Last year was an unmitigated, abject disaster for North Carolina men’s basketball.
After a heartbreaking loss to Kansas in the 2022 NCAA championship game, the Tar Heels returned a strong team of veterans the following fall and, on paper, looked ready to sprint back to the Final Four. They were crowned preseason No. 1 in the AP Top 25 poll.
And they were unranked less than a month later.
The Tar Heels finished the year 20-13 (11-9 in ACC), got swept by Duke missed the NCAA Tournament and rejecting a bid to play in the NIT Tournament.
Like I said: Disaster.
So on the cusp of a new season with another strong core of players, the preseason No. 19 Tar Heels are cautiously optimistic that things will be better this time around — with a heavy emphasis on caution from senior forward Armando Bacot.
Armando Bacot, on the biggest difference he expects fans to notice about this year's UNC team: "I mean, I hope — I don't want to jinx it — that we play hard."
— Brendan Marks (@BrendanRMarks) November 3, 2023
Ok, look. I get it. You don’t want to tempt fate after everything fell apart so quickly last year. You also don’t want to put your teammates in an awkward position. Most of all, Bacot is a fifth-year leader on this team who knows how to give a playful quote and take the edge off.
Again, I get it. I see it. I respect it.
So I’m just going to say what we’re all thinking: literally the only thing you can control on the court is how hard you play.
There is nothing more to add.