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Not so fast, Tar Heel Nation.
The hunger for Carolina to return to its place of dominance in college basketball is palpable among the alumni and fan base.
During and after last season’s bitter disappointment, the still-new coaches and the older players who had led them to the 2022 Final Four went from darlings of their own March Madness to social media zealots carping about change, which only increased when seven players transferred.
No question the mega roster moves that Hubert Davis pulled off is historically enticing, especially when considering the savvy and experience the new kids on the block brought to the Tar Heels’ table.
Hubert’s third team is beginning to look like the squads his old coach Dean Smith turned out long before NIL and the transfer portal became part of the college lexicon.
It did not happen with Smith’s formula of a recruited base sprinkled with an occasional player who turned pro early. This one has the same kind of veteran depth, with tough transfers ready to play replacing the traditional needs for player development.
With NIL money now infiltrating the game, the current Heels play like winning is more important than wealth. That makes this team unique in today’s athletic atmosphere.
There is ample reason to believe Armando Bacot and R.J. Davis will continue to be vocal leaders in huddles and the locker room, with the head coach loving that kind of engagement.
But while some fans and bloggers have already crowned the Heels ACC regular season champion, their journey will still result in getting the best shot from every ACC foe.
Pitt was beaten at its own aggressive game, but the Panthers lost more than they gained through the portal. While Clemson has its best team in years, Carolina’s lopsided series record may have turned the Tigers from second best 3-point shooters in the ACC into cold cats who missed 18 of 19 from outside. UNC’s active defense had only something to do with that.
Smith used to say sarcastically, “The other team has coaches, too!” And the Heels’ inconsistent shooting will be tested by aggressive defenders who will try to exploit mismatches with Carolina’s small starting backcourt (why Seth Trimble’s size, speed and defense should get him even more minutes as the season goes on).
Winning at State, which has quietly rebuilt its roster with experienced transfers and freshmen who don’t get the hype of Harrison Ingram, Cormac Ryan and Elliot Cadeau, will be difficult despite UNC’s record of 18-6 in Raleigh over the last 24 years.
The teams are meeting undefeated in ACC play for the first time since 1974 (the year of State’s first national championship).
Behind the fuel of three straight wins in football, the crazed Wolfpack faithful will expect its 1 game streak in basketball will grow to 2 or 3.
Featured image via Associated Press/Mike Stewart
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Well stated. I was just remarking the other day that this years team ressembles the teams of yore under Smith.
I can never take UNC seriously after the worst academic scandal in the school’s history….well, at least since the late 50’s. For the school to only offer a defense based on the fact that it was all okay because ALL students could take the fake classes is deplorable and embarrassing.
You said it all in the last sentence, “open to all students.” As I remember, there were regular students in the classes.