Covering Carolina sports beyond just men's basketball and football — with the most complete women's basketball coverage
With eight newcomers and seven returnees, Coach Courtney Banghart’s fifth Carolina team faces a challenging women’s basketball schedule that includes at least seven — and potentially nine — games against teams in ESPN’s way-too-early Top 25 ranking. Although the Tar Heels will likely only face a challenge on one of their non-conference home game — the Nov. 30 matchup with No. 8 (according to the ESPN ranking) South Carolina, they face a difficult overall schedule.
Fans will see next season’s Carolina’s men’s and women’s basketball teams for the first time on Friday, Oct. 13, when “Live Action with Carolina Basketball” is set for 7 p.m.
While Drake Powell continues to rise in the ESPN rankings impressively, the other five players committed to Carolina’s men’s and women’s basketball teams all dropped with the latest list. ESPN has changed Powell from a four-star to a five-star and elevated him from 34th in the Class of 2024 to 12th.
Remember the glory days of the classic ACC when it was eight teams, the league played a double round-robin in the regular season in basketball and the tournament lasted three days? Those days ended when the league raided the Big East in 2013. But that seems like ancient history after the ACC added Stanford, Cal and SMU on Friday for the 2024–25 school year.
As ACC adds Stanford and Cal beginning in the 2024–25 school year, the first concern should be for the athletes who must routinely take cross-country flights while also being students. The travel sounds daunting because it is. But there are scheduling models that could make it easier.
North Carolina and N.C. State may not agree on much, but appear to have the same opinion on expansion. Carolina and State are reportedly two of the four schools opposing the addition of Cal and Stanford into the ACC, leaving the league one vote short of adding those two schools.
For years, Mike Krzyzewski never scheduled true road non-conference games, only playing them in the defunct ACC/Big Ten Challenge. His Duke teams still faced tough opponents away from Cameron Indoor Stadium, but at neutral sites. Many wondered why Krzyzewski didn’t schedule road tests for his team before ACC play. Part of his strategy seemed to be to simulate an NCAA tournament game atmosphere.
Unlike some recent seasons, the non-conference women’s basketball home schedule for North Carolina has some sizzle. UNC released its non-conference women’s basketball schedule Monday, and it’s one of the most challenging in years, dotted with national powers.
Carolina’s women’s basketball team can’t face Iowa in the Gulf Coast Showcase until the event’s third day. The Tar Heels, coming off a 22–11 season that ended in the second round of the NCAA tournament, meet Vermont in a first-round game at 1:30 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 24, the day after Thanksgiving Day, in the event in Estero, Fla.
GREENSBORO — On Monday night, most players faced some of the toughest competition of their careers, but that was far from the case for Sydney Barker. After going up against her talented North Carolina teammates in practices and pickup games at Carmichael Arena in the past month, the talent level was down a few notches for the 5–7 freshman at the N.C. Coaches Association Women’s East-West All-Star Game at the Greensboro Coliseum.
Sydney Barker turned down mid-major scholarship offers for a chance to walk on to her dreams in Chapel Hill. Even before wearing a Carolina uniform, the 5–7 freshman point guard from Durham’s Jordan High School already cherishes her choice.
The young United States team could deal with any challenge it faced at the FIBA Women’s AmeriCup — except a veteran group from Brazil. As a result, UNC senior guard Deja Kelly had to settle for a silver medal. The Americans, with seven players making their senior international debuts and no player older than 22, suffered their second tournament loss to the seasoned Brazilians, 69–58 in Sunday’s gold medal game at Domo de la Feria in León, Mexico.
Deja Kelly and the United States team fought off a tough Canada squad Saturday night to earn a spot in FIBA Women’s AmeriCup gold-medal game. Kelly scored eight points and made some big plays down the stretch as the Americans held on for a 67–63 victory at Domo de la Feria in León, Mexico, and will face Brazil (6–0) in the Sunday’s gold-medal game at 6:30 p.m. ET.
Deja Kelly’s United States team advanced to the FIBA Women’s AmeriCup semifinals on Friday, coasting to a victory over Colombia. The Americans’ first eight baskets came from eight players as they took control early and coasted to a 68–49 win in a quarterfinal game at Domo de la Feria in León, Mexico.
UNC senior guard Deja Kelly was on her game, and so was the USA as the Americans rebounded from a loss the day before with a resounding victory. Kelly collected 10 points and a team-high seven assists and was a team-high +45 as the United States rolled to a 106–44 victory over Cuba at Domo de la Feria in León, Mexico, in its final pool play game at the FIBA Women’s AmeriCup.
tarheeltribune.com 