Art Chansky’s Sports Notebook is presented by The Casual Pint. YOUR place for delicious pub food paired with local beer. Choose from 35 rotating taps and over 200 beers in the fridge.
Carolina’s already weak inside game has become even weaker.
The manner in which Zayden High left the Tar Heels’ basketball program has raised questions and speculation. UNC may have privacy restrictions in place that led to two paragraphs stating the 6-foot-1 rising sophomore was “not enrolled.” Perhaps it was something the school couldn’t reveal, but the sober announcement doesn’t sound very good.
A second paragraph of the press release listed statistics for the rarely used rookie: 4.4 minutes per game and 32 percent shooting, including 0 of 8 three-point shots.
Whatever the reason, the result doesn’t help a frontcourt that has struggled to replace Armando Bacot and still plans to do it by committee after passing up several coveted transfer big men, likely for even more NIL money.
It will be interesting to see where High shows up and if he transfers and took the surely paltry money to leave. He was a four-star recruit with a pretty good resume at Compass Prep in Arizona, where he averaged 17 points and 9 rebounds as a senior and was MVP of the 2023 Hoop Hall Classic.
The Tar Heels’ pivot for 2024-25 has 6-foot-10 junior Jalen Washington, the projected starter, as well as 6-foot-9 Jae’Lyn Withers, 6-foot-7 Vanderbilt transfer Ven-Allen Lubin and 6-foot-9 three-star freshman James Brown.
Hubert Davis’ fourth Carolina team features a stellar backcourt and perimeter led by returning ACC Player of the Year and Cousy Award winner RJ Davis, second-year point guard Elliot Cadeau, third-year defensive ace Seth Trimble, 5-star freshmen wings Ian Jackson and Drake Powell and 4-star shooting guard Cade Tyson.
The Heels need another spectacular season from Davis, the fifth-year senior, an improvement in long-range shooting from Cadeau and the performance of renowned 3-point shooter Tyson.
Ideally, Tyson would replace Cormac Ryan’s perimeter game and Lubin could match Harrison Ingram’s performance as a 3-4 man.
As a team, Carolina needs to shoot at least 45 percent, shoot 36 percent, and shoot 76 percent free throws. These are all huge improvements from last season and rank 9th, 5th, and 4th in the ACC. The Heels were second in field goal defense and fourth in three-point defense.
With Bacot, they were of course top of all rebounding categories. They ranked fifth in assists, assist-turnover ratio and blocked shots, quantum leaps compared to the previous year.
Look for another high-caliber team that takes advantage of every opportunity and scores easy baskets in transition. And it would be nice if Carolina could live up to the lofty preseason expectations, like finishing first or second in the ACC and top 10 in the national polls.
Featured image via Todd Melet
Art Chansky is an experienced journalist who has written ten books, including bestsellers “Game Changers,” “Blue Bloods” and “The Dean’s List.” He has contributed to the WCHL for decades after first appearing as a student in 1971. His The “Sports Notebook” commentary airs daily on 97.9 The Hill WCHL and his opinion column “Art’s Angle” appears weekly on Chapelboro.
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Chansky’s Notebook: Highest Alert Level
Art Chansky’s Sports Notebook is presented by The Casual Pint. YOUR place for delicious pub food paired with local beer. Choose from 35 rotating taps and over 200 beers in the fridge. Carolina’s already weak inside game just got even weaker. The way Zayden High left the Tar Heels’ basketball program has raised questions and speculation. (…)
Art Chansky is an experienced journalist who has written ten books, including bestsellers “Game Changers,” “Blue Bloods” and “The Dean’s List.” He has contributed to the WCHL for decades after first appearing as a student in 1971. His The “Sports Notebook” commentary airs daily on 97.9 The Hill WCHL and his opinion column “Art’s Angle” appears weekly on Chapelboro.
