UNC Tar Heels Basketball Team Shows Off-Season Marked Improvement in the Blue-White Game

by Derrick Isaiah Clyburn

The 2022-23 North Carolina Men’s Basketball team played an impromptu inter-squad scrimmage on August 27. It was a scrimmage that was sponsored by NIL and open to the public for just $12 general admission. The Tar Heel basketball team split the players into two teams- the White team and the Blue team, and whichever team scored 80 points first won the game.

On the Blue team, it was Seth Trimble, Caleb Love, Dontrez Styles, Will Shaver, Tyler Nickel, Pete Nance, and Jackson Watkins. On the White team, it was RJ Davis, Armando Bacot, D’Marco Dunn, Puff Johnson, Justin McKoy, Creighton Leighbo, and Duwe Farris. Leaky Black and Jalen Washington did not play.

The two teams were coached by former UNC basketball players. Jawad Williams and Ed Davis coached the Blue team, and Marcus Ginyard and Deon Thompson coached the White team. It was a very competitive scrimmage and both teams put on a show for the fans in attendance to give them an early glimpse of what we can expect to see this upcoming season. The White team came out with the victory and the final score was 80-69.

Here are some observations from the game:

White Team

RJ Davis– Davis put on a show in this scrimmage and had the best performance of any player on either team in the scrimmage. He showed why he is going to be one of the best guards in the country this season. Davis looked even more confident in his abilities with his ball-handling, shot-making, and play-making. RJ showed a command of the game and could get where ever he wanted whenever he wanted. He had 24 pts, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, and hit 3 threes.

Armando Bacot– Bacot showed why he is going to be the best big in ACC this year and one of the best, if not the best big in the country. He was a monster in the paint and on the glass. Bacot even showed that he’s been working on his shooting range as he hit a couple of mid-range shots and a three-pointer in the scrimmage. Armando Bacot finished with 19 points, 20 rebounds, 2 assists, and one block.

Puff Johnson– Johnson will be a glue guy on the UNC basketball team this upcoming season and will probably be the sixth or seventh man for this team. He does all the little things and dirty work for the team and it was displayed in the scrimmage. He defends multiple positions, crashes the glass both on defense and offense, and looks to be more confident in his three-point shot. Puff had 9 points, 5 rebounds, and 1 steal.

D’Marco Dunn– Dunn will be competing for a spot in the guard rotation this season. He showed in the scrimmage that he has been really working on his game this summer. He is more confident in his offensive abilities with his shot-making, and his willingness to be just more aggressive and be a consistent offensive threat out there on the floor. His defense is something that he really stood out in the scrimmage. For much of the game, Dunn defended Caleb Love. He picked up Love 94 feet, hounded him every chance he got, made every shot Love took against him difficult, and even stole the ball from Caleb a couple of times. That was great to see from Dunn and if he shows the coaching staff he can do those things consistently this year he will find himself in the rotation this upcoming season.

Justin McKoy– Justin McKoy’s role on the team this year is undefined. He will be fighting with several players at the 3 and 4 spots for playing time. At this moment, he has not shown that he deserves to be ahead of guys like Puff Johnson, and Dontrez Styles. It will be up to him to prove to the coaching staff he deserves playing time. He will have to defend at a high level, shows that he can consistently do the dirty work, and show that he is not a liability on the offense. In the scrimmage, McKoy struggled with his shot but did play pretty good defense and was a force on the offensive and defensive glass. McKoy had 6 points and 7 rebounds.

Blue Team

Caleb Love– Caleb Love looks to pick up right where he left off last season. He had an amazing NCAA tournament last season and was arguably the best player on the team during the run. This year we will look for Caleb to be more consistent with his shot, be more of a lockdown defender, a better playmaker, develop a mid-range shot, and be a more consistent finisher around the rim. Love will show why he is one of the best guards this season and should improve his NBA draft stock with his play. In the scrimmage, Caleb showed us his scoring ability, his improved defense, and his fearlessness and confidence to take any shot on the court. Love finished with 22 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, and 4 three-pointers.

Pete Nance– Pete Nance is a 6-11 power forward from Northwestern. He will be a great addition to the team this year and will likely start at power forward for the Tar Heels this season. However, he will get minutes at both the 4 and 5 this upcoming season and will add much-needed versatility to the team. Nance is a high-IQ basketball player, who has a post-game, can defend in the post and out on the perimeter, shoot the three, rebound, be a lob threat, and be a rim-protector. In the scrimmage, he showed off his post moves with turnaround jumpers and his ability to rebound and block shots. He had 11 points, 8 rebounds, 2 blocks, and 1 steal.

Dontrez Styles– Dontrez Styles is going to be another glue guy for the Tar Heels this upcoming season. He will do all the dirty work, defend multiple positions, be an elite rebounder, and someone that can slash to the rim. His jump shot is still a work in progress, but he is very comfortable taking and making midrange shots. He will be one of the first guys off the bench this year for the Tar Heels and be an important piece to their quest for a championship this upcoming season. Styles didn’t do much in the scrimmage but did hit a couple of midrange shots and showed his ability to defend. Dontrez Styles had 4 points and 2 rebounds.

Seth Trimble– Seth Trimble is an incoming freshman guard. He can play both guard spots, plays defense, has great athleticism, and can really finish around the rim and in the paint. He will add much-needed depth to the guard spot this season and will definitely fight for minutes this upcoming season because of his abilities. In the scrimmage, he showed his ability to be relentless and tenacious on defense with his on-ball defense and his finishing ability at the rim along with his shooting ability. He also brings a lot of energy to the floor and is everywhere on the floor and is fearless out there on the court. Trimble had 21 points, 3 assists, 3 rebounds, and 2 blocks.

Will Shaver– Will Shaver is an incoming freshman center. He is 6-10 and has great size. He will add depth behind Armando Bacot and Pete Nance this season. Shaver is a raw player but has shown the ability to hit shots around the basket, shoot the 3, rebound, and protect the rim. He will need to continue to develop in those areas and will only get better as the season progresses. In the scrimmage, he was able to hold his own defending Armando Bacot but still needs to work on his offensive post-up game. Will Shaver had 2 pts.

Tyler Nickel– Tyler Nickel is an incoming freshman forward for the Tar Heels. He has the ability to score at a high level, shoot the three, and defend multiple positions. The forward spots are logjammed with Leaky Black, Puff Johnson, and Dontrez Styles all ahead of him. He will have to fight for minutes this season and show the coaching staff he is worthy of playing time. With how he is wired, he will take advantage of any minutes given to him. In the scrimmage, Nickel showed off his scoring and shooting ability with 3 threes and his ability to play defense. He had 11 points, 1 rebound, and 1 block.

FINAL OBSERVATIONS

This should be a fun season for the 2022-23 North Carolina basketball team. They are deep and talented at every position and have legitimately 13 players that can play this upcoming season. Expectations are high for the Tar Heels as they are expected to be preseason #1 going into this season after playing in the national championship game last season.

The Heels bring everyone back except Brady Manek but are ready and focused to go on another championship run this upcoming season with the result being different. They have the talent and everything they need to win a championship this season but will need to be ready to bring it every night because it will not be easy. The season starts in a couple of months so we will not wait too much longer to see what the team does and season entails for this special squad.