The arrival of fall brings with it the return of college athletics to Chapel Hill, as the UNC sports calendar kicks into high gear. We’re still a couple months away from basketball season, but excitement is already starting to build around the hardwood – including in Carmichael Arena, where the Tar Heel women are entering Year Five of the Courtney Banghart era with high expectations.
UNC is returning several key starters from last year’s team that won 22 games and finished in the national top 20 – and in addition to the returning stars, Carolina is also bringing in a highly-touted class of freshmen, plus three incoming stars from the transfer portal.
97.9 The Hill’s Aaron Keck recently spoke with head coach Courtney Banghart about the upcoming season; they also touched on last Monday’s fatal shooting on campus, as well as the news about ACC expansion and the challenges (and opportunities) that will create.
Click here to listen to their conversation. (The transcript below has been slightly edited for clarity.)
Aaron Keck: I want to have a fun conversation about the upcoming season, but first I have to ask (about) everything that’s transpired on campus since the shooting. What has your experience been? How have the players reacted?
Courtney Banghart: You know, it obviously hits you hard, the immediacy of it and the urgency of it. In that moment, we weren’t able to wrap our arms around our players. But we were able to find them. We were able to know, because of their phones, that they were safe, (and) we were able to get to parents pretty quickly. So now it’s shifted to “how do you process,” right? And how we move forward – and like our community will, we’re just doing that together.
Keck: In a situation like that, you as the coach have to be the rock that everyone can lean on. But – how are you? Where were you? What was your experience like?
Banghart: Thanks for asking. You know, Carmichael is obviously very close to Caudill Labs, and I got the alert just like everybody else. We immediately got into (figuring) out that our people are accounted for, that they’re not in harm’s way…and once I felt like that was okay, I was able to move forward. I also have small children that were in the public school here in town – and all they heard was that there was a medical emergency at the university, and clearly they know I’m at the university. So we had some conversations that you don’t want to have. But living in America, these are conversations that are important to have.
Keck: Turning our attention to the team: you’ve had a very busy summer with a lot of practice, a lot of activity. How has that gone?
Banghart: You know, it just never stops, the preparation – whether you’re working on skill development, team concepts, or camaraderie. So we did a lot of everything. You know, these are guys that want to be pros, so it’s really (about) developing their pro skill set and their bodies as well as their sport performance. And then some team mechanisms: we got themselves into a pickleball tournament, and then we also took them whitewater rafting. <laugh> We’ve got some good basketball players and some average pickleball players, and there was a little bit more swimming than there was rafting – so we think we’re just going to stick to basketball.
Keck: Lots of new players coming to the team: tell us about some of them.
Banghart: We were able to acquire three real talented student-athletes (on the transfer portal). One from Iowa State who’s been a multi-year starter on a very good and successful Big 12 championship team, a kid from Stanford who’s (originally) from Cary, and then the starting center from Boston College, who’s an all-league performer. It’s the second ranked transfer class in the country, three really different players who will really complement what we already are. And then a top five recruiting class, and these freshmen bring an incredible amount of energy and positivity and hunger. They know what they’ve joined, right? This program is ready to really take that next step and get to a Final Four, so their sense of purpose is right on.
Keck: All joining a core that’s already established.
Banghart: Yeah. You know, we’ve got a bunch of players that are really fun to watch. I can’t promise that every year we’ll have this many pro-ready players on a roster. Obviously Deja Kelly is one of the most famous and recognizable players in women’s college basketball, (and) Alyssa Ustby is a first-team All-ACC player who also will be a first-round draft pick.
Keck: What else do you do to get that new roster to gel together? Other than falling out of a boat?
Banghart: <laugh> You know, we try to do things that are a bit safer. Basketball is a sport that you get better at by playing, right? (So) we’ve been on the court a lot, (and) these are kids that love hoops. It’s what they like to do, it’s where they feel happiest. So I feel like I know this group really well already. I’ve got a pretty good sense of who we can be.
Keck: And you’re going to be jumping right into it with a tough non-conference schedule.
Banghart: Yeah. Now’s the time, guys, to get your tickets. There’s a very good chance that we will play three Final Four teams from a year ago, (and) two of them we’ll be hosting. We wanted to go against the best, and we feel really fortunate that a lot of these games are going to be at home. South Carolina has been a perennial national champion, that’s at the end of November. Virginia Tech went to the Final Four as well. You get them at home, obviously Duke and NC State at home; you’ve got Louisville at home, who went to the Elite Eight. I mean, we’ve just got a really, really good home schedule. It worked out well. Well timed (with) the roster we have. I know the lower bowl will be sold out via season tickets. We’ve already got 350 more season ticket holders than we had last year. Carmichael’s really become the place to be. We have this giant new scoreboard – <laugh> I’m a little concerned I’ll be watching the scoreboard and not the court, but I might get a better visual that way. Just a lot of exciting things happening in Carmichael, and I really encourage folks to come on out…
(And I think) a handful of our games are going to be sold out. I don’t think you’re going to get (into) NC State or Duke or Virginia Tech or South Carolina without season tickets. There’s a lot of people that have caught that train, and we’re welcome to have a few more.
Keck: I’ve got to ask about the other big story in the air around sports, and that’s the prospect of ACC realignment. What are your thoughts about expanding out and adding West Coast teams, Texas teams?
Banghart: <laugh> This is a closed line, right? Just me and you?
Keck: <laugh> Of course!
Banghart: You know, I think you can’t beat change in college athletics, right? I know there’s a lot of people that really believe in the wholeness and the genuineness of the ACC, but there’s a lot of expansion going on. My issue is (that) you want to make sure it makes financial sense, if they can bring enough financial value to offset some of the long travel. There’s got to be a significant amount of money to make it work, because I think our league is really strong the way it is. (But) from a competitive standpoint: this is the competitor in me, but, you know, bring it. We’ll take all the best teams, it’s fine. I got to beat ’em all to win a national championship anyway.
Keck: You do have someone from Stanford on your roster now, so you’ve got the scouting report already.
Banghart: <laugh> Absolutely.
Keck: In terms of academics, the travel (creates a) difficulty with keeping students in classes – (and) keeping up with school work is already difficult, right?
Banghart: Yeah. You know, I think because of TV, our game times get tricky, right? If we have a 9:00 tip or an 8:00 tip out in, say, Miami – by the time you get out of that gym, it’s closer to midnight. And then you’ve got your flight back – and then classes start at 8:00 a.m., because you frontload your classes in the morning so you can have afternoon time so you don’t miss (class) when you travel. So it’s a heavy burden, the longer you have to travel for games. In basketball we travel pretty easily, so that’s helpful. But still: a six-hour flight all the way out to California, now you’re looking at a red-eye right into class. (And) from a competitive standpoint, that obviously affects your performance and your body.
Keck: Final message to the fans, as we get closer to the start of the season?
Banghart: Yeah, this is a really great time for Carolina basketball. It’s one of the great traditions in sport – and for people looking for things to do in the evening, it’s a must see. It really is. This is a really fun place to watch games. It’s a great sense of community. And we’ve really made Carmichael one of the more nationally recognized places to watch a game. So come on out, give it a try, root for the Heels. And if you don’t come back, you’ll be one of the very few.
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