Tar Heels in NBA: White’s up-and-down season ends with productive game in loss; Bullock, Green, Johnson hope to close out series

An up-and-down season for Coby White and the Chicago Bulls ended Wednesday night with the Milwaukee Bucks finishing off a 4–1 first-round series win. With Chicago missing its starting backcourt of All-Star Zach Lavine (health and safety protocols) and Alex Caruso (concussion protocol), White had his most productive game of the series in Milwaukee’s 116–100 home victory in Game 5.More

Solid pitching sends Heels into exam break with big victory

CHAPEL HILL — If North Carolina is going to turn the season around, the Tar Heels will do it with the kind of pitching that Wednesday threw them into the exam break in dominant fashion. With nearly a week in between games, Coach Scott Forbes used his top two starters, right-hander Max Carlson and left-hander Brandon Shaeffer, and they followed up good outings last weekend by holding Liberty in check.More

Five-star Class of 2023 forward Jackson commits to Carolina

The good news just keeps pouring in for Carolina basketball and Coach Hubert Davis, the latest being Wednesday’s commitment from five-star Class of 2023 power forward Gregory “GG” Jackson. The 6–foot-9, 210-pound star announced in an afternoon press conference at his Columbia, S.C., school that he picked the Tar Heels over Duke, Auburn, Georgetown, South Carolina and Massachusetts. He also considered playing for the G League’s Ignite team.More

Kerwin Walton enters NBA draft process

The 283 players who have filed as early-entry candidates to the NBA Draft includes a player from Carolina, but not one you would expect. Kerwin Walton, a 6–5 wing who played sparingly down the stretch for the Tar Heels as a sophomore, submitted his name before the Sunday deadline and appears on the list that the NBA released late Tuesday night.More

Tar Heels in NBA: Johnson’s one-handed slam ignites key run in Suns win

Cameron Johnson struggled with his shot on Tuesday night, but came up with a big driving dunk in the final two minutes to ignite a key 8–0 run in the Phoenix Suns’ 112–97 Game 5 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans. Phoenix takes a 3–2 lead in their first-round series heading to New Orleans for Game 6 Thursday at 7:30 p.m. (TNT).More

Tar Heels in NBA: Green passes Bryant on all-time playoffs 3-pointers list in 76ers loss; Bullock ejected but Mavs roll

Danny Green played his best game of these NBA playoffs and moved up the all-time playoffs 3-pointers list but it wasn’t nearly enough for his Philadelphia 76ers to close out the Toronto Raptors. Reggie Bullock had a good all-around game before being ejected in a skirmish as his Dallas Mavericks moved one win away from winning their series with the Utah Jazz. In 25 minutes, Green collected 14 points, four rebounds and two steals in the Sixers’ 103–88 Game 5 loss at home to the Raptors. Philadelphia still leads the first-round series 3–2, and gets another chance to win the series when it resumes in Toronto at 7 p.m. Thursday.More

With starters, scoring and experienced guards back, UNC will fit profile of its past NCAA champions

Every North Carolina national-championship team had two qualities that next season’s Tar Heels will share — veteran guards and at least three of the top five scorers returning. After having three starting point guards in three seasons (Joel Berry II in 2017–18, followed by freshmen Coby White and Cole Anthony), UNC will have the same backcourt duo for the third consecutive season. Like most freshmen, RJ Davis and Caleb Love had their struggles but showed marked improvement as sophomores. History tells you that seasoned backcourts are important, considering only one of Carolina’s six national champions started a freshman guard. Let’s throw in a quick asterisk: It was the greatest player in the history of the game. If you’re reading a story on this website, you should know who that is. If not, read on. With four starters and four of the top five scorers More

Tar Heels in NBA: Johnson scores 13 Sunday, starts as Suns split weekend games

Without All-Star Devin Booker, Cameron Johnson is starting for Phoenix. But the Suns’ series with the New Orleans Pelicans, who went 36–46 during the regular season, suddenly got a lot tougher for the team that had the NBA’s best regular-season record.. The teams split a pair of weekend games in New Orleans and the first-round series returns to Phoenix for Game 5 at 10 p.m. Tuesday (TNT) tied at 2. Booker is out indefinitely with a strained right hamstring after he scored 31 points in the first half of Game 2.More

Love becomes fourth UNC starter returning for next season

Caleb Love’s missed 3-point attempt against Kansas late in the national championship game won’t be his last shot as a Tar Heel because, among other hopes, he wants another shot at a national title. Love announced in a social media video Sunday that he’ll return for his junior season at North Carolina, giving the Tar Heels four of five starters back from last season’s Final Four team.More

RJ Davis makes his return official, says ‘let’s run it back’

By R.L. Bynum A third Carolina starter officially announced Saturday afternoon that he’ll be back next season. In a post on social media, RJ Davis said that he’ll return for his junior season. “I thought I was leaving. Nah, let’s run it back,” Davis said in a video he posted on his Twitter account. Davis,…More

Bacot says his decision would have been tougher without NIL

If you don’t think that NIL money changes the equation for college basketball players, just listen to center Armando Bacot. Appearing on the Field of 68 “Goodman & Hummel” podcast with Jeff Goodman and Robbie Hummel on Friday, he admitted that his decision might have been different if NIL (name, image and likeness) money wasn’t available. Bacot announced last week that he would return to UNC for his senior season.More