UNC Tar Heels Live Action with Carolina Basketball, Lawrence Law Davis III, @lawdavis13, Spectacular Magazine, Lawrence Davis Arrest, Law Davis III, Lawrence Davis Durham NC, Lawrence Davis photographer, Lawrence Davis videographer, Lawrence Davis sports, Armando Bacot, double-double, NBA, NBA Draft, UNC score, UNC update, UNC news,
Sports

Tar Heels Hold Annual Live Action With Carolina Event

Lawrence Davis III @LawDavis13 @SpecMagSports

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – The Tar Heels fans began preparations for the 2022-23 basketball season as the North Carolina men’s and women’s basketball team held their annual  “Live Action with Carolina Basketball” at the Dean Smith Center on Friday night.

MTV comedian & local radio show host B Daht served as the host of the festivities on Friday night, which included player and staff introductions, a combined three-point shooting contest, and intra-squad scrimmages by both the men’s and women’s basketball teams

Second-year head coach Hubert Davis will lead one of the most experienced teams in the nation and one of the most seasoned groups in recent program history this season. 

Carolina returns four starters from the 2021-22 squad that went 29-10 and reached its NCAA-record 21st Final Four. The Tar Heels beat Duke in the national semifinals in the first meeting of the two rivals in NCAA Tournament play, advancing to the title game before losing to Kansas.

Starters back for more in Chapel Hill include fifth-year senior wing Leaky Black, senior All-America forward Armando Bacot (who tied the NCAA record with 31 double-doubles last season), and junior guards RJ Davis and Caleb Love. The four returnees give Carolina a potential starting lineup of a fifth-year senior, a senior, and two juniors. 

A possible addition to the starting group is another veteran, graduate transfer Pete Nance, who led Northwestern in scoring, rebounding, and three-point percentage last season. 

UNC also added three freshmen in forwards Tyler Nickel and Jalen Washington and guard Seth Trimble, filling out the 17-man roster.

The Tar Heels tied for second place in the Atlantic Coast Conference regular season in 2021-22 before eventually advancing to their 12th national championship game (and third in the last six seasons). UNC won 17 of its last 21 games and reached the NCAA final as a No. 8 seed in the NCAA Tournament while becoming the first program ever to play in a Final Four and national championship game in nine consecutive decades (from the 1940s through the 2020s).

The Tar Heels will get a warmup exhibition game against the Johnson C. Smith Golden Bulls on Friday, October 28th at 7:30 pm before hosting their season-opener against UNC-Wilmington on Monday, November 9th at 9 pm.