Covering Carolina sports beyond just men's basketball and football — with the most complete women's basketball coverage
Coming home has meant coming off the bench for Coby White, but also playing his best basketball of the season for the streaking Charlotte Hornets. White scored a season-high 27 points once in 29 games this season for the Chicago Bulls, but has matched that twice in the last three games, all at home, and the Hornets have won four games in a row.
Four Marches after teaming up on a run to the Final Four for UNC, RJ Davis and Caleb Love battled for two games in the G League, with Love putting on an overtime show on Tuesday.
Harrison Barnes returned after missing five games with an ankle injury to produce one of his best games of the season, while a thumb injury ended a productive season for Day’Ron Sharpe and there were big game in the G League for RJ Davis and Caleb Love.
In his fourth NBA start, Leaky Black had the best game of his career. Playing alongside Trae Young in the Washington Wizards’ backcourt, Black played 39 minutes, scoring 16 points and four 3-pointers, all career-highs, in their 122–112 home loss Thursday to the Utah Jazz.
With Roy Williams watching on Saturday, Coby White scored 20 points in his home debut with the Charlotte Hornets during a week when Harrison Barnes’ consecutive games streak ended, Cameron Johnson got hurt, Drake Powell headed to the G League and Cormac Ryan got a two-way contract.
The first week after the All-Star break has been a period of transition for a few former UNC players, with some positive and some negative outcomes. Coby White’s long wait to make his Charlotte Hornets debut finally ended; Leaky Black’s contract was converted to a two-way deal; Portland sent Caleb Love to the G League; Cole Anthony remains in limbo; and Harrison Barnes has settled into a reserve role.
For readers who enjoy the Tar Heel Tribune’s coverage of Carolina athletics but not the clutter that comes with online advertising, there’s now a simple solution.
RJ Davis continued his outstanding season in the G League with an appearance Sunday in the league’s Up Next event in Los Angeles as part of NBA All-Star Weekend, leading his team to the championship of the four-team tournament.
It was a week of transition for former UNC players in the NBA, with Coby White and Cole Anthony dealt before Thursday’s trade deadline, Cameron Johnson finally returning from a knee injury. Meanwhile, Portland has a decision later this month to make on Caleb Love.
Caleb Love keeps stacking good games in his rookie season in Portland, including one of his most efficient nights of the season on Sunday.
It might be time for the Los Angeles Lakers to call up RJ Davis to the NBA. Davis followed up scoring 30 points in a triple-double on Thursday with a career-high 45 points in only 35 minutes on Saturday in the South Bay Lakers’ dominant 146–104 home victory over the Salt Lake City Stars at the UCLA Health Training Center in El Segundo, Calif.
RJ Davis’ sensational rookie season in the G League reached a new milestone Thursday night when he recorded his first career triple-double. The five-year Carolina star collected 30 points, 10 rebounds and a season-high-tying 10 assists and was 11 of 22 from the floor in his South Bay Lakers’ 125–118 victory over the Salt Lake City Stars at the UCLA Health Training Center in El Segundo, Calif.
Coby White delivered three standout performances during a 3–0 week for the surging Chicago Bulls, just as trade chatter intensified ahead of the Feb. 5 NBA trade deadline. Meanwhile, Cormac Ryan, RJ Davis and Harrison Ingram continue to light up the G League, while Cole Anthony had his best game in three months and Caleb Love turned in another impressive game.
North Carolina’s fourth Quad 1 victory jumped the Tar Heels’ NET rankings to 23, stabilizing the Tar Heels’ NCAA tournament résumé that wasn’t looking good after the two losses in the Bay Area dropped them to 30.
Drake Powell hit several injury-related bumps early in his rookie season, but he has settled into a rhythm at both ends of the floor and played his way into the Brooklyn Nets’ starting lineup.
