Tag: UNC Basketball

Hubert Davis says he would ‘absolutely love that’ if Leaky Black returned to UNC

Will senior forward Leaky Black return to the UNC basketball program for a fifth year? Head coach Hubert Davis weighed in on that Monday afternoon.

As the UNC basketball program begins preparation for their first-round matchup against Marquette in the NCAA Tournament, there are still some question marks surrounding the future of this roster.

The Tar Heels are welcoming in a four-man recruiting class for 2022 but there will be some decisions this Summer about players returning or moving on. One of those decisions is from senior Leaky Black who has one more year of eligibility remaining and could opt to return for that fifth year.

Black has yet to make his decision and it likely will be some time before he does do that. But it’s a topic that will be covered as the days go on and UNC’s roster starts to take shape.

Head coach Hubert Davis was asked about Black at Monday’s media session and it sounds like he would love to have the forward back for another year but knows he has to do what’s best for him.

“The thing that I want for Leaky and the thing I want for everyone is I want them to reach all their dreams and goals,” Davis said via Inside Carolina. “And if Leaky’s dream and goal is to come back one more year, I would absolutely love that.”

Black committed to North Carolina as part of a very talented 2018 recruiting class that also featured Coby White and Nassir Little. While both went to the NBA after one year, Black opted to return and get better.

The offense has been a bit of a struggle for him, although he’s shooting much better this year including 47.9% from the field, but he’s developed into one of the best defenders in the country. And that’s an important factor for the Tar Heels success.

For now, there’s nothing on a decision but it’s something to monitor moving forward.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01fvdcv0v20j1dne5g player_id=none image=https://tarheelswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

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

Let us know your thoughts, comment on this story below. Join the conversation today.

Duke Blue Devils pick up crystal ball prediction for top Tar Heels’ target

The Duke Blue Devils have picked up a crystal ball in the recruitment for this top UNC Basketball target.

The momentum in the recruitment for top UNC basketball target G.G. Jackson might be shifting. And it’s not good news for the Tar Heels.

After news broke on Monday that South Carolina was firing Frank Martin, it had a big impact on Jackson’s recruitment. While they aren’t officially out of the running, it appears very likely he’s not going there. That leaves just UNC, Duke and potentially the G-League as realistic options.

However, Duke just picked up a crystal ball prediction for Jackson which is their first of the recruitment. John Watson of The Devils’ Den on 247Sports logged a crystal ball for Jackson on the website, giving the Duke their first prediction out of the five on there. That’s not good news for the Tar Heels as Watson is a Duke Insider for the site, citing that Duke might be the leader in this recruitment.

Jackson received his offer from UNC back in 2021, just over 8 months ago and at one point, the Tar Heels were the favorites in the recruitment. They have crystal ball predictions from national analysts Eric Bossi and Jerry Meyer while Duke reporter Adam Rowe also has one in for the Tar Heels.

But all three of those were from October to December.

Whether you want to believe the Duke reporters or not, this doesn’t appear to be great news for the Tar Heels. And now they might have some ground to make up.

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

Let us know your thoughts, comment on this story below. Join the conversation today.

Does firing of Frank Martin change G.G. Jackson recruitment?

South Carolina has fired Frank Martin and it could have big ramifications on UNC basketball target G.G. Jackson.

The University of South Carolina is moving on from men’s head basketball coach Frank Martin according to a report on Monday and it could have severe ramifications for a top UNC basketball recruiting target.

Jeff Borzello reported the news on Monday afternoon after the Gamecocks finished the season 18-13 overall and 9-9 in SEC play, missing the NCAA Tournament for the fourth-straight season not counting the 2020 canceled tournament. After making that run in 2017, Martin has struggled which led to the decision.

And now it could impact five-star recruit G.G. Jackson’s decision.

The in-state prospect is mulling his decision and all signs point to it being a three-team race between North Carolina, South Carolina, and Duke. The Tar Heels were the perceived leaders in the recruitment at one point but since he took visits to both Duke and South Carolina, both teams made up ground.

However, the dismissal of Martin is likely going to change things and until they have a replacement intact, this could be a Blue Blood battle down the wire.

Jackson’s father maintains he’s still not close to a decision and they very well could wait for a South Carolina hire. Or it could eliminate them from the race and things start to pick up. It should be an interesting next few months either way.

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

Let us know your thoughts, comment on this story below. Join the conversation today.

Did Bruce Pearl take a shot at UNC basketball with Walker Kessler comment?

Bruce Pearl talks about why Walker Kessler left the UNC basketball program for Auburn this past offseason.

The UNC basketball program had a fantastic 2020 recruiting class headlined by five-star recruits Caleb Love, Day’Ron Sharpe, and Walker Kessler. They also signed four-stars R.J. Davis, Kerwin Walton, and Puff Johnson, putting together a heck of a class.

But two of those key recruits, Sharpe and Kessler, spent just one season on campus and departed in separate ways. While Sharpe went to the NBA Draft where he was selected by Brooklyn, Kessler opted to transfer after just one season in Chapel Hill.

The Georgia native picked UNC over Duke with offers from Michigan and Virginia as well, giving the Tar Heels a legit prospect. However, he then opted to go to Auburn and while rumors swirled, the decision was based on the offensive system. Kessler wanted to be more of a stretch player, playing on the perimeter and did a bit with UNC but he was looking for more of a natural fit.

On Selection Sunday, Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl talked to CBS and revealed how he landed Kessler:

“Opportunity. I mean Carolin had a deep front line last year,” Pearl said on an appearance on CBS.  “Walker wasn’t able get some time. He improved a lot at North Carolina, he loved Roy Williams. One of the hardest things he had to do was leave North Carolina. He loved his old coach. But he also knew that our system might have been better for him. More of an uptempo system, a system where he would facing, where there would be ball screen and roll and pop as opposed to more of his back to the basket. Because he’s not a back to the basket center.”

Interesting.  While some may see it as a subtle shot, Pearl does have a point.

That does line up with the rumors and reports of why Kessler wanted to leave in the first place. The Tar Heels do like to run a system that gets out on the break but with Kessler wanting to stretch the floor more, he obviously didn’t see that happening under Hubert Davis.

Kessler averaged 4.4 points and 3.2 rebounds per game with UNC and has upped that production to 11.7 points and 8.2 rebounds per game with Auburn this season.

Oh, what could have been with Kessler and Armando Bacot on this front line.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01fvdcv0v20j1dne5g player_id=none image=https://tarheelswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

Wisconsin vs UNC tip time and location set for NCAA Tournament Round of 64

The Badgers have a tip time for round one

The Wisconsin Badgers are heading to a familiar arena in round one of the NCAA Tournament, but that isn’t exactly a positive thing. As a 9-seed in the south region of the bracket, Wisconsin will open with 8-seed North Carolina at Mackey Arena, the home of the Purdue Boilermakers.

The Badgers are historically horrendous at Mackey Arena, granted they have never played an opponent not named Purdue in the building. Wisconsin is 4-42 all-time at Mackey Arena vs the Boilermakers, but they meet a different opponent in the building on Friday.

Wisconsin-UNC is scheduled for a 6:10 PM CT tip as the winner matches up with the winner of 1-seed Baylor and 16-seed Hartford in the Round of 32.

5 ugly stats show how much Roy Williams’ ‘least gifted’ UNC team is struggling

The Tar Heels have lost nine of their last 12 games.

If you’re wondering how long it’s been since the North Carolina men’s basketball team was this bad, the easy answer is that it’s been a while.

The Tar Heels look terrible this season, and that’s not by the standards of a blue-blood program and (almost) a perennial national championship contender. That’s by average college basketball standards. They’re having a historically bad season, and the injuries — particularly playing without star freshman guard Cole Anthony, who’s been out since December after undergoing an arthroscopic knee procedure for a partially torn meniscus — aren’t helping.

After being down by 20 points on the road against Pitt on Saturday, UNC ultimately lost to the Panthers, 66-52. The final score makes it seem closer than it was, with the Tar Heels shooting 31.7 percent from the field, going 10-for-21 from the free throw line and turning the ball over 16 times.

With the loss, UNC drops to 8-9 overall and 1-5 in ACC play, including last weekend when Clemson snapped its 0-59 losing streak in Chapel Hill by beating the Tar Heels in overtime. Afterward, coach Roy Williams called the loss the “lowest” point in his coaching career and said he should “probably” be fired for it. (He wasn’t.)

Although Williams’ took some responsibility after losing to Clemson, he also passed the buck to his players after the 96-83 loss to Georgia Tech, saying this squad is “probably the least gifted team I have ever coached.”

Their only ACC win was the season-opener against Notre Dame, and they’re in a tie with Wake Forest at the bottom of the conference standings. They could also miss the NCAA tournament for the first time since the 2009-10 season.

To add a little more context, here are five stats illustrating the bigger picture of UNC’s uncharacteristic struggles this season.

1. It’s UNC’s worst start in almost 20 years

This is what we meant by historically bad. Through a little more than half of the 2019-20 season, the Tar Heels are 8-9, marking this the program’s worst start since the 2001-02 season when they opened at 6-11, the Associate Press noted. That’s… not great.

2. UNC still has not won a game in 2020

Yeah. The team is 0-4 through its first games of the new year, losing to Georgia Tech, Clemson and Pitt twice. Two of them were by double digits, and against the Yellow Jackets, the Tar Heels were down, 47-27, at the half. In the early January 73-65 loss to Pitt, the Tar Heels blew a nine-point halftime lead and were massively outscored in the second half.

3. UNC has lost 9 of its last 12 games

The Tar Heels’ three wins in there were against Oregon (now ranked No. 8), UCLA and Yale. However, their losses range from now-No. 1 Gonzaga to Wofford, which is currently the fifth-best team in the Southern Conference.

4. UNC isn’t shooting among the top-300 teams

(Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports)

Through the first 16 games of the season, UNC shot 40.5 percent from the field, putting it in a three-way tie for No. 322, along with Oklahoma State and Florida A&M. While the DI teams’ stats will be updated again when all of Saturday’s games end, it’s safe to stay that with the Tar Heels’ performance against Pitt, they’re not jumping into the top 300.

5. UNC is ranked 119th

Forget about the top-25 teams; out of 353 total teams, the NCAA had UNC ranked No. 119 going into Saturday, and with the loss to Pitt, we’re thinking the team stays put or drops a spot or two. Additionally, at the time of this post, the Tar Heels were ranked 89th in the KenPom ratings.

[jwplayer KcV8sRdg-q2aasYxh]

[vertical-gallery id=880431]

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 tag=421393241]

How to Watch North Carolina vs. UCLA, NCAA Basketball Live Stream, Schedule, TV Channel, Start Time

Watch North Carolina vs. UCLA Live Online.

Both UNC and UCLA have had their fair share of problems to begin the season. However, both are hoping that a win on Saturday will start to move them in the right direction.

[protected-iframe id=”20715d586b192d00561d25362e89ca44-58289342-150719707″ info=”https://fubo-preview.global.ssl.fastly.net/lp/preview/index-lite.html?params=irad%3D538233%26irmp%3D1205322%26pack%3Dfubotv-basic&page_slug=CBS” style=”max-width: 640px;” width = “100%”]

North Carolina vs. UCLA

  • When: Saturday, December 21
  • Time: 3:00 p.m. ET
  • TV: CBS
  • Live Stream: fuboTV (watch for free)

The Tar Heels (6-5) were unable to come away with a victory to Gonzaga on Wednesday in a 94-81 loss. It marked the team’s fourth straight loss. A trio of players scored in double digits, including forward Garrison Brooks, who scored a team-high 16 points and also had six rebounds. UNC shot 45.7 percent from the field and out-rebounded the Bulldogs 35-30.

With news coming out this week that freshman guard Cole Anthony will miss the next four to six weeks after undergoing surgery on a partially torn meniscus, it has become obvious that he’s left a void in UNC’s starting lineup. Anthony, a potential top-five pick in the NBA draft, was averaging 19.1 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 3.6 assists and had back-to-back double-doubles to start his career against Notre Dame and UNC Wilmington.

UCLA lost 75-61 on the road to Notre Dame last Saturday, moving the Bruins record to 7-4 on the season. UCLA shot just 34.9 percent from the field but did go 7-for-16 from beyond the arc. UCLA also struggled from the free throw line, going just 10-for-20. Chris Smith was the only player to score in double digits, collecting 10 points and five rebounds.

We recommend interesting sports viewing and streaming opportunities. If you sign up to a service by clicking one of the links, we may earn a referral fee.