CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — The best news for North Carolina coming out of its final preseason tuneup Sunday?
Fifth-year guard RJ Davis — the nation’s only returning first-team All-American — actually played after sitting out the team’s previous exhibition against Memphis. Davis suffered a lower back contusion during UNC’s intrasquad scrimmage Oct. 12 and sat out versus the Tigers as a “precaution.” But Davis was back in uniform Sunday, looking very much himself; he had UNC’s first points off a top-of-the-key 3, en route to 15 points, and led the Tar Heels to a 127-63 win over Johnson C. Smith in the team’s final preseason contest.
“As a head coach, you feel a lot better when you have RJ out there on the floor,” Hubert Davis said. “I’m still trying to find a way to bring him back next year. I don’t know if it’s gonna work, but I’m gonna try.”
Against a DII side like Johnson C. Smith — the Charlotte HBCU where Hubert Davis’ parents met — the Tar Heels’ victory was never in doubt. And given UNC’s decided talent advantage, it’s tough to draw any sweeping conclusions from a 64-point blowout.
But considering the season officially starts in a week, when the Tar Heels host Elon next Monday, it’s worth taking stock of the program’s preseason: what we’ve seen through two exhibitions and what I’m hearing behind closed doors in conversations with sources around the program. Here’s where UNC — the nation’s No. 9 preseason team — stands on the brink of Hubert Davis’ fourth season as head coach.
Starting surprises?
The starting five Sunday should also be UNC’s starting lineup for its season opener: Elliot Cadeau, RJ Davis, Seth Trimble, Cade Tyson and Jalen Washington.
When Davis missed the Memphis game, forward Jae’Lyn Withers took his spot in the starting lineup; Hubert Davis then slid Tyson out to the wing. But with the ACC Preseason Player of the Year back Sunday, we got a taste of the Tar Heels’ expected starters.
The two most interesting inclusions? Trimble and Tyson. (Washington has been the expected starter all offseason, despite his low usage through two seasons in Chapel Hill.) It’s not surprising that Tyson would start, as he was No. 16 on The Athletic’s list of the best available transfers and was easily UNC’s top portal addition. But at 6 feet 7, he’s on the smaller side for even a stretch-four. Still, Tyson played the majority of his minutes at the four last season at Belmont — more than two-thirds, per KenPom — and as a 46.5 percent 3-point shooter, gives Hubert Davis his desired shooting presence in the frontcourt. (And defensively, it’s easier to hide Tyson’s lack of foot speed against opposing power forwards instead of true wings.)
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Trimble, at least to the masses, is probably the most surprising starter of that fivesome. After all, the 6-foot-3 junior briefly entered the transfer portal this offseason before returning to UNC. But Trimble has made serious strides this offseason — most notably with his shooting and court vision — to go along with the sky-high athleticism he’s always possessed. The first proof of his progress came against Memphis, when Trimble had a would-be career-high 33 points while making a team-best three 3s. Trimble is quick and strong enough to guard opposing wings, and if his 3-point shot carries the way UNC’s coaching staff believes it can, it gives the Tar Heels another crucial shooting threat.
Trimble’s emergence this summer means the team’s two highly touted freshmen, Drake Powell and Ian Jackson, are likely to come off the bench, at least to start the season. Against Johnson C. Smith, they were the first two perimeter players to sub into the game. Vanderbilt transfer Ven-Allen Lubin was the first sub overall, replacing Washington.
Freshman hype
Powell — the No. 11 recruit in the country, per the 247Sports Composite — might already be UNC’s best defender. That’s high praise for the 6-foot-6 wing, but it’s also deserved, as Powell proved against Johnson C. Smith.
Midway through the first half, Powell had one of the best two-way sequences any player had all game. In a 12-second span, he slashed through the Golden Bulls’ defense and finished a contested layup, only to get back on defense and immediately block a midrange jumper; Powell then corralled the defensive rebound — one of his nine boards Sunday, second most on the team — and immediately pushed the ball in transition. Later in the first half, Powell swiped the ball from his opponent with near-perfect timing, leading to an uncontested breakaway. His instincts navigating screens are also impressive for his age. Powell’s offense is still a work in progress — he went 0-for-5 from 3 in UNC’s two exhibitions — but his defensive aptitude demands attention. Jackson, Powell’s roommate, was asked Sunday how good his fellow freshman could be defensively by season’s end.
“One of the best in Carolina history, for sure,” Jackson said. “His defense is something he lays his head on.”
As for Jackson (No. 8 in the 2024 recruiting class), he arrived in Chapel Hill with the opposite reputation: as a potent three-level scorer. That, too, was evident Sunday — including early in the second half, when Jackson literally jumped out of his shoe trying to sky for a transition dunk. He missed but made good on it two possessions later, flushing a windmill dunk that drew the biggest cheer of the afternoon from the Smith Center crowd. With his athleticism and quickness, Jackson thrives at getting to the free-throw line — he took a combined 12 free throws in UNC’s two exhibitions — and should consistently generate points there.
“That’s exactly how I want him to play,” UNC’s coach said. “He’s got a great midrange jump shot, but I told him: I don’t want him to bail out the defense. I think he has an ability to put major pressure on the rim, whether it’s in transition or in a one-on-one situation.”
Jackson finished with a game-high 21 points, making six of his 10 shots and eight of his 10 free-throws.
Fair or not, Powell and Jackson’s development will determine UNC’s ceiling. But if they put things together sooner rather than later — like their late-game connection for a Powell alley-oop — then the Tar Heels may emerge as legitimate national title contenders.
The benefits — and challenges — of UNC’s small-ball roster
The Tar Heels are typically one of college basketball’s biggest teams, regularly running two bigs as part of their traditional secondary break. Not this season. UNC has only three players 6-9 or taller: Washington, Withers and developmental freshman James Brown.
Instead, by starting three guards who are 6-3 or shorter, Davis and his coaching staff are leaning into an entirely different style of play. It’s predicated on pace, playmaking and transition offense. (That’s saying something, considering the Tar Heels have already been top-45 in adjusted tempo in two of Davis’ three seasons as head coach, per KenPom.) Case in point: UNC finished with 34 fast-break points against Johnson C. Smith, regularly outrunning the Golden Bulls off defensive rebounds and turnovers.
“I mean, with us three on the court, I think you can put whoever two you want (next to us),” Trimble said. “We’re going to be the fastest lineup you can possibly have.”
Beyond that trio’s pure speed, their ability to create shots for one another — and UNC’s other players — could lead to a better-spaced offense than the Tar Heels have had in the past with more traditional bigs. Cadeau, Davis and Trimble combined for 13 assists and no turnovers Sunday, finding each other on outlet passes and dumping it off to other cutters.
The flip side of that small-ball coin? Rebounding and defense. Last season’s starting frontcourt — 6-foot-11 center Armando Bacot and 6-foot-7 wing Harrison Ingram — led the Tar Heels to the nation’s 10th-best defensive rebounding rate, per KenPom. How does a team with this roster construction make up for those departures? By “gang rebounding,” in Powell’s words, a message he’s clearly received from his head coach. Davis said rebounding has been his clear-cut top priority with this group, saying he emphasizes that “every day, every step.”
“I keep telling them, Armando and Harrison are not coming through that tunnel,” Davis added. “The No. 1 determining factor for us in terms of the outcome (of games) is rebounding the basketball. We have consistently got to get our three, four and five to the offensive glass.”
Four Tar Heels had seven or more rebounds Sunday, led by Lubin’s 12, although UNC’s trio of starting guards combined for only six. That’s a key area worth monitoring — especially in UNC’s second game, at Kansas, when it faces All-American center Hunter Dickinson.
Defensively, starting three guards also comes with its vulnerabilities. Davis said he’s impressed with that trio’s ball pressure through two exhibitions but also acknowledged they have to be aggressive on-ball defenders to mitigate their lack of size. Trimble is best-suited of the three to handle opposing wings — he’s the tallest and strongest guard on the team — but considering UNC switches one through four, Cadeau and RJ Davis are going to have their turns, too.
It’s a trade-off, but a calculated one by the Tar Heels’ coaching staff.
As for how it plays out? We’ll find out soon — as in, next week.
(Photo of North Carolina’s Seth Trimble and Memphis’ Tyreek Smith: Justin Ford / Getty Images)
