UNC Looks to Replicate Glory from Final Four Run

CHARLOTTE, NC — The Atlantic Coastal Conference held its annual tipoff event for men’s college basketball on Wednesday, which featured coaches and players from all 15 conference schools in attendance.

Despite all of the talent in the building, only one of the teams played in the national championship game. The North Carolina Tar Heels are coming off a season where they finished 29–10 overall and 15–5 in ACC play to finish in a tie for second place. UNC was not ranked nationally coming into the NCAA tournament and was minutes away from a national championship before Kansas came back and won in the final minute.

This year the Tar Heels look to replicate last year’s success as four of their five starters return from last season. Three of those starters represented UNC at the ACC tipoff this year alongside head coach Hubert Davis.

Coach Davis is aware of the high expectations being placed on the Tar Heels going into the new season but knows his battle-tested group is ready to face the pressure.

“One of the many things that I was so proud of all of them for last year was their perseverance, their toughness, and resilience,” Davis told members of the media Wednesday. “I’ve always told them in life, not just in basketball, you will get knocked down. This team did a great job of always getting back up and competing. I’m so proud of these guys and it’s a joy and a privilege to be around them every day.”

A huge factor in UNC’s tournament run last March was the dynamic between Junior guard Caleb Love and Senior big man Armando Bacot. Both players lead the way in all six games for the Tar Heels as Bacot averaged 15.3 points, 16.5 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks a game while Love averaged nearly 19 points a game in 37 minutes.

The Virginia native, who was First-team All-ACC a year ago, claims despite having a career year a season ago that we have yet to see the best of him.

“I had the best offseason I’ve probably had since I’ve been here this summer,” Bacot said. “I think I’m just seeing the floor a lot better and understanding the offense even better as well. I’m just ready for the season to start at this point because I have a lot more to prove.”

Out of all of the interviews I had with the players and coach Davis, there was one recurring theme that had the Tar Heels smiling ear to ear.

Grad transfer Pete Nance is a 6-11 forward coming in from Northwestern University who has been raved about by all of the Tar Heels present on media day.
“His all-around game is great, I love him,” Love told me. “People like to compare him to Brady (Manek) but their games are nothing alike. His defensive IQ is what has amazed me so far in our first few months together. He’s gonna bring a dynamic at the four that we didn’t have last year and I’m excited.”

UNC looks to run out an electric starting lineup that features RJ Davis, Love, Leaky Black, Nance, and Bacot to start the season. Depending on the matchup you can also expect to see Junior forward Puff Johnson starting some games as well.

The Tar Heels begin their season on Nov. 7 when they host UNC-Wilmington in the Dean E. Smith Center live on ACC Network.