Head coach Courtney Banghart and the Tar Heels ushered in the 2024-25 season at the ACC Tip-Off in Charlotte on Wednesday. Banghart’s program is coming off a season which ended in the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive year. But more than that, Carolina is moving past a turbulent offseason which saw the departure of six players to the transfer portal — including four-year starter Deja Kelly.
Kelly, whose notoriety on the court is perhaps surpassed by her brand off of it, was at the forefront of all things UNC women’s basketball during her four seasons in Chapel Hill. But Carolina is still plenty talented without Kelly’s services: All-ACC performer Alyssa Ustby is back for her fifth and final season with the Tar Heels, and highly-touted redshirt freshmen Ciera Toomey (a five-star prospect who turned down UConn to join UNC) and Laila Hull (Indiana’s Ms. Basketball in high school) will look to bounce back from injuries which kept them off the court entirely last season.
Indeed, the relative health of the roster was top of mind for Banghart in Charlotte. And why wouldn’t it be? The 2023-24 season saw Carolina ravaged by a never-ending carousel of maladies: Toomey, Hull, Kayla McPherson, Reniya Kelly, Paulina Paris and others were forced to miss time.
“We’re healthy, at least right now,” said Banghart. “Knock on everything you know. We’ve got some guys off of redshirts who we know will help us. We’ve got some young guys who we know will help us. And we know we’ve got some great experience here that we’ll lean on all year.”
Banghart was joined by three Tar Heel players in Charlotte: Ustby, guard Lexi Donarski and forward Maria Gakdeng. Donarski (Iowa State) and Gakdeng (Boston College) represent transfer portal wins for Banghart from the 2023 offseason, and the head coach hopes her 2024 crop of Trayanna Crisp (Arizona State) and Grace Townsend (Richmond) can demonstrate the same productivity.
With Ustby firmly installed as the senior voice in the locker room, Banghart praised the roster’s chemistry in the early rounds of fall practice.
“This is a really connected group,” she said. “It’s a very popular time to talk about those types of words, but it’s not a word I would’ve always used.”
“This group really is special,” said Donarski. “The chemistry that we have on and off the court, already this early in the season, is truly special.”
Deja Kelly’s departure to Oregon via the transfer portal not only leaves Banghart a starting spot to fill, but also a focal point of the offense to replace. Kelly averaged 15.4 points per game during her four years in Chapel Hill, though her shooting numbers were well below average: 35.7 percent from the field and 31.2 percent on three-pointers.
“Each group has its own different vibe,” said Banghart, “and this group, it’s much easier to score the ball. We’ve had a really tough time scoring the past few years. The ball stuck at times.”
In 2023-24, Carolina ranked 11th in the ACC in scoring (67.8 points per game), 12th in field-goal percentage (41.3 percent), 11th in three-point percentage (30.2 percent) and 14th in free throw percentage (66 percent). The Tar Heels’ brand of offense was not always easy on the eyes.
“We just have a lot more space now,” Banghart went on to say. “The ball moves much more fluidly.”
Without Kelly, Ustby is the leading scorer returning to the Carolina roster. The 2023-24 season could easily be called her best: Ustby averaged 12.5 points and posted career highs in rebounds (9.5) and assists (3.6) per game, all while Carolina’s injury woes forced her to log nearly 34 minutes per game. Her senior season also saw Ustby record the program’s first-ever triple-double: 16 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists against No. 25 Syracuse on January 4.
Ustby noted her desire to expand her range past the three-point line — she’s only made 42 threes in her career and made just three last season.
“That’s been a big part of my game [this offseason],” she said. “Iron sharpens iron. We’re constantly working hard and making each other better in many different ways.”
This year’s Tar Heel team enters not just a new era of Carolina women’s basketball, but ACC women’s basketball as a whole. The additions of Cal, Stanford and SMU to the league have necessitated the removal of certain pillars of the UNC schedule. Notably, Carolina only plays NC State once (in Chapel Hill on February 16). And while the Tar Heels play Duke twice, the second game against the Blue Devils will not be the regular-season finale, as has been tradition.
“I’m looking forward to playing everybody one time, and our rival twice,” said Banghart. “I think that will [produce] a better true champion in our league.”
Carolina hasn’t won an ACC title since 2008, when it swept the conference regular-season and tournament crowns. The ACC Tournament was once UNC’s playground: the Tar Heels won four times in five seasons between 1994 and 1998, then produced a four-peat between 2005 and 2008. Carolina’s nine tournament titles are the most of any active ACC member.
Those glory days are long gone, but Gakdeng believes Banghart has the pieces in place to get the Tar Heels back to the mountaintop.
“She’s a very honest coach, and she’s gonna tell you what it is,” Gakdeng said. “She’s a leader. She knows what she’s talking about. She knows how to effectively coach. And even though we had a lot of injuries this past year, we still managed to get to the second round of the [NCAA] Tournament. With these new pieces – and now that we’re healthy – we’re gonna make it a lot farther.”
Carolina will begin the regular season on Monday, November 4 when it hosts Charleston Southern at Carmichael Arena.
Featured image via UNC Athletic Communications/Jeffrey A. Camarati
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