2022–23 North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball team
The 2022–23 North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball team will represent the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill during the 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team will be led by Hubert Davis, in his second year as UNC's head coach. The Tar Heels will play their home games at the Dean Smith Center in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, as members of the Atlantic Coast Conference.
| 2022–23 North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball | |
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| Conference | Atlantic Coast Conference |
| 2022–23 record | 0–0 (0-0 ACC) |
| Head coach |
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| Assistant coaches | |
| Home arena | Dean E. Smith Center |
| 2022–23 ACC men's basketball standings | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team | W | L | PCT | W | L | PCT | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Boston College | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Clemson | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Duke | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Florida State | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Georgia Tech | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Louisville | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Miami (FL) | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| North Carolina | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| NC State | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Notre Dame | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Pittsburgh | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Syracuse | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wake Forest | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Virginia | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Virginia Tech | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| † 2023 ACC Tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Previous season
In Hubert Davis' first year at the helm, the Tar Heels got off to a rocky start, with blowout losses to Tennessee, Kentucky, Miami, Wake Forest, and Duke (at home) early in the year. Despite the ups-and-downs of the first half of the year, the Tar Heels rounded into form in the latter half of conference play, finishing with a 15–5 record and tying Notre Dame for second place in the ACC regular season standings. The Tar Heels capped the regular season with an upset win over the Blue Devils at Cameron Indoor Stadium in Mike Krzyzewski's final home game.[1] The Tar Heels earned a double-bye in the ACC Tournament, but because of their loss to the Irish they were the third seed.[2] They defeated Virginia in the quarterfinals before losing to eventual champions Virginia Tech in the semifinals.
The team's turnaround earned them the No. 8 seed in the East Region of the 2022 NCAA Tournament after being on the tournament "bubble" for most of the year.[3] In the tournament, they dismantled No. 9 seed Marquette and upset the East's No. 1 seed in Baylor to get to earn North Carolina its 35th Sweet Sixteen appearance of all time. In the Sweet Sixteen, the Tar Heels upset No. 4 seed UCLA to face Cinderella team Saint Peter's in the Elite Eight. The Tar Heels defeated the Peacocks to earn their record 21st Final Four appearance, alongside Duke, Kansas, and Villanova. The Tar Heels beat the Blue Devils in the first-ever NCAA Tournament matchup between the rival schools, 81–77, before falling 69–72 against Kansas in the National Championship game.
Starters Brady Manek, Armando Bacot, Caleb Love, R. J. Davis, and Leaky Black earned the nickname "The Iron 5" for their togetherness and strong play as a unit throughout the season, and for the fact they played a large amount of the team's minutes throughout the campaign. Against Duke in Durham, Bacot, Love, Davis, and Manek each scored twenty-plus points in a game, the first time four players went for twenty or more in one game in Carolina basketball history. Head coach Davis became only the second person in history to take the same school to the Final Four as both a player and a coach, joining Kansas' Dick Harp. Davis also became the 10th first-year head coach in history to take his team to the Final Four.[4]
Offseason
After the conclusion of the 2021–22 season, Anthony Harris and Dawson Garcia entered the transfer portal. Garcia announced he would transfer to Minnesota to be closer with family in the wake of the family issues that forced him to miss the latter half of the previous season.[5] Brady Manek also left the team, as the previous season was his final year of collegiate eligibility. Manek had taken advantage of the extra year given out by the NCAA in response to COVID-19 to play for the Tar Heels in 2021–22.
After speculation that he would turn pro and enter the 2022 NBA draft, Bacot confirmed his return in a video for the 2022-23 season on April 13, 2022.[6] A few days later, Black, Davis and Love similarly announced their intentions to return for the 2022–23 season.[7] [8][9]
Following the aforementioned returns and departures, it seemed as if the 2022–23 roster was set. However, on May 1, 2022, the final day to enter the transfer portal and be eligible for the upcoming season, sophomore guard Kerwin Walton entered his name into the database. Walton had also entered his name into the NBA Draft process to gain professional feedback on his skillset. Walton's entrance into the portal gives UNC one open roster spot to fill as the program sees fit.[10]
Departures
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for Departure |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dawson Garcia | 13 | F | 6'11" | 235 | Sophomore | Prior Lake, MN | Transferred to Minnesota |
| Anthony Harris | 0 | G | 6'4" | 195 | RS Sophomore | Woodbridge, VA | Entered transfer portal |
| Brady Manek | 45 | F | 6'9" | 230 | Graduate | Harrah, OK | Completed college eligibility |
| Kerwin Walton | 24 | G | 6'5" | 210 | Sophomore | Hopkins, MN | Entered transfer portal |
2022 Recruiting Class
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jalen Washington C |
Gary, IN | West Side | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | 205 lb (93 kg) | Jul 9, 2021 | |
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 89 | ||||||
| Seth Trimble PG |
Menomonee Falls, WI | Menomonee Falls | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | 175 lb (79 kg) | Jun 23, 2021 | |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 87 | ||||||
| Tyler Nickel PF |
Elkton, VA | East Rockingham | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 215 lb (98 kg) | Sep 15, 2021 | |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 82 | ||||||
| Will Shaver† C |
Birmingham, AL | Oak Mountain | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 215 lb (98 kg) | Jun 2, 2021 | |
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 82 | ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: Rivals: 17 247Sports: 11 | ||||||
Sources:
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† Shaver, a member of the 2022 recruiting class, enrolled early and redshirted during the second half of the 2021–22 season.
References
- "North Carolina vs. Duke - Game Summary - March 5, 2022". ESPN. Retrieved April 6, 2022.
- Linton, Chance (March 12, 2022). "ACC Tournament 2022: Bracket, schedule, scores, how to watch". 247Sports.com. Retrieved April 6, 2022.
- "2022 N.C.A.A. Men's Tournament Bracket and Results". The New York Times. Retrieved April 6, 2022.
- Ferenchick, Matt (March 30, 2022). "UNC Basketball: Hubert Davis joins an exclusive group of coaches". Tar Heel Blog. Retrieved April 6, 2022.
- Fuller, Marcus (April 19, 2022). "Dawson Garcia commits to Gophers, wants to be part of 'getting Minnesota basketball back'". Star Tribune. Retrieved April 19, 2022.
- "Carolina Basketball on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 2022-04-13.
- Rechon "Leaky" Black [@RechonBlack] (April 15, 2022). "@UNC_Basketball" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- "UNC's R.J. Davis announces return for junior season". si.com. April 23, 2022. Retrieved 2022-04-25.
- "Caleb Love becomes fourth UNC starter to announce return for 2022–23 season". si.com. April 24, 2022. Retrieved 2022-04-25.
- Barnes, Greg (May 1, 2022). "BREAKING: UNC's Kerwin Walton Enters Transfer Portal". Inside Carolina. Retrieved May 1, 2022.