Tar Heels Welcome Wolverines For ACC/Big Ten Challenge Wednesday

GAME 7
• Carolina hosts 24th-ranked Michigan on Wednesday, December 1, in the 23rd ACC-Big Ten Challenge.
• Both teams are 4-2 this season.
• Carolina is 3-0 at home while the Wolverines are playing on the road for the first time.
• The Tar Heels are playing for the first time since defeating UNC Asheville, 72-53, in the Smith Center on November 23, two days before Thanksgiving.
• Michigan defeated Tarleton State, 65-54, one day later.
• This is the third time in five seasons the teams have met in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge (split the first two) and fourth time in the last five seasons they have played (also 11/28/2019 in the semifinals of the Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas, a 73-64 Michigan victory).
• Gametime for UNC-Michigan is 9:20 p.m. (ESPN).
• The Tar Heels begin Atlantic Coast Conference play on Sunday, December 5, at Georgia Tech. This is the second straight season UNC has opened conference play on the road and third time in six seasons the Tar Heels have a December contest in Atlanta.
• Armando Bacot scored a game-high 22 points against UNC Asheville. The Richmond, Va., native leads UNC in scoring (15.7 ppg), rebounding (8.7 rpg), blocks (11) and field goal shooting (.667).
• Bacot led the Tar Heels in those four categories last season, becoming the first to do so since Brice Johnson did it en route to earning first-team All-America honors in 2015-16.
• No Tar Heel has led UNC in all four of those categories in consecutive seasons.
• Sophomore guard RJ Davis was named to the all-tournament team at the Hall of Fame Tipoff Tournament. The White Plains, N.Y., native averaged 16.0 points and 4.0 assists in the two games against Purdue and Tennessee.
• Carolina lost back-to-back games in November for the first time since losing to Minnesota and Vanderbilt in Puerto Rico in the 2010-11 season.
• Carolina scored a season-low 72 points in each of its last two games, an 89-72 loss to Tennessee and a 72-53 win over UNC Asheville. The Bulldogs' 53 points were the fewest allowed this season by the Tar Heels, who also held their in-state visitors to 26.5 percent from the floor. That was the lowest field goal percentage by an opponent since Evansville shot 25.8 percent on 12/6/2012.
• Five different Tar Heels have led UNC in scoring in the first six games with Bacot the only player to do so twice (career-high 24 at Charleston and 22 vs. UNC Asheville). Caleb Love (Loyola), RJ Davis (Brown), Dawson Garcia (Purdue) and Brady Manek (Tennessee) also have led UNC in scoring in one game apiece.
• Those five Tar Heels are averaging double figures in scoring this season. The last time five Tar Heels averaged 10 or more points was 2017-18.
• Five different Tar Heels also have scored 20 or more points in a game this season. Bacot has three 20-point games, Love has two 22-point games this season (he scored 20 twice in 29 contests as a freshman), Manek had 20 vs. Loyola Maryland and 24 against Tennessee, Davis had 26 against Brown and Garcia netted 26 vs. Purdue.
• UNC is averaging 8.8 threes per game, which is ahead of the school record for a season (8.7 per game in 2018-19).
• The Tar Heels are shooting 41.4 percent from three-point range over the first six games. That is on pace for the fourth-best percentage by UNC and the highest since 1987-88.
• Bacot (+57) and senior Leaky Black (+55) lead the Tar Heels in plus/minus through six games.
• Carolina's opponents have scored 19 points off UNC turnovers in each of the last four games.
• Carolina has trailed at the half in four of the first six games. UNC is 2-2 in those four games, defeating Brown after trailing by three at the half and Charleston after heading to intermission down, 42-36.

VS. MICHIGAN
• Carolina is 4-4 all-time against the Wolverines, including 1-0 in Chapel Hill.
• The teams have both won at home in previous ACC-Big Ten Challenge games.
• Michigan has won the last two games, which were played in Ann Arbor and The Bahamas.
• The Wolverines made 11 threes and shot 50 percent from the floor in a 73-64 win in The Bahamas in the previous meeting on 11/28/2019. Cole Anthony led UNC with 22 points, but Michigan opened the second half on a 21-2 run. Eli Brooks nailed four threes and led four Wolverines in double figures with 24.
• Junior forward Luke Maye scored 27 points and Theo Pinson had a game-high six of UNC's 24 assists in an 86-71 win over Michigan on 11/29/2017. That was the only previous UNC-Michigan game in Chapel Hill.
• Hubert Davis was a freshman on the 1989 Tar Heel squad that lost to Michigan in the NCAA Sweet 16 (Davis did not play). Juwan Howard was 1-1 as a player against the Tar Heels. Michigan beat UNC in Honolulu in the 1992 Rainbow Classic and the Tar Heels defeated Michigan four months later in New Orleans in the 1993 national championship game.
• On 2/22/2001, Davis and Howard were part of an eight-player NBA trade. Davis was one of five Washington Wizards (including Christian Laettner) dealt to Dallas in exchange for Howard and two other Mavericks.

ACC-BIG TEN CHALLENGE
• Carolina is 10-12 in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge, including 1-1 vs. Michigan.
• UNC has lost three straight in this event – at seventh-ranked Michigan, home to sixth-ranked Ohio State and at No. 3 Iowa.
• No. 24 Michigan is the 19th ranked opponent to play UNC in the 23-year history of the ACC-Big Ten Challenge.

HUBERT
• Hubert Davis is 4-2 as Carolina's head coach. Davis was named Carolina's 20th head coach, and first Black head coach, on April 5, 2021.
• Davis is the fourth Tar Heel head coach who also played at UNC, joining Reynolds Cuthbertson, Monk McDonald and Matt Doherty.
• Davis played for Dean Smith from 1988-92, was selected by the New York Knicks in the first round of the NBA Draft and played a dozen seasons in the NBA. He was a college basketball analyst at ESPN for seven years and an assistant coach on Roy Williams' Tar Heel staff from 2012-21.

TEAM CAPTAINS
Junior forward/center Armando Bacot and sophomore guards RJ Davis and Caleb Love were selected team captains.
• Davis and Love are UNC's first sophomore captains since Marcus Paige in 2013-14.
• The players were selected captains by a vote of their teammates.

2021-22 ROSTER NOTES
• The Tar Heels welcome seven new players to the roster, including three transfers, two freshmen and two former junior varsity players.
• Graduate student Brady Manek made 235 threes and scored 1,459 points in four seasons at Oklahoma. Sophomore Dawson Garcia averaged 13.0 points and 6.6 rebounds an earned Freshman All-Big East Conference honors last season at Marquette. Junior Justin McKoy, a Raleigh native who attended Panther Creek High School in Cary, returns to his home state after two seasons at Virginia.
• Manek's 235 three-pointers for the Sooners were more than all but two Tar Heels – Marcus Paige (299) and Joel Berry II (266).
• Manek earned his degree from OU in seven semesters. He became the tallest player in Big 12 history to make 200 threes and the first with 200 threes and 100 blocks. The Harrah, Okla., native is the only Sooner to compile 1,000 points, 500 rebounds, 200 three-pointers and 100 blocks.
• Garcia scored 24 points and had 11 rebounds for Marquette against the Tar Heels in February when the Golden Eagles handed UNC an 83-70 loss in Chapel Hill.
• Garcia played AAU ball with fellow Minnesota native and Tar Heel teammate Kerwin Walton.

PRESEASON ACCOLADES
• Carolina was picked to finish third in the ACC by the media at preseason media day in Charlotte on October 12.
• Armando Bacot, who earned third-team All-ACC honors in 2021, was selected to the preseason first team. Sophomore guard Caleb Love was chosen for the second team. Love was a member of the ACC's All-Freshman team last season.
• Bacot and Dawson Garcia are on the preseason watch list for the Wooden Award. Bacot is also on the list for the Naismith Trophy and the Lute Olson Award.
• Bacot, Love and Dawson Garcia are on the Basketball Hall of Fame's preseason watch lists for their respective positional player-of-the-year awards.
• Love is a candidate for Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year award, Garcia for the Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year award and Bacot for the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year award.
• Carolina is the only school to win three Bob Cousy Awards (Raymond Felton in 2005, Ty Lawson in 2009 and Kendall Marshall in 2012). Felton and Lawson won as juniors, while Marshall won the award as a sophomore.

TAR HEEL STAFF
• Head coach Hubert Davis is a Tar Heel alum, and so are each of his assistant coaches and members of the basketball staff.
• Assistant coaches Brad Frederick (1996-99), Jeff Lebo (1985-89) and Sean May (2002-05), Director of Recruiting Pat Sullivan (1990-93, 1994-95) and Director of Team and Player Development Jackie Manuel (2001-05) all played for the Tar Heels. Director of Operations Eric Hoots has been on staff for 18 seasons.
• Frederick played on Final Four teams that won ACC championships in 1997 and 1998.
• Lebo is a 20-year head coaching veteran who set 10 UNC records in his playing career.
• May was the Most Outstanding Player of the 2005 NCAA Final Four, scoring 26 points in the national championship game vs. Illinois.
• Manuel was twice named Carolina's defensive player of the year and was a starter on the 2005 NCAA champions.
• Sullivan was a key contributor on the 1993 national champions and is one of seven Tar Heels who have played in three Final Fours.
• Davis, Lebo, May and Frederick combined to score 4,441 points as Tar Heels. Syracuse is the only school whose coaches scored more points at their alma mater than UNC (Gerry McNamara, Adrian Autry, Allen Griffin and Jim Boeheim scored 5,189 for the Orange).

PRO HEELS
NBA
Cole Anthony, Orlando
Harrison Barnes, Sacramento
Tony Bradley, Chicago
Reggie Bullock, Dallas
Ed Davis, Cleveland
Wayne Ellington, Los Angeles Lakers
Danny Green, Philadelphia
Cameron Johnson, Phoenix
Nassir Little, Portland
Coby White, Chicago

G League
Justin Jackson, Austin (Dallas)
Theo Pinson, Maine (Boston)
Day'Ron Sharpe, Long Island (New Jersey)

International source: TarHeelInternational.com
Nate Britt, Yoast United, The Netherlands
Isaiah Hicks, Seoul Samsung Thunders, South Korea
Desmond Hubert, Al Arabi, Kuwait
Brice Johnson, Toyama Grouses, Japan
Christian Keeling, BC Rustavi, Georgia
Justin Knox, Neo-Phoenix, Japan
Ty Lawson, US Monastir, Tunisia
Luke Maye, BAXI Manresa, Spain
James Michael McAdoo, Hitachi Sun Rockers, Japan
Kennedy Meeks, Cholet Basket, France
Marcus Paige, Orleans Loiret, France
Justin Pierce, VfL Kircheim Knights, Germany
Reyshawn Terry, Plateros de Fresnillo, Mexico
Deon Thompson, Leones des Ponce, Puerto Rico
J.P. Tokoto, Hapoel Tel Aviv, Israel
Jawad Williams, Yamagata Wyverns, Japan
Kenny Williams, Kolossos Rhodes, Greece

NOVEMBER 2021 SIGNEES
• Hubert Davis's first recruiting class includes Tyler Nickel of Massanutten, Va., Will Shaver of Birmingham, Ala., Seth Trimble of Menomonee Falls, Wis., and Jalen Washington of Gary, Ind.

• "The young men we want to sign have to be able to shoot and be versatile guys who can play multiple positions," says Davis. "We were specifically looking in this class for a point guard, a shooter with size and two big men who are versatile on both ends of the floor, and we were able to get all of that with these four players."

• Tyler Nickel plays for Coach Carey Keyes at East Rockingham High School in Elkton, Va. "We knew we had to improve our shooting, and Tyler's not only a great shooter but a tremendous all- around player at his size," says Davis. "He's a wing that is outstanding defensively and competes hard on both ends of the floor. He is built to play on the biggest stage. He desperately wants to be on the floor against the best players and teams in the country. His relentless work ethic and skill give him a chance to be one of the best wings ever to play at UNC. I'll never have to coach effort or motivate Tyler to play hard on every possession because the passion to play is built into his character."

• Will Shaver is home schooled. "Will is a versatile big," says Davis. "He can consistently score in the post with either hand and can shoot it well from three. He is effective in pick and roll and pick and pop situations, and he loves to pass. He's a really good passer out of the post, so when teams have to double team him, because he can score, he has the ability to find open shooters all over the floor. He holds a special place for me because he was the first 2022 kid to commit. And he's from Alabama and we've had a couple of players from there in Pete Chilcutt and Garrison Brooks, who were pretty good players for us."

• Seth Trimble, the younger brother of J.P. Tokoto, who played for the Tar Heels from 2012-15, plays for Coach Jason Hallenbeck at Menomonee Falls High School. "Seth is the fastest point guard in the country with the ball," says Davis. "He's the most athletic point guard, combo guard in the country. As good as he is, his ceiling is ridiculous. He's the best on-the-ball defender I saw as we evaluated the class of 2022. Seth can pick up full court and create havoc on the defensive end and with his athleticism and speed he is almost impossible to stop at driving the ball into the paint. He is a true point guard in that he loves to get people involved."

• Jalen Washington attends West Side High School and is coached by Ricky Carter. "Jalen is the best shooting big in the country in this class," says Davis. "His touch from 12-15 feet in the mid-post is outstanding. I can't remember a guy who will be coming into college who is that skilled. He is athletic, has great size and is a good passer. I've talked about wanting versatile bigs who can score in the post and are excellent offensive rebounders, and he can also defend guards on the perimeter. That's what I want and we got the best one."

V Foundation's Stuart Scott Memorial Cancer Fund Initiative
• The V Foundation and UNC are teaming up this evening to honor Tar Heel and ESPN alum Stuart Scott, who passed away from cancer six years ago.
• Scott was a champion for cancer research and was especially driven to improve outcomes for minorities disproportionately affected by the disease.
• The Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, of which Stuart was a member, is partnering with the V Foundation to fight cancer.
• This month, Alpha Phi Alpha is launching the Give and Go to Fight Cancer campaign to change that fact. The fraternity is encouraging donations to the V Foundation's Stuart Scott Fund, which supports critical research in cancer disparities and funds underrepresented scientists, and is encouraging everyone to get screened for cancer.
• Go to v.org for more information.

Tar Heels Welcome Wolverines For ACC/Big Ten Challenge Wednesday

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Players Mentioned

Armando Bacot

Leaky Black

Garrison Brooks

RJ Davis

Dawson Garcia

Caleb Love

Brady Manek

Justin McKoy

Day'Ron Sharpe

Kerwin Walton