Will the Carolina Panthers be super aggressive in free agency? Or will they try to focus their energy on the 2025 NFL Draft? Regardless, the Panthers have been urged to pick a Georgia star who has drawn comparisons to Danielle Hunter. Please click here for more.
The best options to balance NCHSAA’s charter, parochial, and public schools
Columnist J. Mike Blake writees that not only are North Carolina parochial and charter schools are winning a smaller share of titles over the last three years of this current period than the one that came before it — but there’s also greater parity among the public schools that win. Please click here for more.
Canes Release Lenovo Center Renovation Update
The first phase of the Lenovo Center upgrades focuses on the arena level and the 300 level of the building. At ice level, the renovations are highlighted by the addition of the Lenovo Legend Club – a luxurious space below the South stands that will feature the arena’s most premium food and beverage offerings in a plush entertainment setting. Please click here for more.
UNC football to no longer be featured on ‘Hard Knocks’ as deal falls through, report says
The University of North Carolina football program under new head coach Bill Belichick will no longer be the focus on HBO’s “Hard Knocks” this offseason, according to a report from NFL insider Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports. Following weeks of discussion between UNC, Belichick and NFL Films, the agreement fell through after all parties were close to a deal, the report said. Please click here for more.
UNC player tops Mel Kiper’s NFL combine risers
An avalanche of NFL draft discourse always follows the scouting combine, and some of the headlines, like this year’s event having the most sub 4.4 40-yard dash times ever, are turning heads among fans. One player who left the combine with improved draft stock was North Carolina running back Omarion Hampton, according to NFL draft guru Mel Kiper Jr. Please click here for more.
Tar Heels handle Miami for season-high fifth win in a row
North Carolina improved its NCAA Tournament hopes by not only avoiding a bad loss but by winning big, 92-73 at home against Miami for the fifth straight victory in a row. (3/1)
A 12-2 Carolina run late in the first half gave the Heels a comfortable 46-31 halftime lead. Then, Ven-Allen Lubin opened it up for good by scoring 10 of the team’s first 12 points of the second half to give the Heels a commanding 58-37 advantage five minutes into the second half.
For the second game in a row, six Tar Heels scored in double figures with Lubin leading the way with a season-high 19 points. Drake Powell, who was in the startin lineup, was next with 16 points while RJ Davis added 13. Jae’lyn Withers, who manned the most minutes for Carolina with 33, scored 11 points and hauled in 10 rebounds. Freshman Ian Jackson managed 11 points in just 13 minutes while Seth Trimble added 10.
During the game-changing run at the end of the first half, Trimble tossed back-to-back threes while Davis drained one. The Tar Heels ended up hitting 10 of 18 threes for better than 55 percent from beyond the arc.
“We shot the ball really well today,” Coach Hubert Davis said admitting that it doesn’t always work out that way. “It was an efficient win but defensively I felt we could have done better.”
Behind 25 points from Matt Cleveland and 20 from Brandon Johnson, Miami cut the margin to 14 on several occasions but could get no closer as the Hurricanes fell to 6-23 overall and 2-16 in the ACC.
Carolina outrebounded Miami 38-26 and outscored the Hurricanes in the paint 46-28.
“There’s a week left (in the regular season) and I feel like we’re improving,” Coach Davis said. “To sustain that we have to play with energy, effort and attention to detail. We can’t have four or five minute lapses.”
There may have been a couple of lapses that lasted a couple of minutes but, at least offensively, the Tar Heels are playing the best they have all season, which could help their at-large NCAA selection chances.
The Tar Heels, who play Virginia Tech Tuesday, improve to 19-11 and 12-6 in the ACC.
Tar Heels’ team effort trips Seminoles for 4th straight win
RJ Davis led six Tar Heels in double figures with 20 points and lesser-used players came up big in a full team effort as North Carolina tripped up Florida State In Tallahassee 96-85l. (2/24)
“Everyone contributed today,” Davis said. “That was the kind of team win we need.” It was the six straight Carolina win over Florida State and it was the fourth straight Carolina win since Coach Hubert Davis went to a larger lineup.
“We’ve cut down on mistakes on both sides of the basketball court,” Coach Davis said of the recent streak. “We’ve cut down on turnovers and gotten better shot selection. With the bigger lineup we’ve been scoring more in the paint and rebounding the basketball better.”
He said he would be even happier if his team could play defense without fouling. Big men Ven-Allen Lubin and Jalen Washington each got in foul trouble and Florida State was 21 of 28 from the free throw line.
In the first half, it looked as if it would be a closer game as there were seven ties and Florida State was hot from the field, hitting 62.5 percent from the floor with star Jamir Watkins scoring 18 of his game-high 26 points.
But an 8-0 Carolina run late in the half, highlighted by back-to-back buckets from Cade Tyson, helped the Tar Heels get up by eight and settle for a 49-43 haltime edge.
The Tar Heels extended the lead to 14 in the first three minutes at 61-47 following threes by Davis and Eliott Cadeau.
Florida State briefly cut the margin to six as the Seminoles got to the line often and drained six second half threes (10 for the game) despite being next to last in the ACC in three-point shooting.
But Carolina pushed the lead back to double figures after seven straight points by Davis, Seth Trimble and Cadeau as the lead eventually ballooned to 16 points at 87-71.
Joining Davis in double figures were Trimble (17), Jae’lyn Withers (11), Cadeau (10), Lubin (10) and Washington (10).
The Tar Heels outrebounded the taller Seminoles and the aggressive Carolina players came up with 24 second-chance points compared to just six for Florida State.
The Seminoles fall to 16-12 and 7-10 in the conference. Meanwhile, the Tar Heels, who host Miami Saturday, improve to 18-11 and 11-6 in the ACC.
Hot Tar Heels streak past Cavaliers 81-66
A hot-shooting North Carolina team dominated early, getting out to a 21-2 lead, and put down every Virginia push to win 81-66 in Chapel Hill. (2/22)
It was the third game in a row that the Tar Heels have never trailed. It was also the first time that a Carolina team has scored more than 80 points against a Virginia team in the last 20 games between the two teams.
Five Tar Heels scored in double figures, with recent starter Jae’lyn Withers scoring 16 points and first-man-off-the-bench Ian Jackson matching that total. The two were seven of nine from beyond the three-point line with Withers stroking four and Jackson hitting three.
Both Withers and Jackson hit threes during a 15-0 Carolina run that took the lead from 6-2 to 21-2.
“They were ready to go from from the start,” UNC coach Hubert Davis said of his team, adding that except for some self-inflicted errors it was a flawless first half.
After the big Carolina start, a flagrant foul on Jalen Washington and a technical foul on Withers for taunting helped the Cavaliers go on a 7-0 run.
From that time on, the lead generally hovered in the 12 to 17 point range, with the Tar Heels getting their biggest lead on an old-fashioned three-point play by Jackson with 6:10 to go that made it 77-57.
Over the last five minutes, with mixed results, the Tar Heels burned clock and waited until late in the clock to attempt to score. RJ Davis, who managed 12 points, had an off night shooting as he missed all four of his three-point attempts and went just three of 14 from the field.
“I feel like we’re playing better as a team – one that doesn’t rely on RJ to have a huge night,” Coach Davis said, adding that everybody who plays is contributing.
One of those is Withers, who has averaged more than 14 points over the last three games and led the Tar Heels with 11 rebounds against Virginia. “When JWit is on the floor and he plays well on both ends of the court, he completely changes our team for the good,” Coach Davis said.
The Tar Heels hit 9-for-16 from beyond the arc (56.3 percent) and outrebounded the Cavaliers 32-21 on the way to improving their record to 17-11 and 10-6 in the ACC.
Isaac McKneely’s 17 points led Virginia, which falls to 13-14 and 6-10 in the conference.
It’s a quick turnaround for Carolina, who travel to Florida State Monday night.
Tar Heels cream Pack in snowy Chapel Hill
In an unusual atmosphere, where no ticket was necessary and fans could sit where they want, North Carolina creamed N.C. State with a 15-2 run early that just snowballed and ended with a 97-73 win in snowy Chapel Hill. (2/19)
With the score tied at 6-all, five different Tar Heels scored as Carolina raced out to a 21-8 lead in the first eight minutes. UNC got a couple of late first-half threes from reserve Cade Tyson, who hadn’t hit a triple since Jan. 1, to push the Heels lead to 28, 54-26 at the half.
Though it seemed as if the game was over, the Tar Heels have had trouble putting teams away this year plus State came out hot in the second half, scoring 17 points before the first TV timeout.
The Tar Heels pushed the lead to 30 early in the second half but then the Wolfpack hit eight of their next 12 shots to cut the margin to 22 on a Michael O’Connell backdoor bucket that made it 69-47 with 12:38 left in the game.
But UNC freshman Ian Jackson swished a three, banked one high off the backboard and hit a couple of free throws to extend the lead to 76-49. It didn’t get closer than 22 again until the last minute when the Pack made it 93-73.
A pair of buckets by little-used James Brown in the last 50 seconds – one on an assist from walk-on Russell Hawkins – wrapped up the game before a loud crowd, made up mostly of students.
“The crowd was amazing,” UNC coach Hubert Davis said. “The weather is rough and we had 14-15,000 people here. Some of the players noted to me that the crowd was different. It made a difference.”
The aggressive Carolina defense made a difference early as the Heels forced several of the Pack’s nine turnovers in the first half. State ended the game with just 10 turnovers but the damage was done.
“Defensively our players were on the ball, active contesting shots and getting loose balls,” Coach Davis said. “We’ve been great in transition but in order to get there you have to have stops.”
Coach Davis said pressure defense created turnovers, including three while pressuring the Wolfpack full-court, and that ignited the team.
RJ Davis, who was particularly active controlling the pace in the first half, led the Tar Heels with 21 points. Seth Trimble, who led the Heels with seven rebounds, added 15 points while Ven-Allen Lubin scored 13 points, all in the second half. Jackson was the fourth Carolina player in double figures with 12 points.
The Tar Heels shot 57.4 percent from the field including 40 percent from the three-point line. Jayden Taylor and Dontrez Styles, who played two years at Carolina and then a year at Georgetown, finished with 19 and 18 points respectively for N.C. State, which drops to 10-16 overall and 3-12 in the ACC.
Carolina advances to 16-11 overall and 9-6 in the conference. The Tar Heels host Virginia Saturday at 4 p.m.
This was the 40th time in the last 47 games between Carolina and State that the Tar Heels have come out on top.
UNC women’s basketball upsets N.C. State, 66-65, with clutch free throws
The No. 12 North Carolina women’s basketball team (23-4, 11-3 ACC) defeated No. 10 North Carolina State (20-5, 12-2 ACC), 66-65, on Sunday afternoon in Carmichael Arena. The fourth quarter was neck-and-neck until the Tar Heels scored the final six points of the game. Please click here for more.
Photo by Heather Diehl / The Daily Tar Heel