Takeaways from UNC Men's Basketball's Exhibition vs. St. Augustine's

The UNC men’s basketball team got out to a flying start and never looked back in a 117-53 win against St. Augustine’s in an exhibition at the Smith Center on Friday night.

𝐇𝐄𝐄𝐋𝐒 𝐖𝐈𝐍.#CarolinaFamily | @WellsFargo pic.twitter.com/I6srF3FAjR

— Carolina Basketball (@UNC_Basketball) October 28, 2023

Here are a few takeaways from the Tar Heels’ win:

Elliot Cadeau is the real deal – and very fun to watch

Despite not getting the start, highly-touted guard Elliot Cadeau was as advertised against the Falcons. Cadeau dished out four first-half assists to fire up the crowd and prove the Kendall Marshall comparisons aren’t just talk. Cadeau’s speed with the ball was also apparent: he broke the ankles of a Falcon defender on his way to an and-1 layup late in the first half.

“He just instinctively can see things that most people can’t see,” head coach Hubert Davis said of Cadeau.

If Davis does decide to keep Cadeau on the bench for now, he’s a heck of a weapon to keep as a reserve.

Zayden High is earning his minutes

The “other” incoming UNC freshman, High arrived with much less fanfare than Cadeau but is putting in work to impress Hubert Davis and company. High made himself a factor on the glass in the exhibition, grabbing 11 rebounds (four offensive) and frequently keeping plays alive with tap-outs and deflections. That’ll earn you serious playing time in Chapel Hill.

“Zayden, I feel like he’s gonna surprise a lot of people this year,” said starting wing and Stanford transfer Harrison Ingram, who finished with 16 points. “He’s been playing well. He’s strong, he’s big, he rebounds, he plays hard, he blocks shots, he can shoot. He’s a really good player.”

UNC’s reserve bigs are still very raw

Carolina certainly has more bodies to back up Armando Bacot in the frontcourt, but none of them have his polish. James Okonkwo and Jalen Washington showed flashes against the Falcons with towering blocks and two-handed dunks, but both of them also had simple miscues: missed box-outs, passes going through their hands, etc. If either are to take over the starting role in the post-Bacot era, that will need to be cleaned up.

Assists galore!

The presence of Cadeau certainly helped, but UNC’s elevated assist numbers were absolutely a sight for sore eyes. The Tar Heels finished with 23 helpers on 43 made baskets. Carolina ranked 13th in the ACC with just under 12 assists per game last season.

“We were playing together as a team,” Ingram said. “We were sharing the ball. No matter what the score got to, we still played together.”

Cormac Ryan’s injury bears watching

Notre Dame transfer Cormac Ryan, who started the game and had 10 points in the first half, went down late in the half with left ankle injury and did not return. He sat on the end of the bench next to trainer Doug Halverson in the second half, but was still moving very gingerly when he did get up. Ryan’s presence on the bench would seem to indicate the injury isn’t serious, but UNC would like him healthy sooner rather than later, preferably before the trip to the Bahamas for the Battle 4 Atlantis over the Thanksgiving holiday.

“It was just a little tweak,” Davis said of Ryan’s injury. “He could’ve gone back into the game.”

Featured image via Todd Melet

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