Carmichael Comments: 12 Reasons To Get Excited

Welcome back to Carmichael Comments, the weekly column on Carolina women's basketball here on GoHeels.com. If you're new to the women's basketball bandwagon, welcome in! Since it's my sixth year as the women's basketball radio voice at Carolina, it's also the sixth year of writing this column. Weekly on Wednesdays, you'll find stories, nuggets, and anecdotes on the Tar Heels, supplementing our Tar Heel Sports Network radio coverage.

With the season opener upon us, the storylines of the season are yet to unfold – a blank canvas in front of us. What will the final work of art look like? We'll find out in a few months.

But for now, we'll honor the all-time leading scorer in Carolina history, Ivory Latta, whose No. 12 is retired in Carmichael Arena, with 12 reasons to be excited about the 2023-24 season.

1. Two All-ACC Talents Back

A season ago, Deja Kelly and Alyssa Ustby were honored by the ACC with first-team All-ACC selections. With the duo back for a fourth season in Carolina blue, they were honored again with Preseason All-ACC recognition last month. It's the first time since 2014 that multiple Tar Heels have been honored with such an award. Having such high-level talent in Chapel Hill is a treat for Carolina fans young and old.

2. Portal and Youth Influx

Around that duo, head coach Courtney Banghart has bolstered the Tar Heels' roster by bringing in proven talent from the transfer portal and recruiting. Guard Lexi Donarski is a former Big 12 Rookie of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year at Iowa State who will add defensive and shooting abilities immediately. Center Maria Gakdeng comes from Boston College as an experienced ACC player and rim protector. Guard Indya Nivar made a splash at Live Action by showing off her three-point stroke in front of Carolina fans. Five true freshmen join the program as well.

3. Challenging Schedule

Check out the first AP Top 25 of the season. Carolina will take on No. 2 UConn, No. 3 Iowa (potentially), No. 6 South Carolina, No. 8 Virginia Tech (twice), No. 17 Louisville, and No. 18 Florida State. Potential foe Kansas State is the receiving the most votes among teams not ranked – in essence, No. 26. That's eight of 30 regular season games among teams perceived to be among the top 26 in the nation.

4. Classic Rivalries

Nothing gets Carolina fans' juices flowing quite like a rivalry matchup with Duke or NC State – or lately in women's basketball, Virginia Tech. This season, Carolina will play all three of them twice. All six of those games will be played Feb. 1 or later, making up six of the final nine games of the regular season.

5. Expectations … With Something to Prove

Carolina's No. 3 slot in the ACC preseason poll is the highest the Tar Heels have been ranked since the league expanded in 2013, and highest since being slotted No. 2 in 2010. It's a great place to be – a clear favorite contender in the eyes of ACC media and coaches, while still having the opportunity to exceed those expectations.

6. New Gameday Experiences

If you haven't made it out to see our friends at Carolina volleyball, you're in for a treat on your first visit to Carmichael. A new, state-of-the-art, center-hung videoboard and ribbon board across from the benches completely change the game for stats, replays, and viewing the score. Plus, the light system has been overhauled to provide fans with new light shows throughout the game, much like you've seen at football night games.

7. Carmichael Student Section

Remember how cool it was to see the student section full for big games in the last few seasons? How Carolina Fever brought the energy for huge home wins over Louisville, Duke, and NC State? Yeah, those moments are coming again soon. Students are the energy source of Carolina fans.

8. In-State Opponents

In addition to all the marquee games on the non-conference schedule, Carolina will play five of its fellow in-state Division I schools: Gardner-Webb, Davidson, Elon, UNCG, and Western Carolina. If you factor in the five ACC games against Duke, NC State, and Wake Forest, a whole third of the schedule comes against teams from North Carolina. It's only fitting that in a basketball-crazy state, this flagship program is intertwined in the fabric of the basketball season.

9. Close to the Action

Not only is Carmichael Arena an intimate environment to watch basketball in a raucous setting, but the proximity of fans to the floor provides a true home-court advantage. If you haven't checked out a home game yet, do it this year.

10. Free Shoes

Students can enter to win a free pair of Jordans again this year. Need we say any more?

11. National Exposure

Eighteen of Carolina's 30 regular season games will be aired on linear television, with two games on ESPN, four on ESPN2, and two more on the free, over-the-air CW Network. The remaining 10 games will be shown on ACC Network.

12. It's What Your Friends Are Doing

Among total fans, students, season ticket holders, and more, attendance has been steadily rising and fan excitement has never been higher. It's not just a Carolina trend: over nine million people watched the NCAA Championship Game last season on ABC. Women's basketball is here to stay.

Up Next
The Carolina season tips off with a pair of home games against in-state opponents. Wednesday's aforementioned season opener marks the fifth-ever meeting between the Tar Heels and Gardner-Webb Runnin' Bulldogs, reigning champions of the Big South Conference. Gardner-Webb fell to Utah 103-77 in the NCAA Tournament's first round last season, snapping a 21-game win streak that saw the Boiling Springs, N.C. team become the first Big South team to ever post a 21-0 mark against conference foes in the regular season and league tournament. Soon after, head coach Alex Simmons accepted the same post at Memphis, and the four starters eligible to return for 2023-24 all transferred out. Scott Merritt, a former Wisconsin assistant, takes over as the head coach at Gardner-Webb with a new-look team. Tip on Wednesday is set for 7:00 p.m., with our Tar Heel Sports Network coverage commencing at 6:30 p.m. with the Reeds Jewelers Pregame Show. Catch the call locally on 97.9 FM/1360 AM WCHL, or worldwide for free on the Varsity Network App from Learfield, GoHeels.com, or the GoHeels app.

Sunday draws another fifth meeting for Carolina and a team wearing red from the greater Charlotte area. This time, it's Davidson, led by Gayle Fulks, who makes the trip up I-85 for the first time since 2012. The Atlantic 10 Conference representatives will challenge themselves this week, taking on Wake Forest, Carolina, and Duke in a six-day span from Saturday to Thursday the 16th. Sunday's matchup between the Tar Heels and Wildcats, the back end of a men's and women's basketball doubleheader to cap off Homecoming weekend in Chapel Hill, tips at 6:00 p.m. That means a 5:30 p.m. start for the Reeds Jewelers Pregame Show. Catch the call locally on 97.9 FM/1360 AM WCHL, or worldwide for free on the Varsity Network App from Learfield, GoHeels.com, or the GoHeels app.

That's all for now! Let's tip it off – Go Heels!

-Matt