We’re just over a month away from the highly-anticipated start of UNC’s basketball season, which debuts on Monday, Nov. 6 against the Radford Highlanders.
The Tar Heels were expected to make noise last year. Despite squandering a 15-point halftime lead to Kansas in the 2022 National Championship, they instead missed the NCAA Tournament entirely. This was further disappointing by UNC being the first Preseason Number 1 to miss the Big Dance.
Carolina returned four-fifths of its starters – Armando Bacot, R.J. Davis, Leaky Black and Caleb Love. There was rumored friction between Love and Davis, but no confirmations that was ever true.
One of the main speculations UNC struggled in games was the lack of bench utilization. It seemed like every game, Tar Heels head coach Hubert Davis would only play his starters. There were a few bench guys who saw court time, but not a significant amount.
A bench guy who did see a good bit of court was center Jalen Washington, the sophomore from Gary, Ind. He’ll be the focus of this player preview – read what we have to write about him!