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Carolina’s already thin inside game just got even thinner.
The way Zayden High left the Tar Heels’ basketball program has spurred questions and speculation. UNC may have privacy restrictions that resulted in two paragraphs that said the 6-foot-9 rising sophomore “is not enrolled.” Maybe it was something the school could not reveal, but the cold announcement does not look very good.
The release had a second paragraph that listed stats from the seldom-used freshman, 4.4 minutes per game and shooting 32 percent, including 0-8 from the 3-point arc.
Whatever the reason, the result doesn’t help a frontcourt that had trouble replacing Armando Bacot and still plans to do it by committee after missing out on several sought-after transfer big men, likely for more NIL money.
It will be interesting to see where High surfaces and if he is transferring and took what had to be meager money to leave. He was a four-star recruit with a pretty good resume at Compass Prep in Arizona, where he averaged 17 points and 9 rebounds as a senior and was MVP of the 2023 Hoop Hall Classic.
The Tar Heels pivot for 2024-25 has 6-10 junior Jalen Washington, the projected starter, plus 6-9 Jae’Lyn Withers, 6-8 Vanderbilt transfer Ven-Allen Lubin and 3-star 6-9 freshman James Brown.
Hubert Davis’ fourth Carolina team has a sparkling backcourt and perimeter, led by returning ACC Player of the Year and Cousy Award winner R.J. Davis, sophomore point guard Elliot Cadeau, junior defensive ace Seth Trimble, 5-star freshmen wings Ian Jackson and Drake Powell and 4-star shooter Cade Tyson.
The Heels will need another spectacular season from fifth-year senior Davis, improved outside shooting from Cadeau and for reputed 3-point marksman Tyson to do his thing.
It would be ideal if Tyson replaced Cormac Ryan’s perimeter game and Lubin could come close to what Harrison Ingram produced as a 3-4 man.
As a team, Carolina will have to match or better 45 percent shooting, 36 percent from three-point range and 76 percent from the foul line, all tremendous improvements from the previous season and, respectively, 9th, 5th and 4th in the ACC. The Heels were second in field goal defense and fourth in 3-point defense.
With Bacot, of course, they were tops in all rebounding categories. In assists, assist-turnover ratio and blocked shots, they were fifth, quantum leaps from the year before.
Look for another high-octane team that runs at every opportunity and gets easy baskets in transition. And it would be nice if Carolina could match lofty preseason expectations like first or second in the ACC and top 10 in the national polls.
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.
This is about to be one of the worst recruiting seasos ever but I got faith in my boys