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There is one very big difference between Kansas and Carolina.
The top-ranked Jayhawks entertain the No. 9 Tar Heels, who are making their first visit to famed Allen Fieldhouse since 1960, when sophomore guard Larry Brown led Frank McGuire’s last UNC team to a thrilling 78-70 win in December of that year. The 7 p.m. tip-off Friday on ESPN2 matches two very good teams in four positions, but it is the center spot that will likely make the difference.
Hunter Dickinson, the 7-2 fifth year senior, is a mismatch for anyone Carolina has on its roster, and Hubert Davis said in his press conference this week that the Michigan transfer is the complete player from rebounding and rim protection, to running the floor and scoring from inside and out.
KU has a good transfer portal roster, as does Carolina. But Dickinson is playing his second season in Lawrence after deciding not to turn pro for a reported NIL deal worth close to seven figures. So Davis says through team rebounding and denying defense they have to do the best possible job on the boards and on the floor against the Jayhawks giant.
Kansas also has a size advantage on the perimeter where 6-4 guard Zeke Mayo, who played three seasons at San Diego State, carries a 15-plus college scoring average and made 5-of-8 three-pointers in KU’s 87-57 win over Howard on opening night. Two other big wing guards to watch are 6-6 Alabama transfer Rylan Griffen and 6-7 AJ Storr, who is coming off averaging 17 points for Wisconsin.
Coach Bill Self used 10 players for at least 14 minutes against Howard, compared to the nine Tar Heels who made up Carolina’s rotation in the 90-76 win over Elon, which shot well enough (13 three-pointers) to keep the game close until the final five minutes.
Self, of course, replaced Roy Williams, who coached the Jayhawks for 15 seasons before returning to Carolina and says he will not be in Lawrence Friday night. Self has won two national championships since (Roy has three), including the dramatic 2022 victory over Davis in the NCAA championship game in New Orleans. Hubert says he watches the tape of that heartbreaking loss every season and R.J. Davis, who was a sophomore, adds it also looms large in his mind.
Davis is the only UNC returnee from that game. The defending ACC Player of the Year and preseason pick to repeat as first team All-American is the best-known player in this early season marquis match-up, the first of a home-and-home series that resumes in Chapel Hill next season after he is gone.
Davis and Dickinson entered college the same year (2020) and will be the main subjects for talking heads before and during the first national blockbuster of the season.
Featured image via Todd Melet
Art Chansky is a veteran journalist who has written ten books, including best-sellers “Game Changers,” “Blue Bloods,” and “The Dean’s List.” He has contributed to WCHL for decades, having made his first appearance as a student in 1971. His “Sports Notebook” commentary airs daily on the 97.9 The Hill WCHL and his “Art’s Angle” opinion column runs weekly on Chapelboro.Chapelboro.com does not charge subscription fees, and you can directly support our efforts in local journalism here. Want more of what you see on Chapelboro? Let us bring free local news and community information to you by signing up for our newsletter.
Go Heels!
Never easy, we play the big games!
A rare, very rare, occurrence in that I’m happy even with a loss.
Great game! You go to Kansas when they are #1 and have a true shot at winning, just falling short by a basket, and it’s the 2nd game of the season, just means this is going to be a very special basketball season.