Karl, UNC star point guard in ‘70s and NBA coach for 27 season, finalist for Hall of Fame Class of 2022

George Karl, a star guard at Carolina in the early-1970s who coached in the NBA for 27 seasons, is one of 11 finalists for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame’s Class of 2022. The inductees will be announced in New Orleans on April 2 at the Final Four.
Karl was the Tar Heels’ starting point guard all three of his seasons in Chapel Hill, leading them to an NIT title in 1971, the Final Four in 1972 and the NIT semifinals in 1973 when he was All-ACC. He played five seasons for the San Antonio Spurs, the last three as an ABA franchise and the first two as an NBA franchise.

Tar Heels in NBA: When and where to watch Anthony during All-Star weekend; Jackson scores 21 in G League

Cole Anthony’s big All-Star weekend in Cleveland gets started at 9 p.m. Friday when he plays in the Rising Stars challenge for James Worthy’s team, and he’ll also compete in the Slam Dunk contest on Saturday night, both at the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Team Worthy gets the competition started at 9 p.m. on TNT against former Indiana star Isiah Thomas’ team. In the other first-round game at 9:30, Gary Payton’s team will meet Rick Barry’s team. All four coaches are members of the NBA’s 75th-anniversary team.

Tar Heels in NBA: White has season-best game in birthday bash; Anthony, Barnes, Johnson score in double figures

Coby White had it all going for him on his 22nd birthday Wednesday night. White scored a season-high 31 points with five rebounds, six assists and a steal as the Chicago Bulls earned a 125–118 home win over the Sacramento Kings for their fifth consecutive victory. Chicago (38–21) took over the Eastern Conference lead by a half-game over the Miami Heat.

A potential bubble-bursting loss to Pitt puts UNC’s NCAA hopes in jeopardy

CHAPEL HILL — North Carolina’s rare detour through the bubble to earn an NCAA tournament berth careened into a ditch Tuesday night. The scenarios for the Tar Heels to make the NCAA tournament were already challenging. But losing 76–67 to a lowly but physical Pittsburgh team that’s 179 in the NET rankings has made it quite the uphill fight.

Jackson returns to G League with 26 points in victory; Bullock, Pinson hurt

Justin Jackson made an impressive return to the G League on Tuesday night after his second stint of the season with the Phoenix Suns. In his first game for the Texas Legends, the Dallas Mavericks’ affiliate, since Jan. 29, Jackson scored 26 points and four 3-pointers with nine rebounds, two assists and three steals as they earned a 113–107 road victory over the Stockton Kings.

Tar Heels in NBA: Hot-shooting White stays on roll as starter with five 3-pointers for streaking Bulls

The Chicago Bulls have won four straight and Coby White is looking comfortable and playing with confidence as a starter. White scored 24 points and five 3-pointers with five rebounds and six assists as he backed up the 40 points from DeMar DeRozan in Chicago’s 120–109 home win Monday over the San Antonio Spurs. The Bulls (37–21) are only a half-game back of the Eastern Conference-leading Miami Heat.

Kessler’s second triple-double helps Auburn rebound; rough week for Brooks’, Huffman’s and Miller’s teams

For Garrison Brooks, Brandon Huffman and Walker Miller, their teams battled through rough weeks. Walker Kessler’s Auburn team dropped its first SEC game of the season but rebounded thanks to his second triple-double of the season. After collecting 16 points and 19 rebounds in No. 1 Auburn’s 80–76 Tuesday loss at Arkansas, Kessler had 12 points, 11 rebounds and 12 blocks in Saturday’s 75–58 home victory over Texas A&M.

Tar Heels in NBA: Sharpe gets second NBA double-double; Barnes, Anthony, Bullock, White all score in double figures

Six UNC alums scored in double figures on Saturday night, led by 21 from Harrison Barnes and 17 each from Cole Anthony and Reggie Bullock, with Day’Ron Sharpe producing his second NBA double-double. Sharpe collected 10 points and a career-high 12 rebounds in 27 minutes in Brooklyn’s 115–111 road loss to Miami. Sharpe, who had three assists and a steal, was a team-high +24 as the Nets (29–17) lost their 11th consecutive game and fell to eighth in the Eastern Conference.

There was plenty to Love in UNC’s blowout of Florida State

CHAPEL HILL — All of the tough games and ugly-looking wins were a distant memory as Carolina played its best game of the season against depleted Florida State. There was so much to love for Tar Heels fans as they led by 40 points in the second half on their way to a Saturday’s 94–74 win in the Smith Center, starting with the return of consistent shooting from Caleb Love.

Tar Heels in NBA: White has big night, pushes Bulls to win in fourth quarter; Anthony hits 18

On a night when Chicago guard Zach LaVine was struggling, Coby White was there to deliver a big game in a Bulls victory on Friday night. White scored 22 points in 29 minutes and ignited a 15–2 fourth-quarter run for a 134–122 home victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves and back-to-back wins. His 3-pointer during that run gave Chicago the lead for good.

Tar Heels in NBA: Johnson’s big game helps Suns slam Bucks; Bullock, Sharpe play well; Suns release Jackson

When Cam Johnson slipped past a Jrue Holliday for an impressive one-handed slam to give Phoenix a 20-point lead over the Milwaukee Bucks, it was an exclamation point on a small bit of revenge for the Suns. After losing to the Bucks in the NBA Finals last season, the 131–107 Phoenix win before a sellout crowd was as big as a regular-season victory can be for the Suns. They have the NBA’s best record at 45–10, by a 4½-game margin over Golden State.

Rare year on bubble worked out for UNC in 2000, but navigating it this year will be challenging

While life on the NCAA tournament bubble is an annual routine for Syracuse, North Carolina rarely faces pressure to win in February just to make the field. In 2010 and 2020, the Tar Heels weren’t even playing well enough to ascend to the bubble. They had to settle for the NIT in 2010, one year after winning the 2009 NCAA title. It didn’t matter in 2020 because the NCAA tournament got canceled. But, other than those years, UNC hasn’t tasted life on the bubble since 2000, and that turned out pretty well.

Tar Heels in NBA: With trade unlikely, Barnes hits 30 in Kings win; White starts, scores 15 in Bulls win

With it appearing more likely that Harrison Barnes won’t get traded before the 3 p.m. Thursday deadline, he continues to be on a roll for the Sacramento Kings. One night after scoring 21 points in a 20-point loss to Minnesota, Barnes scored 30 in a 132–119 victory Wednesday over the Timberwolves in his second-best game of the season. In those two games, Barnes made all 12 free-throw attempts and is shooting 82.9% from the line for the season.

Tar Heels in NBA: Anthony has ‘stuff in the bag’ for the dunk contest; he and Barnes have big nights

Cole Anthony and Harrison Barnes each put together impressive late games on the West Coast on Tuesday night but only Anthony’s effort came in a victory. Anthony collected 23 points, seven rebounds, nine assists and two blocks while battling foul trouble to lead the Orlando Magic to a 113–95 victory at Portland. His 19.1 game score was his 10th this season of at least 19 after doing it only twice during his rookie season.

Davis’ big game, Love’s big plays at end give UNC huge win at Clemson

As Caleb Love’s struggles continued, RJ Davis gave North Carolina just the backcourt boost it needed for 39 minutes. Then Love came through at the end. Love followed up a huge 3-pointer with 36 seconds left with a drive and dish for a Brady Manek layup with 3.1 seconds left. His heroics, and 60.7% second-half shooting, gave the Tar Heels a wild 79–77 bounce-back win at Clemson on Tuesday night.