By R.L. Bynum
CHAPEL HILL — With one recruiting story, Buffalo transfer Angelo Brizzi offered a reminder about how much experience he brings to Carolina.
Among the other recruits on his 2019 unofficial visit to UNC in the fall of his junior year of high school were Caleb Love and Walker Kessler. Love is in his second professional season and Kessler is with the Los Angeles Lakers and about to start his fifth NBA season.
Brizzi didn’t want to wait to see if Coach Roy Williams would get Kennedy Chandler, his primary guard target, who ended up playing one season at Tennessee.
“I made the decision to commit to Villanova before Kennedy made a decision,” said the 6–3, 200-pound Brizzi, who turns 25 on Nov. 5. “It’s funny, but also pretty cool to be back here five, six years later. It’s just full circle.”
Playing for Coach Jay Wright at Villanova was the first of five college stops. He was at Davidson as a sophomore, Longwood as a junior and Buffalo as a senior.
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He thought his next basketball stop would be professional basketball in Europe before getting a waiver, and he was delighted to end up with the Tar Heels this time around.
Brizzi said the decision to return to college caught him by surprise, since he had all but moved on from the idea by the time his waiver came through to allow him to play a fifth season.
“I had forgotten about it,” Brizzi said of the waiver. “Then I’m in the gym on the Tuesday, and get a text at noon that your waiver has been approved. From there, the next couple weeks were just a whirlwind.”
Buffalo, where he averaged close to 20 points per game over his final 12 games, did not have a scholarship available for him to return, so Brizzi turned his attention elsewhere. Pitches from Coach Michael Malone and Associate Head Coach Chuck Martin stood out over the others.
“I had to find somewhere else to go,” Brizzi said. “Coach Malone called, Coach Martin called, and it was hard to turn down UNC. Pretty good situation here. I think it’s a good spot to end up last minute. It’s not every day you get a call from an NBA champion head coach, so it was pretty cool.”
Malone’s résumé made an impression before the two ever spoke directly, and Brizzi leaned on a familiar connection to learn more about his new coach. He said Collin Gillespie — a friend, former Villanova guard and someone who played for Malone in Denver during his rookie season — helped fill in the picture.
“I got on the phone with Collin and talked to him about Coach Malone, and we had a good conversation about him,” Brizzi said. “I think Coach Malone appreciated the veteran experience that I had, being older and having been through the college ranks for quite a while. I thought I could bring a little bit of maturity and experience to this team.”
The overseas plan had barely gotten off the ground when the waiver news arrived, Brizzi said, and he had only just begun exploring that option with an agent.
“I’d gone with an agent at the end of the season just to go overseas. Before that, I’d never had an agent in college, and then the overseas stuff, for the most part, gets figured out the back half of summer,” Brizzi said. “I’d actually had my first conversation with my agent about that stuff when the waiver hit. So, all we ever really had was one conversation, and then pivoted right back to college.”
Arriving on campus later than most of his new teammates, Brizzi credited the support staff with easing what could have been a difficult transition, something he has now navigated at four programs.
“The acclimation process was great. Everyone was welcoming,” Brizzi said. “And, as someone who’s been to quite a few schools, I’m used to the process of getting acclimated to new places, but that was great.
“From a basketball standpoint, you have everything you can want,” he said. “There’s a ton of resources here, and UNC is one of the premier brands in college basketball. So, it all made it easy. It was pretty smooth.”
Brizzi started all 32 games last season, averaged 14.5 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.8 assists, shot a career-high 48.0% from the floor, 37.3% from 3-point range and a career-high 83.4% at the free-throw line.
Brizzi’s production climbed noticeably in the second half of last season, with six of his top seven scoring games and four of his top five assist totals coming after mid-January. He traced the improvement to a bigger role in ball handling after injuries opened that opportunity.
“Having the ball in my hands more, I was playing more the wing. I’ve spent a lot of time playing the wing in college, and I grew up playing point, having the ball in my hands a lot,” Brizzi said. “The back half of the year we had some injuries, and I got to have the ball in my hands more down the stretch, and I think that was the main reason why there’s a big increase in my production. Just being able to make plays for myself, go score, and make plays for my teammates when defense stepped up.”
Malone’s system, he said, gives guards room to play instinctively rather than boxing them into a rigid role.
“He wants his guards to just play free, make good decisions, take care of the ball. There’s a lot of freedom. Take the shots you’re comfortable taking, and take the shots you’re good at, and be aggressive,” Brizzi said. “He’s not very strict or putting rules and putting people in boxes. I’ve enjoyed it so far.”
Brizzi said his confidence in his ability was never really in question, tracing back to his freshman season at Villanova.
“I’ve always felt that I could play at this level,” Brizzi said. “It definitely put you in a good headspace, coming out of the back half of the season having played probably your best basketball of your college career so far. When North Carolina called, I wasn’t too surprised, in a sense that I felt like I could play this level.”
Having played at both mid-major and high-major programs, Brizzi said the experience taught him not to take the resources of a school like UNC for granted.
“Being back here at this level, seeing it again, it’s great, and there’s plenty to be thankful for,” he said. “I’m just happy to be here and hoping to make the most of this year.”
Brizzi will share the backcourt with plenty of talented newcomers: Utah transfer Terrence Brown Jr., Virginia Tech transfer Neo Avdalas, and N.C. State transfer Matt Able, as well as returnee Jaydon Young. He described the group as complementary pieces rather than overlapping ones.
“They all had really good years last year, and Coach Malone went after them for a reason,” Brizzi said of the transfers. “TB is quick and athletic and can get to the basket in the blink of an eye, and Neo is strong and methodical and can pass over the top of you because he’s so tall. Overall, as a guard unit, we all complement each other well and can play off each other. It’s a good, diverse backcourt.”
A veteran of going from one school to another, he’s all too familiar with the current college landscape that requires coaches to bring in players from all over to construct rosters.
“It’s as much about putting the team together and getting them to mesh as it is simply having the pieces,” Brizzi said.
As late as Brizzi arrived in early August, Greek forward Alex Samodurov, Malian center Sayon Keita and South Dakota transfer Cameron Fens got to Chapel Hill after him.
“We didn’t have our whole front court here over the summer,” Brizzi said. “I think honestly, they’re all still learning to play together and play with us, and we’re learning to play with them. But they’re all great, and I think we’ve got a good group of good guys, and I’m excited for next month as we roll into the season.”
Asked how a crowded backcourt will sort out playing time under Malone, Brizzi pointed to his experience as the trait that separates him, along with a willingness to slide between positions as needed. He says he could play point, the two spot or the three spot.
“The one thing I bring to the table that most guys can’t is just experience, just from having been around the block,” Brizzi said. “I think I could be a steady presence, not too high, not too low. I think versatility is an advantage, but I would say a mix of one and two for the most part. Guys in the ACC are going to be a little bit bigger than the MAC and the Big South, so I don’t expect myself to be guarding fours here.”
He’s just glad to finally be at UNC after it didn’t work out years earlier.
| Date | Time/ scores | Month/day | Opponent/event (current ranks) | TV/ record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | W, 109–70 | Friday | vs. Wofford | 2–0 |
| 10 | W, 76–63 | Tuesday | vs. Wyoming | 3–0 |
| 13 | L, 78–70 | Friday | vs. Georgia | 3–1 |
| 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. 19 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. 24 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. 10 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. 6 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. 10 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. 17 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 |
| 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.
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 |
Photo via @UNC_Basketball
