Lucas: Blue-White Rapid Reactions

By Adam Lucas

1. Most importantly over anything else that happened in Chapel Hill on Saturday, just an incredibly sad day for the family and friends of Tylee Craft and the entire Carolina community. Tar Heel basketball players, who got to know Tylee last season when he worked with the team, wore #TyleeStrong t-shirts for warmups. A moment of silence was held before the game. Craft was 23 years old.

2. In the game, Blue took a 63-53 victory over White. The game was played as two 12-minute halves. Pat Sullivan and Brad Frederick coached the White squad, while Sean May and Marcus Paige coached the Blue. Hubert Davis and Jeff Lebo sat courtside.

3. White starters: RJ Davis, Ian Jackson, Jae'Lyn Withers, Drake Powell and Jalen Washington. Blue starters: Elliot Cadeau, Cade Tyson, Ven-Allen Lubin, Seth Trimble and James Brown.

4. Most importantly, after Davis took a hard fall following a midair collision in the second half, he looked like he was OK. The Tar Heels absolutely can't lose the current ACC Player of the Year. In limited minutes, Davis shot 2-for-6 and scored nine points.

5. The day's high scorer was Seth Trimble, who swished a three-pointer--an area of emphasis for him this offseason--but also showed off the dynamic athleticism that has always been his trademark. Trimble's second-half one-handed dunk over a teammate was spectacular.

6. Rebounding is going to be a constant area of importance for this team. The day's high rebounders were Washington with seven and a trio of Tar Heels (Withers, Claude and Brown) with six. Early in the game, there were too many offensive rebounds allowed--Hubert Davis is absolutely certain to mention the fact that the first two possessions of the game included a missed box out, which results in the entire offending team running during practice--but the Heels did get better on the defensive glass as the game progressed.

7. Freshmen: Ian Jackson scored 10 on 14 shots, Brown had nine and Powell had eight.

8. Cadeau had four assists and also hit his only three-pointer of the afternoon. The two teams combined to hit just eight for 25 from three-point range, but that was with a limited Davis. The perimeter will eventually be a strength.

9. When ticket sales are combined with proceeds from the sale of signed basketballs (which begin on Dec. 1), the basketball program will donate $121,230 to hurricane relief.

10. Looking ahead, Carolina travels to Memphis on Tuesday night for an exhibition game at 7 p.m. Eastern. There will be full Tar Heel Sports Network coverage in addition to airing on ESPNU. The Heels will be back in the Smith Center on Oct. 27 for an exhibition against Johnson C. Smith before opening the regular season on Nov. 4 against Elon.

11. Impossible to end the day without once more emphasizing what a heartbreaking day it is in Chapel Hill. Tylee Craft came here excited to have a big impact on Carolina by catching passes and scoring touchdowns. It turned out to be a much, much bigger impact that will echo in Tar Heel football and Carolina history for much longer than a few statistics. There are, of course, mammoth medical expenses associated with his long battle. Fans can contribute to a GoFundMe for the family here.

Players Mentioned

James Brown

Elliot Cadeau

RJ Davis

Ian Jackson

Ven-Allen Lubin

Drake Powell

Seth Trimble

Cade Tyson

Jalen Washington

Jae'Lyn Withers

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