Key Departures: Caleb Love, Tyler Nickel, Dontrez Styles, Pete Nance, Leaky Black, D’Marco Dunn, Justin McKoy, Puff Johnson, Will Shaver
Projected Starting Lineup:
PG: Elliot Cadeau (Fr.)
PG: R.J. Davis (Sr.)
SF: Harrison Ingram (Jr.)
PF: Jae’Lyn Withers (GS.)
C: Armando Bacot Jr. (RS Sr.)
Key Reserve Players:
SG: Cormac Ryan (GS.), SG: Paxson Wojcik (GS.), PF/C: Jalen Washington (So.), PG: Seth Trimble (So.), PF: Zayden High (Fr.), PF: James Okonkwo (RS So.)
Discussion:
From preseason number one to missing March Madness, UNC had one of the most disappointing seasons that we have seen in college basketball. Aside from their hot stretch of play in the 2022 NCAA Tournament, the Hubert Davis era has been extremely underwhelming. Although this is just his third season, I think this is a big year for Coach Davis to prove that he is the right guy to be leading this program.
The two most important pieces are back in R.J. Davis and Armando Bacot. With Caleb Love gone, this should give Davis more breathing room in the backcourt. Davis had his best season as a junior, averaging 16.1 points, 5.1 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game. Although Bacot was not as good this past year as he was in 2021-2022, he still averaged a double-double with 15.9 points and 10.4 rebounds. Whenever you bring back two of the top players in the entire ACC, that is a damn good place to start.
Elliot Cadeau’s decision to reclassify was a major offseason move. A gifted passer and crafty playmaker, Cadeau should allow Davis to really excel as an off-ball scorer. This is a small backcourt, but I think people are really excited to watch Cadeau a year early. It is important to note that UNC did lose a commitment from Simeon Wilcher.
Harrison Ingram leads a group of five incoming transfers, so Davis was really busy in the portal. Ingram averaged 10.5 points in his two seasons at Stanford, but he never really popped off like many NBA draft gurus had hoped. Perhaps a change in scenery could open things up for the former McDonald’s All-American, who was seriously considering the Tar Heels out of high school. UNC brings in two ACC transfers in Jae’Lyn Withers from Louisville and Cormac Ryan from Notre Dame. They both have plenty of experience as starters, it will just depend on what kind of lineup Davis will want to use to open up games. I don’t think Ingram, Withers and Ryan will all start, but two of them should. And then additionally, Paxson Wojcik comes in from Brown and James Okonkwo from West Virginia.
Sophomores Jalen Washington and Seth Trimble are back. Both played in under ten minutes per game as freshmen. Washington still has a ways to catch up to speed, he had dealt with injuries prior to coming to UNC. Trimble showed some promise on the defensive end of the floor and is a good athlete, but did not offer much on the offensive side. In addition to Cadeau, the Tar Heels add four-star freshman power forward Zayden High. Washington and High are two potential bigs that could help to stretch out the floor if they become consistent shooting threats.
Plain and simple, this is a big year for Hubert Davis to show that he can get this program back to playing at a very high level.
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