When the Tar Heels take the floor in Carmichael Arena to tip off the 2022-23 season, all the familiar stars will be suiting up: Deja Kelly, Kennedy Todd-Williams, Eva Hodgson and others lead a Carolina side likely to be inside the top 15 in preseason polls.
Only one new face will be on head coach Courtney Banghart’s roster: freshman Paulina Paris from New City, N.Y.
Paris is rated as a four-star prospect by ESPN and the No. 27 overall player in her class. She is described as a gifted scorer at the combo guard position, averaging 23 points per game in her final high school season. Paris committed to the Tar Heels before the beginning of last season, when the program’s on-the-court results still hadn’t quite caught up with the recruiting. But she told Chapelboro the family atmosphere and the promise of more wins on the horizon earned her commitment.
“I was able to meet the girls on the team, and the girls are what really sold it for me,” Paris said. “Obviously the coaches are great, but I didn’t want to go to a team where I didn’t get along with the girls.
“And also, I could tell they were gonna be a winning program because of the way [Banghart] coaches the team, and just by the way the girls act. So that was mostly the reason why I came here.”
She arrives as the sole freshman in Carolina’s 2022 class. It’s a bit of a jump from UNC’s classes of 2020 and 2021, which featured five and four freshmen, respectively.
Being the lone freshman on the team does have its perks, though.
“I think it’s pretty cool that I’m the only one,” Paris said. “They can focus their attention on me, because I’m new.”
Paris originally wasn’t even considering Carolina as a college option. When she released her original eight finalist schools in January 2021, the Tar Heels were not included. She committed to Penn State, but once softening COVID regulations allowed for official campus visits, decommitted and re-opened her recruitment.
“UNC was the first school to reach out to me after I did that,” Paris said. “And then it just went from there.”
And since arriving in Chapel Hill, Paris has made strong impressions with her teammates and, perhaps most importantly, her head coach.
“I have been really impressed by Paulina,” Banghart said. “She’s got a maturity and a steadiness to her that is showing already. When we’re recruiting, we find the piece or pieces that we need and we go after them, and we do the best we can to secure them. In this class, we knew what we needed because we know what we have. She was what we needed.”
Meet our newest Tar Heel! 👣🏀#GoHeels x @PaulinaParis23 pic.twitter.com/DqahBLjFMJ
— Carolina Women's Basketball (@uncwbb) July 6, 2022
Paris described herself as a guard capable of doing a little bit of everything.
“I think that I could bring scoring and passing ability to the team,” she said. “I wouldn’t say I’m a pass-first guard, but I definitely know how to do both.”
While she acknowledged the jump from high school to college hasn’t been easy, she mentioned two of her teammates who are making the transition easier.
“I would say the girl that has probably helped me the most in practice would be Eva [Hodgson],” Paris said. “Obviously I’m making a few mistakes in practice, because I’m not used to what we’re doing yet. But I’ve definitely gotten better, and Eva’s definitely been there to keep my head up through the plays that I’ve messed up on. And definitely Anya [Poole] too. They both have been [a big help] to me.”
Hodgson, who is entering her second and final season with the Tar Heels after transferring from William and Mary, said she remembered how it felt to step onto a brand-new campus. Helping the freshman out was an easy choice.
“I know how I felt last year. And I did it twice,” Hodgson said. “Just having someone who’s been here, and who’s a little bit older and has gone through it, even just to say ‘I’m here for you, let me know what you need.’ That kind of thing, I found extremely helpful in my time. I just wanted her to know that no matter what’s going on, she’s supported. She’s loved. I’m here for her. Because it’s what I know I would need to hear.”
As the least-experienced player on an experienced and talented roster, how much playing time Paulina Paris gets next season is still up in the air. The freshman from New York is confident in her abilities, but even more confident in Carolina’s outlook. When asked about the team’s ceiling, she didn’t hesitate.
“National championship.”
Featured image via NJ Advance Media/Scott Faytok
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