In a night full of dancing, challenges and most importantly, hoops, the UNC men’s and women’s basketball teams ushered in the 2022-23 season at “Live Action with Carolina Basketball” in the Dean Smith Center. The event is the newest iteration of what was formerly known as “Late Night With Roy.”
The event had been postponed from its original date of September 30 due to Hurricane Ian, but blue-clad fans still crowded the lower bowl of the arena and raucously cheered each Tar Heel introduction.
“It was a lot of fun tonight,” said men’s head coach Hubert Davis. “One of the things I enjoy and I love is seeing our guys being celebrated.”
For the second straight year, radio personality and UNC superfan Brian McLaughlin, better known as “BDAHT,” emceed the festivities.
The women’s team was introduced first, with the loudest cheers coming for junior guard Deja Kelly and head coach Courtney Banghart. The team returns four starters from last season’s 25-win squad which made it to the Sweet 16. Banghart and the rest of her coaching staff came out dressed in white warmups. According to Banghart, the color choice was a preview of the team hosting the first and second rounds of next spring’s NCAA Tournament.
“We’re in the conversation already, and we haven’t even played a game yet,” Banghart said. “I did this more for my players. I mentioned, ‘Hey, I’m wearing white,’ and they went, ‘Well, we’re wearing white too, coach.'”
The men were introduced next, complete with all the pomp and circumstance expected of a fanbase welcoming back last year’s national runners-up. Fifth-year wing Leaky Black, beginning his final year as a Tar Heel, waved a 2022 Final Four banner after being introduced. Its twin is the newest addition to the Smith Center rafters.
The team also received commemorative rings for the Final Four run.
“It was a great surprise, and it was nice to see their faces and how surprised they were,” Davis said. “They’re in the locker room talking right now about how much they love it and how much they want more.”
“Gotta get another one,” Armando Bacot said after seeing his.
Some new hardware for the 2021-22 squad 💍👀 pic.twitter.com/wpbjsFd1PI
— Carolina Basketball (@UNC_Basketball) October 8, 2022
Davis drew loud cheers during his introduction, and sported a shirt honoring former UNC basketball stars Lennie Rosenbluth and Ademola Okulaja. Both Rosenbluth and Okulaja passed away this summer.
“I don’t know why it came to me,” Davis said of the idea to wear the shirt. “I wanted to honor them. I wanted to honor their families… Carolina basketball is not only thinking about them tonight, but we’re thinking about them daily.”
Tar Heel fans got their first look at the men’s team’s highly-touted batch of newcomers. Freshmen Tyler Nickel, Seth Trimble and Jalen Washington showed their chops, with Nickel competing in both the three-point shootout and the skills challenge. Washington’s participation, sparing though it was, was a welcome sight after the big man missed his senior year of high school due to a knee injury.
“My thinking is, I don’t want to go from zero to 100,” Davis said of Washington’s road back. “Last week we did one-on-one. This week, it was the first time he did some three-on-three. Then we put him in five-on-five, structured, for a couple of possessions. He’s really talented.”
Northwestern transfer Pete Nance also got a chance to showcase his skills, utilizing his long wingspan on hook shots and layups in the paint. Nance will likely take the place of the recently-departed Brady Manek in Carolina’s lineup. Manek wasn’t totally absent, though; he recorded a video message for the team which drew more cheers. Manek is currently playing professionally in Australia.
Caleb Love and Puff Johnson did not participate in the scrimmage, though Davis indicated both were out for minor reasons: Love due to hamstring tightness and Johnson due to knee tightness. The head coach didn’t seem to think either injury was severe. In fact, Love felt good enough to participate in the three-point shootout.
Ultimately, the night was a mixture of celebrating the past and anticipating the future: celebrating all the successes of 2022, and hoping for just a bit more of it in 2023.
“It was the first time that our guys have ever done anything that would warrant them getting a ring,” Davis said. “They want more, but it was a nice start.”
Featured image via Carolina Basketball on Twitter
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