Tag: Armando Bacot

The 20 all-time leading scorers in the history of UNC men’s basketball

The all-time leading scorers in UNC basketball history including Michael Jordan, Tyler Hansbrough, Phil Ford and more.

The University of North Carolina has a rich basketball history. The program has been home to legends of the game over the years with names like Phil Ford, Lennie Rosenbluth, Michael Jordan and Tyler Hansbrough all wearing that Carolina Blue.

To be in the record books as a player at North Carolina has significant meaning as you’re up there with some of the best to play the game.

Over the years, the Tar Heels have seen some prolific scorers come through the program and establish their dominance in the Atlantic Coast Conference as well as all of college basketball. And this year is no different for the program.

With Armando Bacot and RJ Davis both having impressive seasons again, it was time to update the program’s all-time scoring leaders list. A list that includes both Bacot and Davis as well as other standouts that have played in Chapel Hill.

Let’s take a look at the UNC basketball program’s all-time leading scorers list, updated here in 2024 as the season goes on. You will see some familiar names and maybe even some surprises as to where players are ranked on this list after successful careers.

Armando Bacot named a player who can shape the NCAA tournament’s first weekend

UNC basketball standout Armando Bacot was named a player that will shape the first round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament.

North Carolina has their assignment for the first round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament as they await the winner of the 16-seed play-in game between Howard and Wagner. If North Carolina were to win, they would stay in Charlotte and face off against either Mississippi State or Michigan State in the second round with a trip to the Sweet 16 on the line.

After an impressive regular season that saw the Tar Heels claim the ACC regular season title, they have their eyes set on the bigger prize. Cutting down the nets in Phoenix this April. And if they want to get to the Sweet 16 and take a step forward, Armando Bacot is going to have to be a factor.

Bacot was listed by Rivals as one of the former five-star recruits that can shape the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament. Here is what Rob Cassidy had to say about Bacot on the list:

Bacot just made the blue chip cut back in 2019, being ranked as the one of the last five-stars in the Rivals150. He now stands as one of the most important players on one of the most important teams in this year’s tournament and will provide some serious veteran leadership for the No. 1-seeded Tar Heels, who are expected to make a deep run in the tournament. Bacot began his high school career at Virginia’s Trinity Episcopal before transferring to Florida’s famed IMG Academy and has played his entire, five-season college career for North Carolina, which makes him a bit of an anomaly in the modern game. It has also endeared him to Tar Heel fans, however, and it feels as though he stands on the verge of Chapel Hill folk-hero status should the Tar Heels find themselves in the Final Four.

In his fifth and final season, Bacot is averaging 14.1 points, 10.2 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game while shooting 54.5 percent from the floor. We’ve already seen what Bacot can do when he gets hot in the NCAA Tournament and the Tar Heels are hoping he shows up in a big way this March.

Follow us @TarHeelsWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of North Carolina Tar Heels news, notes and opinions.

ACC men’s basketball leaders as of March 17

No Notre Dame players.

The NCAA Tournament officially is here with five ACC teams among those seeking a national championship. The ACC particularly drew attention from the rest of the country after No. 10 seed NC State won the conference tournament for the first time since 1987. Strangely, no one on the Wolfpack concluded the ACC season as a leader in any of the major statistical categories. Some are going to March Madness though, and here they are:

Armando Bacot now second in all-time ACC double-doubles

Armando Bacot played well despite an overall dud for UNC in Saturday’s ACC Championship, moving further up the ACC double-double list.

Last night was not a good one for the UNC men’s basketball team.

After being favored by nearly 10 points against NC State in Saturday’s ACC Championship, North Carolina lost by nearly 10 in an 84-76 defeat. It seemed like the Wolfpack couldn’t miss. They dominated down low, as the DJ Burns-Mohamed Diarra duo out-played Harrison Ingram and Armando Bacot.

Despite how poorly the Tar Heels played Saturday, there was one positive takeaway.

With his 18-point, 12-rebound double-double, Bacot passed Ralph Sampson on the ACC all-time double-doubles list. Bacot now has 85, breaking a tie with Sampson.

Bacot and RJ Davis played extremely well in the ACC Tournament. In fact, the two were the greatest reasons why UNC beat Pitt in the semifinals.

Bacot recorded a double-double in each ACC Tournament game, finishing with 51 points and 33 rebounds. Davis finished with 73 points.

North Carolina’s supporting cast wasn’t great, however. Harrison Ingram, Cormac Ryan and Elliot Cadeau struggled immensely in the ACC Semis and title game, making just 12 combined shots in the final two rounds.

If the Tar Heels want to do anything in the NCAA Tournament, everyone will need to step up – bench included. Hubert Davis’ reserves played well, so maybe the likes of Jalen Washington and Seth Trimble see more playing time.

One thing’s for certain – if UNC wants to win it all, will need the ACC Tournament version of Armando Bacot.

Follow us @TarHeelsWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of North Carolina Tar Heels news, notes and opinions.

Armando Bacot ties Ralph Sampson in career double-doubles

Ralph Sampson is one of the best big men in ACC basketball history. Star UNC center Armando Bacot is right up there with Sampson.

Ralph Sampson is one of the best college basketball players to ever come through the ACC.

He starred at UVA from 1979-1983 – winning the 1980 ACC Rookie of the Year, being named ACC Player of the Year three times (1981-1983) and National POTY three times (1981-1983). Ralph and his Cavalier teammates made the NCAA Tournament all four years, but never advanced further than the Final Four.

Sampson continued to enjoy a strong NBA career, being named an All-Star four times after the Houston Rockets took him first overall in the 1983 NBA Draft. Sampson never won an NBA Finals, making him arguably one of the greatest players to never win a title.

Another ACC basketball great – who’s currently taking the court by storm – is UNC center Armando Bacot. He could’ve gone pro after North Carolina’s unexpected run to the 2022 National Championship game, but came back to help his teammates finish the job.

Last year didn’t work out, but look at what Bacot’s done during his five years in Chapel Hill. He’s started all but one game over his five seasons, averaging a double-double (13.8 points, 10.1 rebounds per game). He now holds UNC’s all-time rebounds and double-double record.

Not only does Bacot own North Carolina’s double-double record, he’s also been climbing up the ACC list.

In Friday’s 72-65 win over Pitt, Bacot tied Sampson with his 84th career double-double.

There’s a very solid chance Bacot passes Sampson in tonight’s ACC Championship Game, but he’ll have to go through the tank that is DJ Burns to do so.

If Bacot is able to break a tie with Sampson, it would be his first double-double against NC State this year. Bacot was limited to just nine points and five rebounds on Jan. 10 in Raleigh, while he scored 13 points and grabbed seven rebounds on March 2 in Chapel Hill.

Bacot will be under a close watch eye through the NCAA Tournament, as he needs just four more to pass Tim Duncan for most in ACC history.

Follow us @TarHeelsWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of North Carolina Tar Heels news, notes and opinions.

Harrison Ingram and Armando Bacot are dominating the glass at record numbers

UNC basketball stars Harrison Ingram and Armando Bacot are dominating the glass at record numbers, we take a closer look stat line.

The North Carolina Tar Heels motto for decades has been rebounding, echoed by the late Dean Smith, Roy Williams, and Hubert Davis.

This season, two Tar Heels have dominated the glass, cleaning up boards at historic levels. [autotag]Armando Bacot[/autotag] and [autotag]Harrison Ingram[/autotag] became the first UNC pair to eclipse 300 rebounds each since John Henson and Tyler Zeller did in the 2011-12 season.

Bacot has 334 rebounds, averaging 10.1 rebounds per game, and Ingram has 303 rebounds, averaging 9.2. The duo has a good shot to reach Henson’s (348) and Zeller’s (365) rebounds, depending on how long they have their dancing shoes on.

Bacot and Ingram have been powerhouses for UNC, playing defense at a high level while also providing help on the offensive end. Bacot is averaging 14 points a game at a 54% clip. Ingram is averaging a career-high 12.2 points and 1.4 steals a game.

Both played a significant role in UNC’s win over Pitt, with Ingram playing lockdown defense on Blake Hinson, limiting the first-team All-ACC player to two field goals. On the flip side, Bacot snagged another double thanks to his ability to get in a good position and finish down low.

The pair will be counted on again in Saturday’s ACC championship game if UNC wants to bring the title back to Chapel Hill for the first time since 2016.

Follow us @TarHeelsWire on Twitter and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of North Carolina Tar Heels news, notes and opinions.

Armando Bacot named a finalist for Kareem Abdul-Jabbar award

UNC basketball center Armando Bacot has been named one of five finalists for theKareem Abdul-Jabbar award.

Armando Bacot’s career at North Carolina is winding down as there is just a month left of basketball if the Tar Heels can make a run to the national championship. The center has established himself as one of the best to play for the program and is hoping to close out the year in a big way.

On Friday, Bacot picked up some national recognition as he was one of five players named to the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award presented by the Basketball Hall of Fame.

Bacot is joined by Hunter Dickinson (Kansas), Zach Edey (Purdue), Ryan Kalkbrenner (Creighton), and PJ Hall (Clemson) on the finalists list.

The award is named after the three-time NCAA champion and basketball hall of fame inductee and is celebrating its 10th year by honoring the top centers in Division I men’s college basketball.

Fans can vote for their favorite finalist beginning Friday, March 8, on hoophallawards.com. The fan vote counts as one committee vote during the finalist’s portion. The finalists will be presented to West and the Hall of Fame’s selection committee with the winner being announced at the end of the season.

Follow us @TarHeelsWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of North Carolina Tar Heels news, notes and opinions.

Three keys to a Duke victory against UNC

Taking a look at three keys to a Duke win vs UNC on Saturday as the Blue Devils close out the regular season.

It is time for the round two.

Tobacco Road’s biggest titans are set to square off one final time for the regular season on Saturday evening. The stakes will be a bit higher than they were when the two hit the hardwood the first time in February. An outright ACC title is on the line for UNC while a share of the ACC title is still up for grabs for Duke.

That doesn’t even include the possible implications for NCAA Tournament seeding either. Both schools are still firmly in the mix for a No. 2 seed at this juncture, and a massive Quad 1 win like this would only boost that case.

All those storylines aside, it’s Duke and North Carolina. The bragging rights matter and Duke, specifically, has revenge on their mind.

The loss in Chapel Hill in February felt like a lifetime ago. Duke played passively, didn’t play a crisp game (nine of their eleven turnovers were live ball), and defensively, they had some major hiccups.

Credit is due to the Tar Heels. They played great. But Duke didn’t put forth their best effort.

Saturday gives the Blue Devils one final chance to show how much of a force they’ve become. There is no mistaking them now. They’ve got a bench unit that’s starting to flourish despite being without Caleb Foster at least through the ACC Tournament, per head coach Jon Scheyer. And Tyrese Proctor has found his swagger again.

These all bring us to our three keys for the game on Saturday.

Aussie, Aussie, Aussie

Duke’s chances to truly be Final Four contenders rest on the shoulders of their sophomore Australian point guard, Tyrese Proctor. Proctor can control and dictate a game on both ends. In the first UNC matchup, he played 26 minutes and scored two points on 1/6 shooting. It felt as if he wasn’t even out there at points. He wasn’t aggressive, and he seemed reluctant to get downhill.

In the last three games, he’s found himself. He kept Duke afloat early in Raleigh despite NC State connecting on the first punch. His 11 first-half points, spearheaded by three massive three-pointers, kept Duke from spiraling. He can shoot, he can pass and he can defend. All three of those things Duke will need against UNC.

Look for Proctor to be a factor early.

The bench needs to show up

Ryan Young, Sean Stewart, and TJ Power look solidified as Duke’s bench right now. Caleb Foster joins that when, or if, he gets back, and Duke officially is nine deep.

For right now, they are eight deep, and that will have to be enough. Power and Stewart have started to become consistent players off the bench in the last three games. Stewart had his best game as a collegiate player against NC State. He played 26 minutes and had 12 points, five rebounds (four offensive), three blocks, two assists, and two steals. It was incredible. If Stewart provides that kind of impact, Ryan Young hits the glass, and TJ Power can hit one or two open threes, Duke will be in a much better position to win.

Defending Bacot

RJ Davis is likely going to win ACC Player of the Year. And rightfully so. He’s had a phenomenal season. Davis can get his season average in points. Stopping fellow senior Armando Bacot is the real challenge for Duke. They have bodies to throw at him, but in an attempt to limit foul trouble for Flip, they tried to double Bacot last game and it helped result in open threes or driving lanes for others.

How Jon Scheyer and this coaching staff choose to play Bacot matters. Do they double him? If they do, do they leave Elliot Cadeau, a 21% 3-point shooter, open and force him to shoot the ball? Or do they play Bacot straight up and leave Flip to defend him one-on-one? Either way, one wrong decision would be to leave Harrison Ingram open. He shot 5/9 from distance in game one. 

That’s the game within the game and one matchup that will likely decide the winner. 

Senior night for captain Jeremy Roach, Ryan Young, and Spencer Hubbard. A share of the ACC title is on the line for Duke. The number one seed in the ACC Tournament is still up for grabs. All the storylines are there. Duke just needs to play a bit cleaner than they did in Chapel Hill and they’ll have a chance to wrap up a very good regular season.

Will Armando Bacot’s jersey get into Dean Dome rafters?

Will UNC basketball standout Armando Bacot get his jersey in the Dean Dome rafters? Hubert Davis may have hinted at a few changes.

Tuesday night was an emotional one for North Carolina as Armando Bacot played his final game in the Dean Dome. Bacot is in his fifth and final season, using that extra COVID-19 year to return as he’s set program records and has had a historic career.

But even with his historic career, Bacot right now wouldn’t have his jersey in the rafters, something that is a big deal with the program. However, a potential change hinted by Hubert Davis may open up the door for that to happen.

During Monday’s edition of “Hubert Davis Live”, Davis may have hinted that they would change the requirement to get Bacot’s name in the rafters. Here is what he said via Inside Carolina:

Davis revealed he’s considering changing the jersey policy during his weekly radio show, Hubert Davis Live, on Monday. Host Jones Angell read a fan-submitted question to Davis regarding whether he had “given any thought to adding any different criteria” for getting a jersey in the rafters. Davis answered “yes” but was unwilling to give insight into what changes might come, saying “not right now” when asked for details.

For a player to get their jersey in the rafters at North Carolina they must achieve one of five awards: Making the first or second team All-America from the Associated Press, USBWA, Sporting News or NABC, being named the ACC Player of the Year honors, MVP of the national title game as a winner, a gold medal in basketball in the Olympics or the Most Outstanding Player at the Final Four.

Bacot could still achieve one of those feats. But if he doesn’t, it certainly feels like his number and name will get into the rafters, at least that’s what Davis is hinting at.

Right now, there are 45 players with honored jersey numbers in the rafters and they likely will be adding RJ Davis as well when the season is over.

Follow us @TarHeelsWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of North Carolina Tar Heels news, notes and opinions.

The man in the mirror is the final hurdle Duke must clear as they prepare for rematch with UNC

The Duke Blue Devils have to win against themselves in order to win against UNC.

Sir Edmund Hillary said it best: “It is not the mountain we conquer but ourselves.”

It feels like the perfect quote to summarise the Duke basketball experience this year and focus on what’s ahead of the team as they prepare to try and get revenge for an early February loss to their rivals, UNC. The Blue Devils have been fighting the team in the mirror all season. It’s time they conquer that.

If they can, the Blue Devils will head to Washington, D.C., for the ACC Tournament, with their share of the 2023-2024 ACC regular season title; if the Tar Heels win, they are the outright title winners. Losing that also likely eliminates Duke from having any shot at a 2-seed in the upcoming NCAA Tournament.

For Duke, it’s simple: UNC is the best opponent (not named Arizona or Baylor) on their schedule. They beat Baylor in Madison Square Garden, which stands out as a great Quad 1 win, but the Blue Devils know they need more. Hubert Davis’ team is undoubtedly in the Final Four-capable tier of teams, so a win against North Carolina would be the perfect confirmation that this Duke team has grown and evolved and is playing its best basketball.

It’s easier said than done, as UNC will have everything to play for on top of the sheer fact that this is a rivalry, and it could be Armando Bacot and RJ Davis’ last game against Duke ever. They’ve ruined big nights in Cameron Indoor Stadium before.

Duke played a rough basketball game against UNC in the first round in Chapel Hill. They were not strong on the court, and their defensive plan wasn’t strong. Ultimately, the Heels just played better.

Duke shot 26.3% from three, compared to almost 38% from UNC. Harrison Ingram was the thorn in Duke’s side from the outside, going 5/9 from deep. Duke also had 11 turnovers, which led to 19 UNC points. Eight of those turnovers were live-ball, which makes it even harder to get back on defense against a transition offense-focused team like UNC.

Kyle Filipowski struggled with foul trouble, and when his team needed him to contain Armando Bacot without a double team, he couldn’t. Tyrese Proctor had one of his worst games, registering just two points and one assist on 1/6 shooting in 26 minutes.

So, what has to change this time around? Duke has to put together a complete performance as they have in games on the road at Miami, NC State, Virginia Tech, or as they did recently at home versus Virginia. This team has shown that it can play a full 40 minutes on both ends of the court, and when they can, they will blow teams away, as eight of their conference wins have been by 15 points or more.

Duke is a deeper team now. The bench has lengthened a much-needed development due to limitations with guys like Jaylen Blakes and Ryan Young. They are decent role players but certainly guys with deficiencies. The answers were the 6-foot-9 five-star freshman Sean Stewart and the 6-foot-8 four-star small forward TJ Power.

Power’s shooting ability is among the best on a team of great shooters this season, but the lack of opportunities hasn’t allowed him to showcase that. Stewart is hyper-athletic and an incredible shot disruptor combined with pure energy and hustle, allowing him to provide the energy on 50/50 plays Duke needs.

Each player has played at least 10 minutes in the last three games. Stewart had a season-high 26 minutes of game action at NC State, where he had his proverbial breakout game, scoring 12 points, five rebounds, three blocks, two steals, and two assists. He was a menace on defense, and four rebounds came on the offensive glass, giving Duke extra possessions.

They must be factors in this rematch, and the rest of the team needs to be more assertive with the ball. If Duke hadn’t been forced into so many live-ball turnovers, they could’ve shaved off at least six points they allowed. Tyrese Proctor must play better, especially considering Caleb Foster will still be out. He’s had some encouraging performances since being inserted back into the starting lineup with Foster out, and Monday night in Raleigh showcased that.

Kyle Filipowski needs to be a factor for the entire 40 minutes. Jon Scheyer must find a better way to defend Bacot while not allowing RJ Davis to explode. Do not respect Elliot Cadeau’s shot. Make him shoot more jumpers than layups, and respect Ingram as a solid spot-up shooter.

It won’t be easy, but Duke can beat UNC. Aside from the implications mentioned above about the ACC title, this win is about Duke playing well enough to beat an elite opponent as it pursues a sixth NCAA title in two weeks.

They missed the mark early against Arizona and in Chapel Hill. In both games, Duke was the loser, but there was a clear sense that Duke didn’t play well enough to beat that caliber of team. Can they conquer themselves and raise their level of play to conquer their goals? We’ll find out on Saturday.