldn’t preclude your matchup, or it shouldn’t supersede that.”
She said proper seeding reflects how far the sport has grown.
“There’s a lot riding and a lot of investment in women’s basketball, and so the way you can honor that is to do right by it, and that is, if you seed people appropriately, regardless of what conference they’re in, then your one seed should have the easiest run through that, regardless of what conference,” Banghart said. “I love the idea that the women’s game has arrived to the point where we should be seeded properly.”
On expansion, Banghart said more access to the tournament is a positive, even if it adds difficulty for higher seeds preparing for an extra opponent.
“There’s real value to giving people more opportunities to be at the pinnacle of our sport. I don’t know how that hurts anything,” she said. “Now I’ve had to play against a First Four team, and it’s hard because then we have to double scout. But we’re good at making this job hard every year, harder every year. So, we’re just going to keep making it harder, and that’s OK.”
The five-in-five rule
With roster construction increasingly shaped by extended eligibility rules, Banghart said Carolina’s track record of playing freshmen immediately gives the program flexibility with the rule that will allow players to play five seasons over five years.
“I think every coach probably answers a little bit differently because we’ve been really fortunate here that I’ve been able to get players that can help right away for the most part,” Banghart said. “The fact that Kate Harpring is a freshman doesn’t really matter. Can she help you win right away? Your age doesn’t matter. I think what we have to do more than ever is determine that you attach their worth financially with their impact.”
Banghart also reflected on the value of players who stay in the program for multiple seasons, pointing to Reniya Kelly as the latest example following Alyssa Ustby, Deja Kelly and others.
“It’s just been great to have people entrust us with their progress and trust us with their journey, and they made us better along the way. I think Reniya is a perfect example of that,” Banghart said. “I’ve trusted her since the day she got here with the ball in her hands and with her voice in the locker room, and she keeps proving me right.”
Kelly’s recovery
Kelly missed extensive time last season, and Banghart said Kelly’s conditioning has been the summer’s biggest bright spot.
“This is about the best shape she’s ever been in because that’s what she’s been able to focus on,” Banghart said. “It’s never been her versus anybody else; it’s been what her body can endure, and she’s put so much time into getting it right. We’ve really spent the last almost a year now, but especially the last six months, saying let’s play for the long game. We do expect her to be full go. And no one’s happier to say that than me because she deserves it.”
(UNC is one below the 15-player limit)
| Year | No. | Players | Pos. | Height | |
| Freshman | 11 | Kate Harpring | PG | 5–10 | |
| Freshman | 52 | Noelle Bofia | F | 6–4 | |
| Sophomore | 3 | Gabby White — W | G | 5–10 | |
| Sophomore | 7 | Nyla Brooks | W | 6–1 | |
| Sophomore | 26 | Taissa Queiroz | G | 6–1 | |
| Junior | 34 | Blanca Thomas | C | 6–5 | |
| Junior | 1 | Jordan Zubich | G | 5–11 | |
| RS junior | 21 | Ciera Toomey | F | 6–4 | |
| RS junior | 4 | Laila Hull | W | 6–1 | |
| Senior | 5 | Sophie Burrows — X | G | 6–2 | |
| Senior | 8 | Achol Akot — Y | F | 6–1 | |
| Senior | 10 | Reniya Kelly | G | 5–7 | |
| Senior | 15 | Sydney Barker | G | 5–6 | |
| Graduate | 13 | Chloe Clardy — Z | G | 5–9 |
W — Virginia transfer; X — Syracuse transfer; Y — Oklahoma State transfer; Z — Stanford transfer
Former players who entered transfer portal
| Player | Class next season | Pos. | Hgt | Next school |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elina Aarnisalo | Junior | G | 5–10 | UCLA |
| Lanie Grant | Junior | G | 5–9 | TCU |
| Taliyah Henderson | Sophomore | W | 6–1 | Clemson |
| Liza Astakhova | Sophomore | G | 6–2 | BYU |
Photo via YouTube screenshot
