Covering Carolina sports beyond just men's basketball and football — with the most complete women's basketball coverage
It was a rough night for Harrison Barnes and Cameron Johnson as they both scored 17 points but their teams lost Game 3s in their NBA first-round series Thursday. It was particularly frustrating for Johnson, whose Brooklyn Nets made a game of it but missed chances to win it or tie it at the end as Philadelphia took a 3–0 series lead with a 102–97 victory in Brooklyn.
DURHAM — For a program with one loss in the previous three seasons, North Carolina has faced unfamiliar challenges after losing plenty of talent from last season’s unbeaten national champions. No. 6 UNC added another new challenge Friday when they trailed Duke for the first time since 2018. The Tar Heels haven’t overcome all those challenges this season but withstood a spunky Blue Devils team to win 13–12 in the regular-season finale for their 14th consecutive win over their rivals.
Carolina picked up another transfer Thursday in former Notre Dame guard Cormac Ryan. Ryan, a 6–5, 195-pound graduate transfer, has one year of remaining eligibility.
The fifth of the six Carolina players to enter the transfer portal has committed.
Will Shaver, who played only six minutes over three games for Carolina before getting hurt, will play at Belmont with likely four years remaining eligibility.
Two clubs with a rich history — Chelsea and Wrexham — will meet on Wednesday, July 19, in the first international soccer competition in Kenan Stadium history and the first neutral-site meeting between the clubs.
CHAPEL HILL — What could have easily been a laugher for No. 18 North Carolina still was a solid win, but the missed opportunities were no joke. UNC eased past Charlotte 5–3 after rolling past the 49ers 16–3 earlier this season. But, against No. 20 Boston College this weekend — with the Tar Heels needing a big series if they hope to get into the NCAA regional host conversation — they can’t leave 19 runners on base and waste so many scoring chances.
Relentless, red-hot and fearless. Cameron Johnson was all that for Brooklyn on Monday night for one half, but, again, it wasn’t enough. Harrison Barnes again was a steady force as Sacramento took a 2–0 lead on Golden State. Johnson scored 22 points and had Joel Embiid flailing with a one-handed dunk in his face, followed by a stare-down of the 7-footer, in the first half. He added only six points in the second half, though, as the Philadelphia 76ers took a 2–0 series lead with a 96–84 victory over the Nets on Monday night.
The possibilities with artificial intelligence are fascinating, but the chatbots, such as Google’s Bard, still have a long way to go regarding accuracy. After watching this story on Sunday’s episode of “60 Minutes,” I was curious about what sorts of stories Bard would produce from prompts related to Carolina sports. Some were interesting, many were amusing, and accuracy left much to be desired.
In a festive, college-type atmosphere in Sacramento, Harrison Barnes scored 13 points and a big late 3-pointer as the Kings won their first playoff game in 17 years. Cameron Johnson’s best career playoff game wasn’t enough for his Brooklyn Nets. Against the Golden State Warriors, where Barnes began his NBA career and won a league title in 2015, the Kings pulled out a 126–123 victory in Game 1 of their Western Conference first-round series in a highly entertaining game.
The Jersey girl is going home. Destiny Adams, one of Carolina’s most aggressive and dogged defenders during her two seasons in Chapel Hill, will transfer to Rutgers University, where she’ll be a junior with three years of eligibility.
tarheeltribune.com 