Despite the slew of transfers and eligibility running out for Leaky Black and Pete Nance, UNC’s men’s basketball squad will have a good amount of experience on its upcoming roster.
Headlining the 2023-2024 Heels is Armando Bacot, arguably the best returning center in college basketball and one of UNC’s all-time greats, plus R.J. Davis.
Bacot is Carolina’s all-time leader in rebounds (1,335) and double-doubles (68). The Heels ran their offense through the 6-11 big man from Richmond, Va., so much last year that opposing teams would double/triple-team him and force UNC to find other avenues of offensive production.
Davis is one of the Heels’ most productive and consistent scorers. He finished second in scoring (16.1 points per game) and reached double-digits in all but four contents.
“They have done an unbelievable job of creating team and getting the new guys — not just the freshmen but also the transfers — acclimated to what this program is about and what our team is going to be about,” head coach Hubert Davis told The Daily Tar Heel. “That came naturally. This is something that they took personally for themselves, to be leaders. This team is together because of those two guys.”
UNC also brought in graduate transfer Jae’Lyn Withers from Louisville, who finished last in the ACC a season ago, plus another graduate transfer in Notre Dame’s Cormac Ryan.
According to Hubert Davis, that experience is going to be a key in getting the Heels back to the NCAA tournament.
“Probably the biggest area I didn’t know is what kind of a leader he is,” Davis told Daily Tar Heel about Ryan. “He’s a gatherer. He is a vocal leader in the locker room, on the court, off the court and just brings teammates together.”
Carolina kicks off its season on Monday, Nov. 6 against Radford.
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