Covering Carolina athletics beyond men’s basketball and football, with dedicated reporting on women’s basketball and baseball, in addition to covering other sports that rarely draw media attention
Watching Carolina’s Sunday’s exhibition men’s basketball game will be the biggest challenge in years, requiring more effort than usual. North Carolina meets Indiana at 5 p.m. Sunday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis for a game that won’t air on traditional television channels.
Former Tar Heels are scattered across college basketball as rosters annually fluctuate in the transfer portal era. This season’s group includes 14 men and five women, though three of the men are in eligibility limbo.
Leaky Black is seeking a new start with the Sacramento Kings and got a chance Tuesday to show he deserves a two-way contract. The news wasn’t good, however, for RJ Davis, whom the San Antonio Spurs waived the same day.
Coach Michael Malone’s first Carolina team is picked to finish fifth in the preseason ACC men’s basketball poll released Tuesday. Duke took 45 of the 48 first-place votes (861 points) and is the league favorite for the third consecutive season and the 11th time in the last 14 seasons.
North Carolina finished third in the ACC women’s basketball race last season and is picked to finish at the same spot in the preseason poll of league coaches and media released on Tuesday. Kate Harpring, the No. 4 player in ESPN’s Class of 2026 rankings, collected 493 votes to top the ACC Preseason All-Freshman Team, finishing 117 votes ahead of Notre Dame’s Jacy Abii (376; ranked No. 9).
CHAPEL HILL — Kevin Thomas thought his recruitment was over. The 6–6, 205-pound wing had committed to LSU, canceled a planned visit to Auburn and was preparing for the next step in his basketball career. Then a coaching change at LSU wiped out that plan and forced him to start over.
CHAPEL HILL — Maxi Adams likes to start game days in a quiet place. With headphones on, calming music and a little meditation, the North Carolina freshman tries to clear his mind before stepping into the noisy arena.
North Carolina women’s basketball added its second top-tier recruit in four days to its 2027 class when five-star guard Ryan Carter of Warminster, Pa., picked the Tar Heels over Duke on Monday evening in an announcement made at her high school’s gym.
Caleb Wilson put together two productive weekend preseason games for the Chicago Bulls and showed why he was the NBA draft’s fourth overall pick, even as the team lost both games.
GREENSBORO — Isaiah Denis could have left when Carolina changed coaches, but the sophomore stayed. On Friday night, in Michael Malone’s debut, Denis was rewarded with a coming-out party for Tar Heels fans who barely saw him on the court during his tough freshman season.
GREENSBORO — The newcomers Carolina expected to score didn’t, but returnees filled the void nicely as the Michael Malone era began.
Improved second-half defense held USC scoreless for nearly six minutes as the Tar Heels took control. UNC rebounded from a halftime deficit for an 88–70 win Friday night over Southern Cal at the First Horizon Coliseum in the exhibition opener for both teams.
CHARLOTTE — Sayon Keita arrived in Chapel Hill on a Saturday night in August, the weekend before classes started. That evening, North Carolina coach Michael Malone and his staff walked the 7-foot freshman center into his dorm, and Malone said the campus was buzzing. The timing was tight. Keita had to clear the visa process at the embassy in Madrid before he could travel, and he reached campus as the semester was about to begin. Malone said he worried about how a teenager would handle the move.
Michael Malone has had weeks of watching his players compete against each other. On Friday night, he’ll finally see them against another team that’s also led by a former NBA coach. In Malone’s first time on the sidelines for a UNC game, the Tar Heels will face Southern Cal in a 7 p.m. exhibition (ACC Network) at the First Horizon Coliseum in Greensboro.
CHARLOTTE — Michael Malone’s coaching philosophy is less a product of one mentor than a collection of lessons gathered over a 25-year NBA career. His father helped shape him as a person and coach. Jeff Van Gundy taught him the value of preparation, attention to detail and defense. Mike Brown gave him the freedom to coach and showed him the importance of trusting a staff. But Gregg Popovich might have had the most profound influence.
Micah Ojo, one of the top wings in the Class of 2027, announced Thursday morning on Instagram that she has committed to North Carolina. The 6–1 wing from Princess Anne High School in Virginia Beach picked the Tar Heels over a list of finalists that also included Vanderbilt and Duke.
