• North Carolina is undefeated in football.

We’re your editors, Andy and Reed, who are suddenly craving a Guinness…

1. Five things we learned about UNC football

The Heels have a weapon at Tight End

And his name is Jelani Thurman. Last year in an entire season at Ohio State, he had just 7 catches for 84 yards.

• His stat line on Saturday of 4 catches for 94 yards tells you that defenses can’t just load up on Jordan Shipp.

Thurman wears #45 in honor of his mother, Kara Braxton, a two-time WNBA champion. She died tragically in February of 2026 in a car crash. We’re pulling for you, Jelani.

The defense might be legit

Last year’s D ended the year ranked in the middle of the pack but showed promise at times.

• It looks as though the Heels have built on that in 2026.

Melkart Abou Jaoude was the known commodity coming into this year, and he had a big impact against TCU with a strip sack. Xavier Lewis (who??) was huge in this game with 2 sacks and 4.5 tackles for loss. Derek McDonald had 11 tackles. Coleman Bryson had some bruising hits in the secondary.

• Time will tell if holding TCU to 10 points (they averaged 30 points per game last year) was a big deal, but we like what we see so far.

Billy Edwards was as advertised

Solid QB play is something we longed for all of last year, and that’s what Edwards gave the Heels on Saturday.

• Taking 3 sacks is probably still too many to give up but he finished 16 of 28 for 232 yards, no touchdowns, and no interceptions.

He missed a potential TD to Shipp and had a few more throws that were a bit off target, but did a good job getting the ball out of his hands in most situations.

• Edwards probably stabilizes the floor for this year’s team, but he will need to make more big plays if the Heels are going to exceed expectations.

The coaching staff stepped up

TCU was killing Carolina with runs around the edge in the first quarter and got up to a 10-3 lead 11 minutes into the game. The coaching staff made some adjustments and TCU would not score again. The Horned Frogs had 69 yards rushing in their first 2 drives but ended the game with just 106.

• On the offensive side of the ball, Carolina got the ball back with 4 minutes left in the game with a chance to ice it and they did just that.

A brilliant play-action fake on third down resulted in a big first-down catch and run for Thurman. Drawing TCU offside to wrap up the game on 4th down was a solid move as well.

The backfield is still a work in progress

Coming out of the offseason, there was plenty of mystery surrounding who would actually emerge as the primary running back. Demon June was last year’s star, Ben Hall proved himself in the summer, and the team brought in a couple guys with potential, including Kaleb Jackson and Jaylen McGill. The gritty, low-efficiency outing in Dublin (just 94 yards on the ground via 22 carries) didn't do much to clear things up.

• Will a true RB1 emerge, or will the entire season be running by committee?

2. This week’s reason why Duke sucks

Plumlees Part II

Earlier this summer, Duke basketball got a commitment from Kager Knueppel, younger brother of former devil, Kon.

• Remember how insufferable it was to have one Plumlee brother after the next enroll at Duke? This is going to be worse. Five times worse, in fact.

There were only 3 Plumlee brothers (Miles, Mason, and Marshall). There are 5 Kneuppels: Kon, Kager, Kinston, Kash, and Kidman. What kind of weirdness is this with these families using the same letter for all of their kids’ names?

• I’m sure ESPN is already working on some nauseating hour-long puff piece that we will be forced to watch for the next decade.

⏭️ It’s a bye week, but we’ll be back next Monday. Have a good week.

Got questions or comments? Hit us up at thbthd@gmail.com.

Go Heels!

• 💰 Armando Bacot made bank. The former center recently revealed he earned more than $2 million in NIL at Carolina. “If I didn’t go to Carolina, these deals with TurboTax and all those people, they wouldn’t do with me.”

• 🗓️ The non-conference schedule is out, and Coach Malone’s team will have quite a few opportunities to test itself, with potential resume games against West Virginia, Arkansas, Georgetown, Illinois and Kentucky.

• 🎓 Fifth year seniors may be back. After a court ruling (initially) granted seniors an additional year of eligibility, former Tar Heels took advantage. Jalen Washington plans to suit up for Tennessee (good for him), Seth Trimble for Louisville (that one hurts), and Ven-Allen Lubin is in for another year at State (sucker).

We’re your editors, Andy and Reed, who still can’t believe it’s fall already, even though the Spirit Halloween in our neighborhood has been open for a month…

1. Football preview: The NFL’s 33rd team, take two

The big picture: We just want one thing this season: clarity. We either scrap out a winning record and show clear progress towards a much better football program or we bottom out and just pull the plug on the Belichick experiment.

• We’ll even put up with some distractions off the field (and we do mean “some,” not the current dumpster-fire-clown-show) if we are competing on the field. Bad football and off-the-field embarrassment is not something we’re on board for.

• This fanbase is already teetering on the edge of indifference — if they’re not already there. We’re teetering, honestly. We need something (relatively soon) to give us confidence in this program, or we’ll just spend the season checked out and waiting for the Steve Newmark to break out the wrecking ball on Chapel Bill.

With the season kicking off this week against TCU, let’s get to our predictions…

Overall record

Andy: The overall line from Vegas for wins on the season is 4.5. When you look at the schedule, you can see why there is little optimism. I think this team finds a way to scratch out 5 wins because I don’t trust that we truly know how the opponents will shape up.

Reed: Don’t cross Vegas, man. Them dudes know. And that schedule should indeed be tough, even if Carolina is better than last season, as we expect. 4-8 looks about right to me.

QB impact

Andy: Billy Edwards, Jr. was just announced as the starter. I think that’s the safe bet, as he has the most experience. He will be solid and won’t make a lot of mistakes. By mid-year, I’d love to see true freshman Travis Burgess taking the most snaps. He’s the most talented QB on the roster by far. Live with the mistakes and see what he can conjure up.

Reed: Belichick has talked about the need to cut down on mistakes, and I agree with you — that’s what Edwards should bring. Steady but maybe unspectacular. But I’ll take it after the frustration many of us felt last year with Gio Lopez, who sometimes held the ball too long and made some head-scratching decisions.

Breakout player

Andy: I think it’s going to be a tight end we’ve never heard of.

Reed: I may eat these words, but I’m going with RB Kaleb Jackson. He’s both fast and physical (check out this video of him absolutely demolishing a defender). Was he a bit of a bust at LSU? Yep. Did he report to UNC so overweight that Belichick made him wear a lineman’s number in practice? Also yep. Will Demon June get the bulk of carries? Probably. But I’m irrationally believing Jackson will have his moments.

Offensive weapon

Andy: Jordan Shipp is the easy answer here. I can see Petrino getting the ball in his hands as many times as possible.

Reed: Co-signed.

Defensive weapon

Andy: Maybe a guy like Greg Smith in the secondary? He showed flashes last year and could step forward this year.

Reed: Here’s hoping Melkart Abou-Jaoude can build on his 10.5-sack season last year.

Coaching prognosis

Andy: There’s no doubt the offense will be better because of Petrino. But it could be significantly better than last year and be dead-center average compared to the rest of the country. “Mid,” as the kids say.

Reed: The offense will be better this season — it couldn’t be much worse — but like we said, the whole Belichick thing is still a work in progress, and it remains to be seen if he can establish an identify for the program and get consistent results.

Biggest strength

Andy: It’s the wide receivers. Shipp is the known star and there are some very highly rated and talented freshmen.

Reed: UNC’s pass rush last year was one of the team’s bright spots, and with some new pieces, including LB Peyton Seelmann, the D could be even stronger.

Biggest weakness

Andy: Offensive line. I don’t think you can count on young guys up front. The QBs better be able to get the ball out of their hands early or it could be tough sledding.

Reed: Agree. Edwards has one of the fastest releases in college football…and he’s probably gonna need it.

2. Three questions about men’s basketball

A lot happened over the summer, if you haven’t been keeping up. New players, new staff members, arrivals from overseas. Let’s tackle three questions that are lingering from the summer.

1. Did we fix our big man problem?

If there’s one area of concern the ‘26-’27 Heels had, it was down low. Going into the offseason, it wasn’t exactly clear who would start at the 5 — or even if the team had anyone truly capable.

Coach Malone seemingly didn’t like what he saw from the under-muscled squad last year, and he went shopping in a big way.

Now this team has an epic log jam of big men. We have so many centers, we could give one away during a halftime promotional contest.

• Cameron Fens is the most proven of the lot. The South Dakota transfer is big and physical in an Armando Bacot kind of mold, but his defense could be a weak spot. If nothing else, he ensures we won’t get pushed around on the inside and will compete on the boards.

• Sayon Keita is the most intriguing player to come to Carolina in many a year. It’s probably fair to say no one has any idea what he’s going to bring. He’s long and athletic and reportedly has enough talent to be a first round pick one day. But he’s young and too thin and has no experience in college. Fingers crossed he’s the next John Henson…not the next Neil Fingleton.

• Alexandros Samodurov raises similar questions to Keita. Is he strong enough to dominate the paint, and will his overseas credentials translate to college? He’s versatile and has range. Best case: He’s the new Henri Veesaar.

• Cade Bennerman (above) is yet another unknown. He red-shirted last year, so it’s unclear what, if anything, he can provide. We expect limited minutes for him.

However these guys turn out, we feel reasonably good about about the lineup. None of these guys, on their own, have all the qualities of an elite ACC big man, so it may be more about center-by-committee.

2. What does Angelo Brizzi bring?

It’s easy to slot him into a Paxton Wojick/Andrew Platek type of role where he doesn’t see a lot of floor time but is the seasoned vet who leads with hard play in practice. However, there is very little proven shooting on the roster and if Brizzi can continue to improve on that (he shot 36.9% last year from three), he might get more minutes that you might expect.

2. What do we know about Malone’s approach?

After reading some of his recent statements, we know we’re still in the honeymoon phase but we love it. When he says things like “We are North Carolina. We won’t settle. We won’t take a back seat to anyone.”, that’s the kind of energy and attitude that makes us want to get into a Roy Williams defensive crouch and scream at the top of our lungs.

• Let’s hope he infuses that in the players. It reminds us a bit of when Brady Manek came in and during a downturn that year he basically told the locker room, “This is North Carolina, we should be better than this.” And we know what happened later that year (Bang! Bang! M*********er!)

3. This week’s reason why Duke sucks

It’s an August sports tradition as familiar as watching fifth-string QBs chuck balls into the sidelines during NFL preseason games.

• Duke basketball is #1 again. At least according to betting odds that put Jon Scheyer’s 2026-27 squad as the +600 favorites to cut down the nets next spring.

Strap in, people, for yet another interminable preseason of breathless hype as we’re forced to listen to the national media slobber all over the Blue Devils and tell us once again that this is the year all that talent is going to translate into a title.

• You’ll hear about a roster full of five stars, the veteran portal talent and the seasoned returners. You’ll hear the word “loaded” a trillion times.

• And hey, never mind all those March collapses, including the last two seasons with the POY on the court.

No, Duke is Duke and attention must be paid!

✌️ We’re out for this edition. But we’ll be back next Monday morning as we return to our weekly schedule.

Got questions or comments? Hit us up at thbthd@gmail.com.

Go Heels!

• The Heels will take on State in December. The contest will be a neutral site, non-conference game and will serve as an end-around to the ACC schedule which only matched the rivals up one time.

• Summer pick-up intel: Terrence Brown led all scorers at the informal player-alumni game, with 20 points on 6-14 shooting, according to Inside Carolina. Neo Avdalas had 8 points and 8 boards.

We’re your editors, Andy and Reed, who definitely did not pay those prices for World Cup tickets…

1. Heels make the right (and wrong) kind of splash at the NBA draft

Last week’s NBA draft did hold some surprises (more on that in a sec), but luckily not for Caleb Wilson. As expected, he went fourth to the Chicago Bulls, and the young star wasted no time in making bold predictions.

• “I expect to have Rookie of the Year, honestly," Wilson said at a press conference. "I'm going to work hard. I'm going to do what it takes. I feel like the team is really good for me and how I envision to play."

Wilson is current fifth in odds to win the trophy, at least according to FanDuel, trailing Darius Acuff Jr., AJ Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson and the current frontrunner Cameron Boozer (boo).

• Wilson isn’t sweating the competition. “I played all of them," he said. "You know what happened when I played them, so it don't really matter.”

Wilson may indeed have an advantage over his fellow rookies because of what his role on the Bulls is likely to be. Chicago pretty much burned it down last season, trading away talent (so long, Coby White), firing its coach and shaking up its front office.

Now the team is poised to rebuild around a core of young, talented players who fit into the team’s “SLAP” philosophy: Size, Length, Athleticism, and Physicality. Wilson may very well start in the front court alongside the just-acquired Nic Claxton (who has a 7-foot-plus wingspan). They’ll be joined by the rangy Matas Buzelis, rookie shooter Dailyn Swain and 6’7” point guard Josh Giddey.

Expect this team to play fast and make defense their calling card. Wilson, whose one area for improvement is probably shooting, could feast by getting steals and running the court for easy buckets.

😞 And then there was the bad news. In a move that many outlets were calling the story of the draft, Henri Veesaar tumbled all the way into the late second round. The Hawks took finally put him out of his misery at #52.

• Most every mock draft had him in the first round, and he likely thought he’d go there, too, otherwise he wouldn’t have kissed off a reported $5 million NIL payday.

Why did he fall so far? Unclear. The fact that he could sometimes be a defensive liability may played a part, but reports indicated he’d told teams he was only interested in a guaranteed contract, not a two-way. The Hawks reportedly agreed to the terms.

• “For me, it was just being able to spend the time with my family, and the people around me,” Veesaar said. “And just knowing that I come from a small country and being able to see that the hard work is paying off and being able to finally get to the NBA level is a special moment.”

2. One last salute to the Diamond Heels

Andy writes…

The college baseball World Series might be the hardest tournament to win, and the Heels were one game away from taking home their first championship last week.

• This particular squad felt special. They had one of the best defenses in the country, four stud pitchers (including a guy that many considered the best freshman in D1, Caden Glauber), and too many stories to recount in this short space.

• The offense had been good enough to win more than 50 games this season, but couldn’t keep pace in the final series against Oklahoma.

At the end of the day, they simply ran into a team that got red hot at the exact right time. It’s rarely the best team that wins the NCAA baseball championship. Carolina was the better team than Oklahoma all year. Until they weren’t…

This squad will lose many key contributors (5 players are ranked in the top 100 prospects in this year’s draft), but Scott Forbes has been able to consistently mine the portal for the right fits time and time again.

• The last time the Heels made it this far, they were back in the final series the following year. Let’s hope this is the equivalent of the 2016 basketball season and next year becomes a redemption tour.

No matter what, UNC has established itself as a mainstay on the college baseball scene. Don’t wait until late May to tune in next year.

3. This week’s reason why Duke sucks

The curse of the Green Room strikes again!

A piece of advice for current and future Duke players. Unless you are a guaranteed top 5 pick, you probably want to skip attending the NBA draft in person. Your parade is only going to get rained on.

The latest example was “star” guard Isaiah Evans, who accepted an invite from the NBA to sit in the green room on draft night and await his name getting called.

• And then he waited. And he waited some more.

• Evans sat for three hours on the opening night, only to get left high and dry. He ended up as the only player invited to the green room who didn’t get taken.

• It got so bad, that toward the end of the night, he threw on a pair of sunglasses to hide behind, like he was in witness protection. “Aren’t you Isaiah Evans?” you’d ask approaching him. “Isaiah who?” he’d reply, looking around nervously. “Evans. The Duke basketball player,” you’d reply. “Nah. I think he died in that industrial accident back in ‘54,” he’d grumble, before excusing himself and walking across the street to Shake Shack.

We never really bought the hype on him anyway. His body didn’t look particularly NBA-ready (nickname: Slim), and his jump shot was weirdly flat for a supposedly deadly outside threat.

• But that’s Duke for ya: A ton of media coverage and hype that ultimately fizzles.

Evans is only the latest Blue Devil to collect moth balls in the NBA green room, joining the likes of Harry Giles, Matthew Hurt (completely undrafted) and A.J. Griffin. So next year, Patrick Ngongba, order some Doordash and watch it on your TV at home. You’ll thank us.

🗞️ That’s all for this edition of Tar Heel Bred, Tar Heel Dead. And remember: It’s summer, so we’re publishing less frequently. Weekly editions will return with football.

In the meantime, hit us up with any thoughts or comments you’ve got at thbthd@gmail.com.

Go Heels!

• Analyst Bart Torvik released his preseason basketball projection, and UNC is way down at #41.

• The NBA draft order is set, and most mock draft, including ESPN, still have Caleb Wilson going #4 to the Chicago Bulls.

We’re your editors, Andy and Reed, passing along congrats the recent grads. Real world is overrated though…

1. The lead off: Let’s grade the first weeks of the Malone era

It’s been just over a month since the program hired Michael Malone, and so much has happened. Players have gone, others have come. One assistant coach has decided to come — then decided to go. And while we’re giving Malone a ton of grace in what must be an incredibly chaotic first part of his first year, we thought we’d take a look at how it’s going before we nap for the summer.

Roster Construction

Andy: While I would like to see the overall talent level of the roster higher, I’m willing to give Malone a pass on this in Year 1. It would have been great to get Henri Veesaar back, but I like the idea of getting rangy bigs from Europe and seeing what they can do. The transfers we are counting on to produce all come from major conferences, which have worked better in the past (Manek, Ingram, Veesaar) as opposed to hoping guys from lower levels can step up their games (Tyson, Evans). Overall, I give it a solid B+ because we don’t have a clear difference-maker.

Reed: Landing a decent center is supposedly the hardest thing to do nowadays in college basketball (which is probably why Veesaar was reportedly getting offered $6M). I like the players at 1-4 we’ve brought in so far, however I do get a little sweaty when I think about our inside rotation. Sayon Keita may completely shut me up in a few months (fingers crossed), but right now on paper, we lack muscle and experience at a key position. More help is almost certainly on the way, and even without it, I’d grade this roster a solid B.

Staff Construction

Andy: I liked keeping Sean May on staff as a good recruiter, solid coach and a successful alum. Pat Sullivan and Malone have the connection from their NBA days and you simply have to keep Eric Hoots around as the glue of the program. The addition of Chuck Martin was a really good hire as he is known as a top-level recruiter. The head-fake with Kim English coming and then leaving was a little odd. Player development needs to be a strength of the next coach to join. If you include Jim Tanner and the support staff, I would like to see a more concentrated effort on analytics and scouting but perhaps that can be filled out later. It’s tempting to say Incomplete here but I’ll go with a B.

Reed: Agree. It’s hard to make a judgment now. I obviously love the Carolina guys they retained on staff. And it’s not like those guys were charity hires. They’ve earned their spots. I think the biggest win with the coaching staff and GM we’ve seen so far has been in the portal. The guys we’ve landed have been among the top guys available. Maybe that’s Martin’s expertise. Maybe that’s Malone’s NBA rep. Maybe it’s just down to a big bag of cash. Whatever the case, it’s a promising start. B.

Intangibles

Andy: Other than the press conference, we haven’t heard much from Malone but it’s clear he has hit the ground running. I’ve seen several interviews and articles of folks who were around him in Denver and continue to describe him as a no-nonsense guy who expects a lot out of his team. Maybe it’s the hazy glow of that press conference still hanging around but I am feeling good about the direction of the program. Grade: A

Reed: I also feel very good. I think the general perception of our program has gotten a boost. Most people in the basketball world do seem to respect Malone and take him and Carolina seriously. I honestly have yet to read a negative take on this hire and the moves the coach has made so far. This does feel like the start of something good, and it’s all going to begin with discipline, hard work and honoring what UNC is all about. Yessir! A

2. This week’s reason why Duke sucks

One of the most entertaining NBA battles right now isn’t happening in the playoffs. It’s happening off-court, where Draymond Green and Austin Rivers have spent the past week in a flame war.

• The feud has produced plenty of insults, but its greatest accomplishment may be reminding the basketball world that Austin Rivers still exists.

It all started when Green complained on his podcast that Steve Kerr “hindered” parts of his offensive game with the Warriors. Rivers later countered on another podcast, calling Green “the luckiest player ever,” and arguing that playing next to Steph Curry turned him into a Hall of Famer.

Green then fired back with some too-real criticism of Rivers, saying the former Dookie peaked in high school and calling the inexplicably large contract Doc Rivers gave his son “the biggest bailout in U.S. history.”

Rivers then recorded a response video challenging Green to a one-on-one game, pointing out that “you can’t do handoffs in one-on-one,” and…well, we kinda lost of track of what he was saying because we were fixated on the painting in the background.

• Are our eyes deceiving us, or does Rivers actually have a giant painting of himself hanging in his house? A heroic collage featuring himself in multiple jerseys, posed like a basketball Forrest Gump wandering through different eras of his own career? There’s high school Austin. Team USA Austin. Clippers Austin. All that’s missing is mid Announcer Austin.

• It looks less like home décor and more like the lobby of some cultish sports museum dedicated entirely to Austin Rivers. Which, honestly, feels perfectly on brand for a Duke guy.

🗞️ That’s a wrap on this season. We’ll be publishing less frequently until late summer when football really gets going. Thanks for reading.

• If you’d like to support us by subscribing, we’re offering a half-off deal…forever. Substack requires us to charge minimum $50 for an annual subscriptions, but we think $25 is more reasonable. This deal is our way to offer a loophole.

See you soon-ish. Hit us up with any thoughts or comments you’ve got at thbthd@gmail.com.

Go Heels!

• 🧌 Legend: Tyler Hansbrough was asked recently at a golf clinic if he’d rather beat Duke again or get a hole-in-one. His response: “I’ve beaten Duke enough, so I’ll take the hole-in-one.”

• 📊 Poll results: Last week, we asked if Gio would break out at Wake — or continue to stink it up. 60% of you thought break out.

We’re your editors, Andy and Reed, neither of whom have ever earned the nickname Psycho…

1. The lead off: Who’s gonna play in the middle?

Reed: We now know one guy who won’t: Maxim Logue. He withdrew after what seemed to be some academic issue. Which stinks. I was really looking forward to having a bruiser on our team.

• What I sometimes forget, though, is that even though college basketball is basically like NBA Lite at this point, the players still have to go to class. It’s reportedly the reason Henri Veesaar left. He was tired of earning millions…but still having to pass Intro to Poli-Sci or whatever.

Andy: So now enter Sayon Keita, who was being talked about as the potential No. 1 pick in the 2027 NBA Draft. I can’t tell from the videos I’ve seen of him whether he looks so good because he’s playing against ninth graders or if he’s going to end up averaging five blocks per game.

• His offensive game needs some development, but he looks to have a lot of natural instincts on the defensive end. Alter shots and rebound on that end and then catch lobs on the other end. That will be plenty.

Reed: I like Keita. And he does appear to be more than just shot blocking. He’s tall, for sure. But from the clips I’ve seen, he looks pretty athletic, as well. I saw one highlight where he stole the ball from a dribbling opponent and ran the length of the floor, finishing with a huge dunk. I liked that versatility.

• One downside: He’s young and raw. Is he going to stay long enough at Carolina to really develop, in an age when no one stays long enough at one team to develop? If not, what we risk getting from him is a year of growing pains and adjustment to the college game before he moves on. Bogavac but x2.

Andy: I don’t think we are done yet in terms of big guys. Let’s see what the next few weeks bring before we fret too much about a lack of punch in the post. My hope is that whoever signs will have some beef. Like what we briefly had with Logue, but with better grades.

2. Sigh. March Madness is about to get bigger

The NCAA is reportedly set to announce plans to expand March Madness from 68 to 76 teams — just as you demanded. (Joking. Absolutely no one wants this.)

Don’t know about y’all, but this news just makes us tired. So very, very tired. Why does everything we enjoy have to be so changed so a bunch of dudes in suits can wring a few more dollars out of it? We didn’t need commercials on HBO, didn’t need Reese’s to stop using real chocolate, and don’t need the tournament to get bigger.

And to make this all the more depressing, the changes that are reportedly coming don’t look like they’ll really improve the tourney. Take a look:

• The First Four will become the First Twelve. Yes, 12 games to be played before the “real” tournament starts on Thursday. You know how you often skip those first few games, and how they’re deemed so inconsequential that bracket challenges don’t even bother to let players pick a winner? Well, now we’re getting three times as many.

• The First Twelve will likely include all four 15 and 16 seeds, as well as some 11, 10 and even 9 seeds. That’ll force those schools to win an extra game to advance to the final, and will likely cut down on the already-dwindling number of Cinderellas.

• The power conferences will benefit the most from the extra eight at-large bids. In other words, the field will be filled out by clubs from the middle of the conference pack — possibly with losing records. Last season, that might have meant adding a team like FSU. Essential viewing? Probably not.

Give it ten years, and CBS will, instead of the Final Four, be hyping the Nice Ninety. And yes, maybe this will ultimately serve Carolina well. We have been on the bubble a couple times in recent years. We’d still rather they keep the format the same and let making the field remain a victory in and of itself.

3. This week’s reason why Duke sucks

Hallelujah, hedge fund bros! Duke last week announced a “groundbreaking” partnership with Amazon Prime Video. Starting in the 2026-27 season, Duke has essentially auctioned off three of its marquee non-conference games — including matchups against UConn and Michigan — to the streaming service.

While Carolina and the rest of the ACC schools remain focused on tradition and the community of the conference, Duke is busy becoming the first college program to sell itself as a standalone content package. It’s the ultimate Duke money-over-everything move and the perfect deal for the increasingly soulless era of college basketball.

• The bottom line: It prioritizes NIL payouts and global branding over the accessibility of the sport. To make this deal happen, the school even had to bargain with the ACC and ESPN, promising extra appearances down the road just to put these games behind another paywall.

Classic Duke. Arrogant enough to think they “transcend the schedule” and happy to make life harder for the average fan just to chase a corporate payday. We’re truly afraid of what can of worms this deal may open in the college landscape. Are we heading towards a world where Duke tries to create a TV network all their own, like The Longhorn Network? Or maybe they lean hard into the social media aspect and fans are asked to watch Duke vs Charleston Southern on TikTok Live.

➕ Up next: We will be keeping our ear to the ground for any new basketball additions while wondering when (or if) we might begin to care about football again.

Oh, and, if you’ve got questions or comments, send them our way at thbthd@gmail.com.

Go Heels!

• It’s Rasheed Wallace at his unfiltered best. Two decades later, and he hasn’t mellowed at all. Still dislikes the media, still thinks he and that team got a bad rap.

• He explains his infamous bust for weed, as well as the press conference he once gave where his answer to every question was, “Both teams played hard, my man.”

• “Ain’t nobody go to jail on that team so that’s just some negative shit they wanted to say about us,” he says.

We’re your editors, Andy and Reed, still wondering how Dean Smith managed to keep Wallace in line…

1. The lead off: Welcome to the Heels

The roster is taking shape. In a flurry of news last Tuesday, Carolina landed three transfers, and we’re pretty happy with what they got. If you remember our wish list from last week, the team pretty much checked all three of those items: an attacking point guard, a shooter and a muscular big man. Our takes:

✅ Terrence Brown

He transferred in from Utah where he was a star on a pretty bad team, putting up nearly 20 points per game. He’ll be the point/lead guard from UNC from Day 1 next season. The dude is quick. Not quite Lawson-esque, but he’s a blur. A couple other things we like about him:

• He’s probably more athletic than some of the other guards we’ve had of late, including Kyan Evans and Derek Dixon.

• He may give us a player who can break down the defense and attack the basket off the dribble — something else other UNC guards have failed to do all that much.

✅ Matt Able

We are pretty sure this completes the Dontrez Styles/Ven-Allen Lubin trade with NC State. Able was the “Player To Be Named Later.” You would think we would have gotten some cash considerations from Will Wade thrown in as well. Able was a highly regarded recruit coming out of high school, and his best game last year was lighting up his future team, going 5-7 from 3 for 19 points.

✅ Maxim Logue

Length is great, but there’s also something really nice about pure bruising muscle. And as soon as we saw the photo of Logue, we were all in — even without knowing a single other thing about him. This dude looks like he’s carved from rock. A muscular, 6’9” dude with freakishly long arms that tries to dunk everything? Yeah, we will take that.

• Something else that’s maybe been missing from recent Carolina teams is physicality down low — a dude who won’t take any of your crap and just pushes you out of the way as he grabs an offensive board on your head. Logue might be just the guy to bring that off the bench.

2. Goodbye, Henri

Andy writes…

It certainly seems like UNC did everything it could to convince Veesaar to return for one more run. From all reports, though (except ours last week claiming he was staying. Sorry!), Henri just wants to get started on his professional career. With some other big men ahead of him on draft boards opting to return to school, Veesaar moved up just enough to likely go in the first round — his stated criteria. For that, we really can’t hold a grudge and hope that he has a great career in the NBA.

• However, it’s gonna hurt more than a little bit if he ends up spending most of next year in the G-League.

Getting Henri back would have given next year’s team a bona fide star and the centerpiece of a squad that could contend in the conference and nationally. There’s no way to replace him with one person, so the hope now has to be that there are 2 or 3 guys from the international ranks who can contribute enough to secure the post.

3. You won’t have Gio Lopez to kick around anymore

You may not be surprised to learn this, but Gio Lopez did not seem to enjoy his time at North Carolina. ESPN was out with an big profile of the QB last week, and it contained a few revelations about what went wrong last season.

Belichick and the program get most of the blame for creating a stifling atmosphere that didn’t give players much room to breath. Some choice quotes:

• "Back at the other school, it felt like there's no air," Lopez says. "[At Wake Forest], it's fun again. They're moving us in the right direction, energized, and guys are enjoying football. It's like fresh air."

• "The situation there -- I'm not a Super Bowl champion, so I don't know, but I don't think it was handled in the best way for college football, for students and players," Lopez’s dad says. "It set my son backwards."

• "It was more like work," Gio says. "After that first game, it felt like getting through the day.”

• "You were ridiculed if you didn't do it exactly the way he was told," the father says. "You could be at the dang line, see the play is about to be blown up, but if you try to call it off or audible, you were ridiculed."

There was also the disclosure that the team played Mozart in the weight room. Weird, yes, but the question for next season will be, Was Lopez really that bad or was the program holding him back? What’s your vote?

4. This week’s reason why Duke sucks

Thank you, Diamond Heels.

It’s always nice when the other sports teams on campus put a shellacking on the Devils just to remind the universe that they do indeed still suck. The Carolina baseball team finished off a series win on Saturday with an absolute 22-5 beatdown, which necessitated ending the game early because of the run-rule after just 7 innings.

• Even better, it was in Durham.

The Heels starting catcher transferred to UNC in the off-season after two years at Duke. He went 2-4, scored 3 runs and had 3 RBI. If you haven’t been paying attention to UNC baseball this year, now’s a good time to get on board. They are ranked in the top 5 nationally (there are multiple polls, it’s weird) and looked poised to make it to Omaha and the College World Series.

➕ Up next: Jim Tanner and co. better be busy scouring the European leagues for some size, and we hope to be back next week knowing our near-complete roster.

Oh, and, if you’ve got questions or comments, send them our way at thbthd@gmail.com.

Go Heels!

• We publish weekly during the season — less frequently in the offseason —releasing a new edition each Monday morning at 6am.

• Some email providers tend to filter newsletters as spam. Bastuds. Make sure you mark THBTHD as not spam, otherwise it might disappear from your inbox.

We’re your editors, Andy and Reed, authors of Duke Sucks and Duke Still Sucks and Carolina grads ourselves…

1. The lead off: Our portal shopping list

We got a little good roster news this past week with word that Isaiah Denis is returning. He appeared in just 10 games as a freshman, but there still seemed to be something promising about him. In his brief flashes, he demonstrated skill and confidence far beyond his relegated role as freshman benchwarmer. We’d bet on him making a nice jump next year.

We have it on good authority — like, an actual source, believe it or not — that Henri Veesaar will likely return. He’s weighing a jump to the NBA, though he’s unlikely to bolt unless he gets guaranteed money at the next level.

Even if he does come back, the cupboard will be a bit bare. Coach Malone and the front office have been working the portal, trying to land more talent, including 6’5” sophomore guard Paul McNeil. (Topic for another time: Would we take a transfer from State?)

So where does that leave us? Here are the roles we’d love to see filled:

Tough, physical forward. If Veesaar comes back and Stevenson is the other main big, you need a guy with some beef down low to defend more physical posts and to fight for rebounds on both ends of the floor. Length is great but don’t sleep on bulk. We dream of having a guy like RJ Godfrey from Clemson.

Penetrating guard. Avdalas provides some playmaking from the perimeter but without a guard who can beat someone off the dribble and cause the defense to react, all of the other pieces are less valuable.

Knockdown shooter. It seems we ask for this every year but you can never have enough guys who can not just take shots, but make them. The pattern under Hubert Davis was mostly that guys who were known as shooters before they came to Chapel Hill struggled as Tar Heels. Hopefully Malone can reverse that pattern.

2. What UNC has lost to the portal

Very few of the guys are coming back, and the team is gonna look a whole lot different. Let’s take stock of what went out the door, and are the losses fatal?

Zayden High to South Florida: At his best, Zayden was an energy guy off the bench that hustled, rebounded and played aggressive defense. It feels like those types of players are a dime a dozen in the portal, though.

Kyan Evans to Minnesota: Kyan Evans is hoping to unlock the same mojo that Cade Tyson used to regain his shooting touch. Maybe he will, maybe he won’t, but it just wasn’t a fit at Carolina.

Derek Dixon to Arizona: This is the one that hurts. We could definitely see Dixon growing into a classic lead guard in the form of Joel Berry. He hit some clutch shots last year and, of course, made the critical pass to Seth in the victory over Duke. Yes, he had some athletic limitations, but if we don’t get a solid replacement, it’s going to be tough watching him as a Wildcat.

Luka Bogavac to Oklahoma State: The hype for Luka preseason was off the charts but outside of the Clemson game, he didn’t live up to it. It would have been nice to see what another year could bring but it’s clear Malone didn’t see a spot for him. We can probably find a shooter who’s a bit quicker and more athletic.

Jonathan Powell to Pitt: He had good size for a guard and occasionally looked deadly from long range. He was just never consistent enough to earn major minutes. His grit may be missed, however.

Ivan Matlekovic to TBD: In the age of the portal, will there always be a bench player that never plays and moves on after one year? Last year’s James Okonkwo is this year’s Ivan Matlekovic.

James Brown to TBD: Speaking of big men who never play. A guy we thought at the beginning of the season could possibly earn legit backup center minutes ended up going completely MIA.

Bonus: Kim English to TBD: Reports surfaced yesterday that the former Providence coach will not join UNC’s staff. What a weird situation. Maybe he got an offer to be a head coach somewhere else. Malone needs to fill out the rest of the staff soon to help with attracting the right guys for the roster.

3. This week’s reason why Duke sucks

This past week, Cayden Boozer announced announced he was returning to Duke and the fanbase was probably like, “Just FYI, we hear KK Mega MIS in Serbia just got a really nice new team bus.”

No one is saying just one player is responsible for Duke’s epic collapse in the Elite 8. We so much enjoyed that it was truly a team effort. But if you did have to pick one? Well, it’s kinda him.

• His insanely block-headed turnover in the waning seconds of the game pretty much handed UConn the win.

• And now he’s like, “LET’S RUN IT BACK, Y’ALL!” [confetti falling] Jon Scheyer is probably on the phone to the coach of Minnesota: “How’s your backcourt looking?”

The situation stinks for Cayden in every way possible. His brother is likely to be a top 3 pick in the NBA draft, and he’s left to slink back to Duke to go on a year-long apology tour — trying to atone for something that can never be atoned for.

Truth is, his Duke legacy has already been written. He just hasn’t accepted it yet.

➕ As a bonus, let’s check in with former No. 1 pick Paolo Banchero, who right after Zion, is quickly becoming our favorite draft bust. After a stinker of a playoff game against Philly last week in which he had 6 TOs and went 0-5 from three, Orlando fans have had enough.

• The two most savage nicknames they’ve given him: “Poo-lo” and “PB no J.”

➕ Up next: The portal is closing soon and the NBA deadline approaches. We’ll be back next week, hopefully with some good news.

Oh, and, if you’ve got questions or comments, send them our way at thbthd@gmail.com.

Go Heels!

• 🎯 Juke Harris is apparently a major portal target. The Wake Forest guard torched the Heels for 28 points back in January. VT wing Neoklis Avdalas is also on the want list, according to Inside Carolina.

• ✌️ Luka Bogavac became the latest Heel to enter the portal. The timing of his announcement is perhaps significant because it came after meeting with the new coach.

• ⏎ Elliot Cadeau is coming back to Michigan. And why wouldn’t he? The NBA is probably not an option.

We’re your editors, Andy and Reed, who have already completely forgotten about Tommy Lloyd…

1. The lead off: We imagine the best and worst case scenarios

So Michael Malone is the guy, and now that we’ve had a week to sit with the choice and learn more about the man, we have to say: We like the pick.

We always thought UNC was going to be forced to take a chance in some way on a hire. It never seemed realistic that established names like Dusty May, Brad Stevens and Tommy Lloyd were going to leave their current spots.

• But instead of taking a swing on a lesser-known mid-major guy, Carolina instead went the other way: taking a flyer an an established NBA journeyman who’s never been a head coach in college.

We’re definitely intrigued, and I think most fans would agree that Malone has said and done all the right things since he’s arrived. The stamp of approval from so many former players doesn’t hurt either. Here are our best/worst case scenarios.

🌟 Best case

Andy: His advanced X and O knowledge runs laps around the other coaches in college and players flock to Carolina to fast-track their careers to the NBA. He finds under-rated, high-motor guys and coaches them up to be difference makers at this level.

Reed: I’ve always thought a team takes on its coach’s personality to a certain extent, and I think we’ve all felt over the last few years that the Heels have been a bit too nice. Best case, that changes now.

Malone is a tough “I’m walkin’ here!” NYC guy, and he’s talked repeatedly about holding players accountable. He’s also talked about the importance of grit and defense and guys just wanting it. Yes, yes and yes!

• I don’t know what kind of players he’ll be able to land — especially in year one — but I think the best case is that he makes the most of the talent he is able to get, and if the Heels lose a game, it’s because the other team was just better — not because we beat ourselves or came out soft or underperformed. And if he can get NBA-type players? Watch out.

🌨️ Worst case

Andy: He’s been successful in the NBA because he’s used to coaching super talented players who can execute at a high level. He never finds a way to adjust to college talent, gets frustrated and goes back to the league.

Reed: It’s Doherty 2.0. We’re still not quite sure why Malone was fired by Denver, but reports were that his fiery nature turned off management and some players. College players now have much more power with NIL, and if one or two newly minted millionaires get rubbed the wrong way, the whole team could sink.

• The lack of college experience could also prove fatal, a la Belichick. Though so far Malone has done well surrounding himself with assistants who can help navigate those waters.

2. Two big-picture questions we’re thinking about

Is this the end of the Carolina Way?

So much change has come or is coming to UNC basketball, it seems pretty reasonable to wonder if the program’s identity can stay intact. Let’s start with the players. Since the transfer rule took effect, it’s hard to know what a “Carolina guy” even is anymore. Is Ven-Allen Lubin? Is Dontrez Styles? Do they consider themselves Carolina guys? That family web is fraying.

Then you have the arena issue, another potential disconnect from Carolina’s history. But a new coach from outside the Carolina family has always had the biggest potential to change the culture and banish the Carolina Way.

• And while Malone comes from outside the family, he seems to be about Carolina as they come. (Starting with the fact that his daughter is a student which is hardly a trivial connection.)

Following the Carolina Way means honoring Dean Smith and what he stood for: playing as a team, not for yourself. Pointing to the passer. Conducting yourself and your program in an honorable manner.

• Can an outsider truly continue the Carolina Way? We’re about to find out. So far, Malone has been loud in his respect for Smith and Roy Williams. And many of his ideas already align with the program’s traditions. This is not like hiring a Rick Pitino and asking him to pretend to be a Carolina guy.

The Carolina Way can take a lot of forms — maybe even in a guy from Queens. As long as he understands and respects the things that make Carolina great on and off the court.

Is the “Carolina standard” even possible?

Is it even reasonable to expect sustained success year after year, especially in an era when other blue bloods like Kansas and Kentucky have stumbled?

The previous model for sustained success which involved stacking talent and then seeing them develop over a couple of seasons while at the same school certainly doesn’t work anymore. At the same time, we are seeing a bigger divide between the “haves” and the “have-nots” simply because some schools have more money to spend on their rosters than others. But that only buys you one year. And you have to get it right.

• It would seem that the ability to scout and recognize talent is becoming more and more important. And even then, you have to find the players that fit the scheme that you want to run. Houston and UConn come to mind here, as they have different players year to year, but they seem to be all from the same mold.

And that might be the closest thing to a new model: not continuity of players, but continuity of identity.

The programs that feel most stable right now are the ones that look familiar even when the names change. That’s infrastructure.

Malone’s real challenge and the way to sustain a standard will be in defining something sturdy enough to survive roster churn. And even then sustained success probably won’t look like it used to. There may be more chaos, more ups and downs and, more seasons that feel fragile until suddenly they aren’t. That’s just the new reality.

3. Who do you trust?

If you’re like us, you’ve been glued to social media these past couple weeks, desperate for any morsel of news on the coaching search. And it was exhausting sifting through all the stuff that was out there. By the time a parody account’s tweet went viral reporting Michael Jordan was taking over, we had no idea where to turn. Here’s a quick cheat sheet on some major players.

Jeff Goodman: This guy is the absolute clickiest of the clickbaiters. He clearly was a mouthpiece for Billy Donovan in the basketball search and seemingly makes stuff up (see above tweet) just to incite outrage and engagement.

Seth Davis: Suspect. He went to Duke. Do we really need to say anything else?

Pete Thamel: Kudos for breaking the Malone news. You’ve got our trust.

Inside Carolina as a whole: Guys like Greg Barnes, Ben Sherman and Sherrell McMillan have been pretty consistent over the years only reporting what can be confirmed by multiple sources (oh, for the long lost days of real journalism). They might not always be first but they are rarely dead wrong.

Anyone currently or formerly associated with the Raleigh News & Observer. In the age when the newspaper is dying a slow death, this rag has decided to lean in to the craziest faction of the Wolfpack fan nation and paint UNC in the most negative light possible. In the same vein, Pat Welter at WRAL in Raleigh is learning that quickest way to get some eyeballs on your ad-laden posts is to say something bad about the Heels.

4. This week’s reason why Duke sucks

And speaking of sustained excellence…Since Jon Scheyer took over as coach, the results have looked pretty elite — during the regular season, at least.

• But when it counts, it’s pretty clear few programs have belly flopped as badly as Duke.

Let us count the things the Blue Devils have squandered on their way to no national championships and shocking early tournament exits.

• Talent. Scheyer has landed the No. 1 recruiting class nearly every year he’s been there, including this year’s POY and last year’s duo who are now neck-and-neck for NBA rookie of the year.

• Seeding. Two No. 1 seeds in four years, including the No. 1 overall this year.

• Momentum. Duke often enters the postseason on a run only to inevitably lay a giant egg as America cheers.

Tell us again why they’re not looking for a new coach?

➕ Up next: Keep working the portal, gentlemen. We’ll be back next week hopefully with news of a few roster additions that don’t rhyme with Aydon Sung.

Oh, and, if you’ve got questions or comments, send them our way at thbthd@gmail.com.

Go Heels!

• Isaiah Denis into the portal. He’s open to coming back, depending on the new coach.

We’re your editors, Andy and Reed, trying our best to ignore all the crazy coaching rumors we read online…

1. The lead off: Is this coaching search going OK?

Reed: Two weeks later, still no coach. One hard truth I’ve had to accept in this whole search is that no matter how many times the media tells us that UNC is the most plum job in college basketball, that’s not necessarily true anymore.

• We have the history and mystique, yes, but for many of the top coaches, the best place to ply their trade turns out to be right where they are — at their current school, having a ton of success and building a legacy for themselves.

• Guys like Dusty May and Tommy Lloyd don’t want to bask in our history. They want to make their own.

Andy: I’m not panicking yet. What we have seen so far is exactly how these big coaching searches usually go. The first list of guys you go after (Brad Stevens, Lloyd, May) are the ones you have to call to see if they are interested. They likely aren’t leaving their current situations, but you have to ask.

• The problem is, the fanbase latches on to them as the only “good” hires. There are still plenty of candidates out there who can be very successful at Carolina.

Reed: I hope so. One of my worries is the names that have been thrown out are all top-tier. If you look at other schools though, the way they got their current great coach is by taking a chance on an up-and-comer.

• Lloyd was an assistant before Arizona. May was at Florida Atlantic. Is Carolina willing to roll the dice on someone lesser known who shows promise?

• So far, it doesn’t seem like it, which may leave us desperate to land a “big name” in the next couple days and backing into a hire like with football. (cough - Billy Donovan - cough)

Andy: This is a multi-year decision. I know it feels like you have to have the perfect coach in place before this year’s transfer portal opens but we have to look long-term. Remember, the two-week portal window is when players can put their names in. They can come out and sign with a team pretty much any time before next season starts.

• Get the right guy on the bench and he will find a way to put a competitive team on the court next year.

Reed: I’ve already kinda written off next year, and I’m OK with that. In fact, I almost wish the admin had just installed an interim coach and spent a year finding the right person to take over permanently. I am starting to worry a little that The Powers That Be jumped before they knew where they were going to land.

Andy: I’m not wavering on whether it was the right decision to move on from Hubert. There was an inherent risk in that move but, in my opinion, there was a bigger risk in letting that situation linger and seeing if Hubert somehow improved as a head coach.

2. A goodbye to the March Madness commercials we were forced to watch 100 billion times

Reed writes…

I worked briefly in advertising, so I know the struggle to put something on the air that’s both entertaining and persuasive. (Long story short: Even if you knew what that was, which you don’t, the client will absolutely not choose that concept.)

That’s why I pay particular attention to the same handful of ads the networks bludgeon us with over and over during March Madness. Here are a few from this year’s crop:

Capital One “Sorry Sam Jackson”

I find it pretty funny that Outkast would walk away from a wildly successful hip-hop career because they had too much creative integrity…only to then license their song to a bank commercial featuring a rapping Jennifer Garner.

Samsung “March Madness Privacy”

The ad — yet another featuring the Boozer twins (remember them??) — touts the phone’s privacy by showing us a scenario in which the boys are protective of a simple text message from Carlos. C’mon, Samsung. You’re telling me the freakiest thing you can imagine on a millionaire college athlete’s phone is a dad text?

Coke “Fight Song ‘26”

Watching this ad — a montage of students singing their school’s fight song — made one thing clear: Most fight songs blur together. But 🎵 I’m a Tar Heel born, I’m a Tar Heel bred 🎵 actually sticks. Sure, I’m biased, but it’s in that small tier with Notre Dame’s that’s instantly recognizable beyond its own campus. The rest? By the time the ad gets to the Duke student popping out of a tent singing, “Fight for Duke and the blue and white,” I’m honestly questioning whether this is some tradition I’ve missed or the makers wrote the song five minutes before filming.

3. 🏆 End of the Season Awards part II

Last week, we gave out our first batch of awards. Now it’s time for the second half. Who earned the hardware?

🛡️ Defensive MVP

• Reed: The fact that no one player — in my mind, at least — clearly earned this award may speak to some of the problems the team had this year in terms of consistency and forging an identity. I guess I’ll go with Henri Veesaar. While he got pushed around on occasion, his presence inside did seem to make opponents think twice.

• Andy: I like the Veesaar choice but I’m going with Jarin Stevenson. I thought he was more technically sound than anyone else on the roster and there were times when he had to guard a lot of different positions.

🎯 Best shot selection

• Reed: One fun fact: Ivan Matlekovic shot 100% on the season, 1-1. That said, I’m still giving this award to Veesaar. I can’t remember him going YOLO a single time, whether it was from deep or at the rim. Very under control.

• Andy: By process of elimination, it’s Veesaar. I would like to give an honorable mention to Caleb Wilson for the most number of shots that looked like a bad idea at the time until they swished through the net.

🤦 Most Miscast

• Andy: It has to be Kyan Evans. He wasn’t a point guard at Colorado State and we brought him in thinking he could become that and run the show. That seemed to have killed his shooting confidence and you see where the season ended up from there.

• Reed: I’m right there with you. I wish that Evans — or the coaches — had figured out a role.

❄️ The Ice Water award

• Reed: Derek Dixon, come on down. I don’t know how this guy had the confidence to do what he did in so many critical moments over the season. His performance at the end of the Kentucky and Duke wins alone cements this award.

• Andy: 100% Derek Dixon. In a world where guys hung around the same school and improved every year, Dixon is the closest thing Carolina has had to Joel Berry since the 2017 title. I could totally see him as a junior leading a team to a deep run.

6️⃣ Best Sixth Man

• Reed: I know it’s irrational, given the fact that we have an entire season of evidence behind us, but I still think there was something special about Jonathan Powell — something that was never fully tapped. I always appreciated his hustle and toughness, if not always his shooting efficiency.

• Andy: I had a tough time coming up with a name here because the bench was so inconsistent from game to game. At one point, this could have been Powell, at another, High. Then you had times where Stevenson, Dixon and Bogavac were coming off the bench. Sorry, Reed, but I’m giving this an “incomplete.”

4. 📫 Reader mail

Kerry from Kansas writes…

“Why is no one talking about Fred Hoiberg? He is a proven coach, in both NCAA and NBA, I think he has the character, and a move to ACC would be a step up.’

A: We see a Midwest guy through and through with a slightly above .500 coaching record. It wouldn’t be the worst hire — he did just win AP coach of the year — but it feels like recency bias for a coach whose Nebraska team did start off white-hot this year but finished 8-7.

5. This week’s reason why Duke sucks

ICYMI: We had to revisit the insane article The Athletic ran just before Duke choked entitled, “Is hating Duke basketball falling out of style?”

The article was a think piece seemingly laying out the case that the public’s view of the Blue Devils has changed over the last few years. “Has Duke basketball become less hateable? Perhaps, maybe, even likable?” the article wonders.

• Uh, no. Not in this house.

The reasons the article gave for this supposed switch were a little iffy. Let’s take a look:

1. Duke hasn’t won as big in a long time, and it was their success that made them so hateable. Disagree. There were plenty of other reasons, and we filled two books with them.

2. Coach K is gone, and Scheyer isn’t as well known, and therefore, not as hated. “They don’t have the old thing to kick around anymore,” Jay Bilas is quoted. That’s true. We’ve got the new thing to kick around. Anyone who’s been paying attention knows that Scheyer has a lot of the same annoying traits as K. Witness “my staff got punched in the face”-gate from earlier this season.

3. The players leave too soon to build up animosity among opposing fans. This one is also partially true, but there’s also something gross about the factory nature of modern-day Duke basketball.

4. Their white guys aren’t as hated. “So when the best player in college basketball last year was a White guy at Duke, the fact that he wasn’t really a villain was a sign of the times,” the article says. Maybe the author just wasn’t looking hard enough.

🕳️ Up next: Into the abyss. The offseason looms. We have no idea what the future holds. We’ll be back next week, whatever happens…

Oh, and, if you’ve got questions or comments, send them our way at thbthd@gmail.com.

Go Heels!

• 🙏 Thank you, Caleb Wilson. He’s off to the NBA. We so appreciated all his hard work and the chance to watch a generational talent in a Tar Heels uniform.

• 🍀 Good luck, Marcus Paige, who’s headed to Charlotte as an assistant, joining Wes Miller. Here’s hoping he gets seasoned enough to take over UNC one day.

• 🚪 Don’t let the door hit you, Will Wade. We cannot believe this guy bailed on State after a single year. But then again, we can.

Welcome to another Tar Heel Bred, Tar Heel Dead. We’re your editors Andy and Reed, who have both respectfully removed our names from consideration as Carolina’s next coach…

1. The lead off: The times they are a-changing

It’s been almost a week since the the university pulled the plug on the Hubert Davis era. We all kinda knew it was coming — deserved even. Doesn’t mean it feels great.

• Davis is a solid person and a loyal Tar Heel who just couldn’t make it work. Sure is gonna be weird to see him on the sidelines at another school.

• It’s also not great to see such a storied program like Carolina in disarray, the future so uncertain. Will we return to our rightful place atop the college basketball world, or become — as everyone’s been saying — like Indiana, slowly sliding into obscurity when an up year is defined by just making the tournament?

No idea. But firing Davis was probably the only way forward.

In the end, it was the consistent inconsistency that sealed his fate as head coach of the Tar Heels. Incredible wins? Check. Inexplicable losses? Also check. One half of basketball where the team looks underprepared and uninterested, followed by a massive second half comeback that may or may not result in a win? You betcha. The reverse of that? We saw that too.

Five years was enough time to know if it was going to work or not and, unfortunately, it’s time to move in a different direction.

2. Who got next? A look at the coaching candidates

Several names have been floated to take over. Our thoughts:

Billy Donovan

Reed: He’s the guy I think is most likely to get the job, and I’ve got mixed feelings. On the one hand, he did win two nattys. On the other, his college experience was a lifetime ago, and even in his Florida heyday, Donovan had several down years where his team failed to make the Big Dance at all.

• Another worry: Based on the reporting, at least, he’s the one who’s been pushing his name hard to take over at Carolina — probably knowing he’s going to get fired by the Bulls. Choosing someone who needs us more than we need them is how we got Belichick, and the last thing the basketball program needs is an underperforming has-been. Someone also better check on Donovan’s girlfriend situation.

• On the bright side…maybe his pro experience will help him better navigate the pay-to-play college landscape. And if he’s still got the hunger to win, he could be a decent bridge to another coach a few years down the road.

Andy: Like you, I have mixed feelings on this. He’s 60 years old and has been out of the college game for 10 years. Will he be able to adjust to what the game has become and will he hang around long enough to stabilize the program?

Tommy Lloyd

Andy: I don’t watch a lot of basketball other than UNC until the NCAA Tournament. When I turned on Arizona, I was immediately struck by the style of play and how much it reminded me of Roy Williams. They are surgically efficient and super fun to watch. They scored 109 points in the round of 16 and took a total of 8 three-pointers (making 5). It was beautiful.

• Tommy Lloyd checks all of the boxes for me but like some of the other top names, he has a good thing going and I don’t see why he’d leave. Maybe we have to hope he doesn’t get along with the new Arizona AD?

Reed: He’s doing it now in college. And doing it well. That’s so attractive. He’s created a winning program, and yeah, his teams are so much fun to watch. And his style of play, with big men and relying on two-pointers, reminds me of Carolina’s golden age.

Nate Oats

Andy: Rumor is that he has coveted the UNC job for a while. Personally, I’m not a fan. I don’t like the jack-as-many-threes-as-possible offensive philosophy and he’s had some off-the-court problems with his players (Weed, guns and pros, oh my!). He’s found a way for his teams to be successful but I don’t see him as a cultural fit at all.

Reed: His off-court issues probably remove him from the running. UNC, according to reports, is looking for someone who is a good representation of Carolina values. Plus, Oats has said pretty definitively he’s not interested: “To me, there's absolutely no reason to leave here.” I don’t see him coming.

Mike Malone

Andy: Keep an eye on the name Mike Malone. He coached the Denver Nuggets to an NBA Championship in 2023 but was fired just before the playoffs started in 2025 because of a losing streak and a falling out with the GM. Malone’s daughter, Bridget, plays volleyball for UNC so Mike has been hanging around the basketball program. I don’t see it happening unless a lot of other candidates fall by the wayside but it’s not a terrible fallback option.

Dusty May

Reed: I’d love to have him, but the question I have with several of these candidates is, why would they come to Carolina? The programs they’re running are already performing better than UNC is, and really the only reason to come to UNC is because of the program’s history — a history that is with every passing day receding into the rearview mirror.

• Would you uproot your family for that? All to jump into a situation that’s in flux with a new AD, a potential new arena and well-publicized funding problems?

• I do love what May did at Florida Atlantic before Michigan. He’s proven he can do more with less and develop and get the most out of players. That’d be great to have.

Andy: May is super impressive and what he’s done at Michigan in a short period of time is remarkable. He did coach Sean May in AAU during high school so there is a slim connection to UNC. Like Lloyd, though, I don’t see why he would leave Michigan to take the Carolina job. With both of them, you have to ask the question to gauge interest but it’s not likely to happen.

3. 🏆 End of the Season Awards part I

What’s an elegant segue to go from “coach fired” to “hey, let’s hand out some trophies?” We ain’t got it. Doesn’t mean we’re not going to once again give out our end-of-the-season awards. Here’s who’s picking up hardware.

MVP

• Andy: I think it has to be Caleb even if he didn’t play the whole year. Carolina hasn’t had a talent like that in 20+ years and he was a pure joy to watch.

• Reed: I’ll go Caleb, also. He was our most consistent player, most ferocious competitor and greatest talent.

Biggest surprise

• Andy: Strangely, I’m going to say, Jarin Stevenson. He basically sat in the corner and shot threes at Alabama and occasionally played good D. He was this team’s glue guy and contributed in more ways than I thought he would.

• Reed: Henri Veesaar. I thought we were getting a standard big man and rim protector. But he proved to be so much more versatile, lighting it up from three and executing the pick and roll really well.

Biggest disappointment

• Andy: Maybe it isn’t fair to him, but for me, it’s Luka Bogavac. I was really pumped at the thought of having our very own heady euro carving up the opposing defense and knocking down threes.

• Reed: Kyan Evans. His three point percentage last year — 44% — was eye watering. I thought even if he didn’t work out as point guard, he could turn into a long-range specialist. We got neither.

Best dunk

• Andy: Can I choose anything that involved Caleb? He is the best dunker at UNC since Vince Carter.

• Reed: Caleb, it is. I’m going with this monster tomahawk vs. FSU.

4. This week’s reason why Duke sucks

Back in the 1980s, an entomologist named Justin Schmidt devised a way to measure pain, primarily by subjecting himself to stings of various insects and recording his response. The Schmidt Pain Index goes from 1 to 4, with poetic descriptions for the feelings of agony the person experiences:

• 1 – Mild. “Light, ephemeral, almost fruity.”

• 2 – More painful. “Burning, corrosive, but manageable.”

• 3 – Intense. “Caustic and burning.”

• 4+ – Extreme. “Pure, intense, brilliant pain… like walking over flaming charcoal with a nail in your heel.”

We’ve been thinking about this pain index in relation to Duke and the L’s they’ve suffered over the last few years. We’re racking our brain, but we’re honestly falling short in terms of teams that have suffered such absolutely crushing, agonizing, world-ending, bury-yourself-in-a-hole-and-seal-it-up-with-concrete defeats.

• Duke’s losses are almost supernaturally bad at this point. And yesterday’s last second collapse to UConn is only the latest in a string.

• It was the most unreal ending to a game we can remember. It was so improbable that the Duke radio announcer was left to pathetically plead for a tech on UConn’s bench for celebrating. (Yeahhh, no.)

And then there was last year’s similar collapse to Houston in the Final Four. Duke led by double digits for most of the second half, by nine points with two minutes left, and by six with just 35 seconds left.

• Add to that arguably two of the worst losses in Duke’s history — Coach K’s final game in Cameron to its arch rival then again in the Final Four — and you’ve got enough pain to last a lifetime.

Schmidt is going to have to devise a new scale. Whatever is above his “being chained in the flow of an active volcano” is where Duke is at.

🚨 Next week we’ll have part II of our end of the season awards, as well as some other fun stuff. See you then.

Oh, and, if you’ve got questions or comments, send them our way at thbthd@gmail.com.

Go Heels!

• That said, I don’t think anyone could have predicted exactly how this season was going to end. Or how badly.

We’re your editors Andy and Reed. Cue the funeral dirge…

1. The lead off: Thoughts on the season

Below standard

Andy writes…

College basketball seasons are often judged primarily on postseason success, so I can’t really call the 2025-2026 campaign anything better than a disappointment. Even without Caleb Wilson, UNC shouldn’t blow a 19-point lead in the first round of the NCAA tournament and lose to an 11-seed.

There were plenty of highlights: going 18-0 at home, beating Kansas, Kentucky, and Virginia; and, of course, the last-second win against Duke. Watching Caleb Wilson play in a Tar Heel uniform, even if cut short by injury, was an absolute joy. His highlight reel will likely go down as one of the top 5 UNC player reels of all time.

As for the rest of the roster, Veesaar was a huge plus out of the portal, but Evans was just as big a bust. Stevenson gave the team what was expected, while Powell disappointed. Seth improved marginally in some areas and regressed in others. Bogavac struggled to find a way to consistently contribute. This was a team that was supposed to be productive and balanced. It wasn’t.

We may look back at this year as a bit of a “what if” with the injuries. If Caleb is healthy all season, maybe Carolina wins a few more games in the regular season and sneaks up to a 4 seed. But with such a generational talent leading the way, is that even good enough?

Seasons are measured by accomplishments, and this team really had none. They were out of the ACC regular season race after 2 games in the Pacific Time Zone. They lost in the first round of the ACC tournament and again in the first round of the NCAAs. That’s below standard for Carolina.

The only consistency was inconsistency

Reed writes…

This team did have some real successes — on paper, at least. Going unbeaten at home. A win over the Blue Devils so exciting that the final highlight will be cut into the intro for every Duke-Carolina game from now until we’re all dead. A decent record that ended up being nearly exactly what we predicted at the beginning of the year.

• Then why did it all feel so dispiriting? Why did we come away, even from wins, a little sick to our stomachs? Why did so many of us spend the entire season waiting for the inevitable collapse to arrive?

This team’s legacy — and maybe the entire Hubert Davis era — will likely be defined by underachievement: a pattern of rarely rising to the moment and too often squandering it.

There was very little improvement, either as a squad or among individual players. There were too many listless efforts to count, too many missed opportunities to step on an opponent’s neck, in the rare times the chance presented itself. There was virtually no consistency, either among the role players or rotations. And perhaps in no small part because of that, there were few tightly defined roles.

• This team played 33 games. If we played a 34th, could anyone predict how many points Kyan Evans or Jaydon Young would give us? How long they’d play? What about Zayden High? Was he a bench energy guy…or someone whose skill set meant he should be banished to Siberia?

• I have no idea, and even at the end of the season I kept wondering, does Hubert?

I thought at the beginning of the year this team had talent. And I stand by that, especially watching schools with “lesser” players do amazing things in the tournament, like VCU or High Point or Miami of Ohio, which won one more March Madness games than the Heels with a $2M roster.

• This wasn’t just about our lack of talent, though I do think we fell short in some key areas, mainly with a lack of guard play and a physical inside presence.

• It was also about coaching and lack of development and maybe more than anything, a lack of that killer instinct, that overwhelming desire to win no matter what, to never take a play off. Hansbrough and Berry and Felton and Montross all had it. This squad, for whatever reason, didn’t.

2. What is the future of this program?

Andy: It certainly seems that we have seen the last game that Hubert Davis will coach at North Carolina.

Like a lot of fans, I really wanted to see him succeed. I knew him when we lived on the same hall for two years in Granville. I watched him go from barely seeing the floor as a freshman to being All-ACC as a senior. I kept up with a long NBA career that no one would have predicted when he landed at UNC. I enjoyed him immensely on ESPN as an announcer. He was a key confidant for many of the players when he was an assistant under Roy.

I knew it was a risk when he took the head coaching job but I had high hopes. That stretch between K’s last game at Cameron and sending the rat into retirement at the Final Four will likely never be topped in the rivalry. Hubert will always have that. But it’s not enough. It sucks to see it come to an end but I think it is clearly time. Five years of data is enough to make a judgment about the future, and the program needs to go in a different direction.

It will be interesting to see if the administration decides to step outside of the family for the next coach (I think they should) as that hasn’t happened in more than 60 years. It’s going to be an absolute circus but I feel reasonably confident we will find a good coach.

Reed: Man, what a difference a single game makes.

A week ago, many of us were fairly confident that Hubert would return next year. Some fans weren’t particularly overjoyed with the prospect, but thought Hubert had earned it with a decent season.

And then came losing to VCU. And not just losing, but losing in such an absolute disaster of a fashion that the entire empire now needs to be burned down.

And the thing I find so “what if” about all this is, what if we had held on and beaten VCU? We very likely would have lost to Illinois in the very next game. Maybe gotten blown out. But somehow, one more W might have been enough to buy Hubert another year.

But now it seems like he will be gone. It’s a shame. He had the perfect pedigree to be the coach, and if he goes, it’s also likely that quite a bit of what makes Carolina basketball so special goes with him. Probably no stopping it now.

I kinda hope the admin doesn’t fire him, even though it’s clear at this point he’s not the future. I might give him one more year — for reasons that have more to do with the program than his performance. Here are my two biggest concerns:

1) Who are you getting to replace him? It’s easy to throw him out, but it’s much more difficult to find someone who can come in, immediately start winning and win consistently for years. Who is that person who is ready to take this job tomorrow?

2) Do we trust the administration to handle this process? I don’t, especially given how chaotic and rushed the football hiring process was and how (so far) awful the results have been.

With one more year for Hubert, the new AD will have more time to settle in, find a suitable replacement and do the transition right.

3. This week’s reason why Duke sucks

Welcome to the club, TCU

After Duke squeaked by Siena in the opening round, there was no way that they would be allowed to get knocked out of the tournament early. This is going to shock you but Duke benefited from an egregious missed call and a mystery technical foul on the opposing coach at a critical moment in Duke’s Round of 32 matchup with TCU.

• With 9 minutes left and trailing 59-50, TCU guard Tanner Toolson went up for a layup that was clearly goaltended by Duke’s Maliq Brown. No call. Duke got the rebound.

• TCU coach Jamie Dixon was asking for an explanation and the ref T-ed him up. It amounted to a 4-point swing for Duke and they never looked back after that moment.

After the game, Dixon said, “I didn’t cuss. I didn’t say anything bad. I had a conversation with him. It’s big. Huge impact on the game.”

TCU fans were not happy after the game and now join an illustrious club of dozens of teams that have been jobbed by the striped shirts in a game against the Devils. Welcome aboard, Horned Frogs. We have a couple of books for you to read if you want to know that you aren’t alone in your newfound hatred of the team from Durham.

🚨 Up next: Come back next week when (hopefully) the mood will be a little lighter. We’ll have our end of the season awards.

Oh, and, if you’ve got questions or comments, send them our way at thbthd@gmail.com.

Go Heels!

• ❌ Cincinnati fired Wes Miller after five seasons. The Bearcats missed the Big Dance this year after collapsing late to UCF in last week’s conference tournament.

We’re your editors, Reed and Andy, currently using questionable logic to justify our office pool pick of Carolina going all the way yet again. Let’s roll…

1. The lead off: As good a draw as one could hope for

The 6 seed was about where we expected to land after the Caleb injury news and dropping the last two games. It’s not where this program expects to be, but it beats sweating out Selection Sunday and hoping to land on the right side of the bubble.

• From a play-in game as an 11 seed last year to facing the 11 seed as a 6 seed a year later. Not where we want to be but that’s at least progress.

We had to double-check to make sure Shaka Smart hadn’t returned to VCU as coach. (He hasn’t; they are coached by Phil Martelli, Jr., whose father was the long-time coach at St. Joe’s).

• The Rams are hot. They’ve won 16 of their last 17 games including securing the automatic bid with an A10 tourney title.

This team lost to NC State by 6 early in the season and then beat Virginia Tech by 18 in The Bahamas. This will be a tough one. VCU’s guards are their strength but they aren’t particularly bulky or athletic — two things that have given this Carolina team trouble.

• They don’t have anyone that can match up with Veesaar so it will be critical for the Heels to get Henri involved early and often.

Still, though, if the Heels can keep the Rams from going crazy from the three point line, we like our chances. After that, it would potentially be a rematch of the 2005 title game vs Illinois.

• The Illini have stumbled a bit down the stretch, going 5-5 in their last 10.

One thing is for sure: The committee did us a solid by putting us in Greenville, SC for the first two games. If Heels fans can pack the arena, maybe that’s what makes the ultimate difference. And they can stick around to cheer against Duke as well.

2. Regular season wrap: Revisiting our preseason predictions

🎢 This season has been a roller coaster. It had some incredible highs — one of them among the top Carolina highlights of the past couple decades. But it also had some frustrating lows, like that California road trip and Caleb Wilson’s injury.

• No one could have predicted how it was going to play out — doesn’t mean we didn’t try, though.

Before the season started, we weighed in with a bunch of predictions for the year ahead. Some were close, some were less so. Take a look:

Overall record

Reed: I thought we’d “hover” within the top 25 most of the season and comfortably make the tourney, ending at 23-8.

• ✅ Survey says: Pretty close (UNC went 24-7), though I definitely did not think we’d beat Kentucky, Kansas and Duke but lose to Cal and Stanford.

Andy: I settled on a final record of 24-7 and thought we would finish in the top 3 of the conference.

• ✅ Survey says: Nailed the record but we finished tied for 4th in the ACC.

Leading scorer

Reed: I figured it was going to be Seth. I really thought he’d build on the decent year he had last year and emerge as the leader on and off the court.

• ❌ Survey says: Nope. Seth’s injury set him back for sure (he averaged 14 points), but even without it, Wilson would have still ended up the leading scorer (19.8).

Andy: I really wanted to pick Caleb but ended up picking Seth as well. I had no idea a freshman would be that good.

• ❌ Survey says: I should have put my faith in Caleb. Even though Seth had the single highest points in a game this year, he wasn’t consistent throughout.

Leading rebounder

Reed: I thought it would be Wilson, because his athleticism would give him a slight edge over Veesaar.

• ✅ Survey says: Wilson did edge out Veesaar (9.4 vs. 8.7).

Andy: I said Caleb would run away with it because of his non-stop motor.

• ✅ Survey says: Wilson didn’t run away with it and his motor was the best we have seen since Hansbrough.

Defensive menace

Reed: You might make the case that one of the shortcomings of this team is that we don’t really have one. I put my money on Henri Veesaar, thinking he’d become one of those classic rim protectors.

• ↔️ Survey says: It’s a push. Wilson, Trimble and Stevenson also turned in some strong defensive performances, but in the end, I don’t think we can anoint one player with this title.

Andy: I went with Caleb but thought he would battle foul trouble more than he did.

• ↔️ Survey says: Caleb led the team in steals and was second in blocks but I wouldn’t call him a defensive menace.

Glue guy

Reed: I liked Jarin Stevenson for this, figuring he’d come off the bench because Luka would get the start.

• ↔️ Survey says: Inconclusive. Stevenson was definitely a glue guy, but during the season — especially toward the end — he was called upon to take a bigger role. He did do lots of things pretty, including improving his long-range shooting.

Andy: We both went with Stevenson thinking he would do a lot for the team.

• ↔️ Survey says: It’s a push but I would argue he is the glue guy even though he took on a bigger role.

Sixth Man

Reed: I thought it would be Stevenson followed very closely by Jonathan Powell. The problem is, the lineups changed so frequently this season, it’s hard to even define what a sixth man is.

• ↔️ Survey says: Reply hazy, try again. Stevenson was definitely more of a starter and Powell was probably the overall strongest bench contributor — but his production was too inconsistent to hand him this title.

Andy: I called Dixon but this was a year that Hubert did not stick to a core group of starters despite the injuries.

• ↔️ Survey says: He wasn’t the 6th man but I’m giving myself extra credit for these words: “Maybe he won’t be the first guy off the bench but I think by the end of the year, Derek Dixon, will be a very important contributor.”

The Andrew Platek award

Reed: This was the award for a player who blows up in a game or two…then barely scores the rest of the time. I thought it would be James Brown, figuring he’d get a couple of minutes a game to rest Veesaar.

• ❌ Survey says: Not even close. He didn’t take the court at all in calendar year 2026 and the most he scored this season was 4.

Andy: I went with Jaydon Young and predicted he would “pop for 4 of 5 from three against some team before the conference season.”

• ✅ Survey says: I’m going to be generous with the scoring and say that I got it. Jaydon scored 12 points against Wake Forest, nailing 3 of 5 from downtown. He never scored more than 5 in any other game (he played in 30) and never hit more than one three-pointer.

3. This week’s reason why Duke sucks

It happens every season. By the end of the year, there’s always one Duke player we collectively decide to dislike the most. Every season produces at least one Duke Guy. You can set your watch by it.

And on Friday night, when Duke beat Clemson and a player who averages fewer than six points cockily flexed his bicep after hitting a shot, it cemented in our minds who this year’s Duke Guy is.

• Nikolas Khamenia.

Do we know that much about him? Not really. Is our dislike of him rational? It’s probably not. But is there something about him that just gets under our skin? No doubt about it.

Maybe it’s that overly sweaty cult-like fealty that he and most Duke Guys seems to have to the imaginary Brotherhood. Maybe it’s that a Duke Guy’s celebrations are often inversely proportional to his production.

• Or maybe it’s just his hair.

Is it fair to criticize someone’s appearance? Not really. And we try not to do it. Honestly, we do. It seems beneath the dignity of this newsletter which includes a “Why Duke Sucks” story every week.

• But his hair. It really can’t be ignored. He looks like the photo that Elton John brought to the wig shop and said, “This one!” He looks like the sixth Saja Boy. He looks like a player who averages two rebounds and three trips to the mirror.

We’re sure there’s more about this guy to dislike, and we’re pretty certain it will come out — maybe in this postseason, seeing as how Duke is shorthanded and have no choice but to play Khamenia. We’ll keep an eye, and a comb, out.

🚨 Up next: This is it. Lock in. Let’s make a run, Carolina.

• Andy: I still think this team has something to show. When they lock in, they can be good even without Caleb. We are going to the Sweet Sixteen.

• Reed: VCU worries me. They force a ton of turnovers — nearly a quarter of opponents’ possessions — and they make about 10 three pointers a game. The Rams are already a trendy upset pick. I still think we can beat them with size.

Oh, and, if you’ve got questions or comments, send them our way at thbthd@gmail.com.

Go Heels!

• Leaky Black back in the NBA. The forward, who just got called up from the G League, had 16 pts, including four three-pointers, Thursday for the Wizards against the Hawks.

• Kenny Smith’s other son is a Heel. Malloy Smith is coming, and like his brother, he’s unlikely to make the hugest impact — he’s not ranked by Rivals. But it’s just cool that the Smiths are keeping it in the Carolina family.

We’re your editors, Reed and Andy, giving a giant finger to Dook. Moving on…

1. The lead off: The Duke loss stings, the questions linger

Andy: It wasn’t all that surprising that the game went the way it did but it still sucks losing to those guys. Once I heard the depressing news that Caleb was out for the rest of the year, I knew it was going to take a near-perfect outing to pull off the win.

• The team just has to put it behind them and get ready for the postseason.

Reed: Duke is definitely on another level, talent-wise, though I did think this game exposed us yet again in two areas: inconsistency and rebounding.

• Like you said, it was going to take a near-perfect game to get the W. But then you could quickly see Evans, Bogavac and High weren’t going to have even average games. And in some cases, they were actually hurting us. I’ve given up trying to guess what the supporting players are going to give us each game.

• Then there was the rebounding, which Hubert has said was a point of emphasis…only for Duke to come out and grab 15 offensive boards to our 5. That’s deadly. And what I fear is that it’s not about schemes, or effort or whatever. We just don’t have the personnel or muscle this season to compete on the boards. There’s no beefy, Bacot-type of guy who will just go up and get it.

Andy: I did think Derek Dixon played well and I’m hoping this is him breaking through the freshman wall. You have to have good guard play in the postseason and it would be the perfect time for him to heat up. Luka hit his first shot and I thought we might see him pick up where he left off at Clemson but he was a turnover machine the rest of the game.

• Seth had a decent game but the rest of the guards and wings really struggled.

Reed: We did cover the spread. I guess that’s something. And even in a loss, we went up three spots in KenPom, because we avoided a bigger blowout. Small victories? Anyone?

• At this point, it feels like we’re bloodied and just limping to the finish line. I’m sure many fans are expecting the hammer to drop. The ACC tourney is unlikely to provide much clarity on who this team is at this moment, especially if another match up with Duke is in our future.

Andy: The NCAA tourney will tell us more, and the outlook is all about matchups. How soon do we see a tough, physical big that will give Veesaar trouble? Will we run into a super-quick guard that no one can keep out of the lane? This team has shown some toughness all year; it’s possible they could catch a good draw and make a run.

• If Dixon and Trimble consistently play to their potential, this team will make it to the second weekend. If not, it’s going to come to a quick end.

2. Smith Center debate: How the F do other schools pay for their teams? Part II

Reed writes…

Last week, we looked at how another ACC school — Duke — pays for basketball while still playing in its existing arena. This week, we’re looking at another large public state school: Kentucky.

Kentucky faces a budget gap similar to UNC — partially driven by the millions they now have to pay directly to players, including what is reportedly the most expensive hoops team in the whole country.

• An internal loan from the school is keeping the lights on for now and covering that $31M shortfall, but here are some of the ways they plan to move forward.

🎟️ They changed their ticket policy

The university recently committed to staying in Rupp for another 30 years, and for some, seeing a game there will be more expensive. UK is phasing out discounts for faculty and staff and making other changes, including charging everyone for a full-priced ticket — even freakin’ babies.

• The school has also begun charging everyone entrance fees for non-revenue sports, such as baseball and volleyball.

• One other idea: The school has floated playing one basketball game a season in their 60,000-seat football stadium to reap more ticket revenue.

📂 They created a separate entity to manage sports

UK Athletics is now run by a separate nonprofit holding company called Champions Blue LLC, and if you think this is the kind of quasi-shady move a billionaire would pull to get around rules, you’re kinda right.

• It’s a workaround, that allows the basketball program to operate more like a business or a pro team.

• The program can make decisions faster with less government red tape, pursue different kinds of outside deals, and also offer packages to athletes that might not be allowed under state university policies.

💵 They’re exploring real estate deals

Just like with Carolina North, Kentucky is planning to build a mixed-use “entertainment district” near its football field in hopes of bringing crowds to the area all year long.

• The university would collect rent and share in profits from the hotels and restaurants that eventually open there.

🚜 They’re renovating their facilities

Instead of relocating, the school poured $310 million into Rupp to fix it up a few years ago, upgrading the seating, adding luxury clubs and new amenities.

• The school is also planning to add a new premium West End Zone Club to its football stadium that will have luxury seating, hoity-toity lounges, and other amenities.

The bottom line: Same problems, slightly different approach. And again, one that does it while still staying in their historic arena.

3. This week’s reason why Duke sucks

In a long history of obnoxious Duke fans — Speedo Guy, the painted chest bros, Dick Vitale — one name has now cemented his status as the one to rule them all: Ken Jeong.

• This dude has turned his Duke support into a schtick as grating as the medical-themed stand-up he used to do in the Triangle clubs back in the day.

At Saturday’s game, Jeong was working harder than the bench mob — leaping out of his seat after routine buckets, pumping his fists toward the crowd, mugging for TV cameras, and generally behaving like the world’s oldest (and lamest) Cameron Crazy.

• And it never felt authentic. It felt theatrical, like he was earning royalties for every camera cutaway.

Figures. No one on earth is as thirsty as Jeong. His rep in Hollywood is as someone who will do virtually anything to snag a few extra seconds in the spotlight. And now the same kind of “look at me” energy he harnessed to say yes to “Transformers: Dark of the Moon” is being channeled into Duke superfandom.

Believe it or not, he’s even too much of an obnoxious Duke fans for Duke fans. Last month, he was chosen to shoot a charity shot during halftime of the Duke-Clemson game. Jeong turned what should have been a brief cameo into an tornado of mugging that went on so long, the Cameron announcer literally had to tell him to get off the court.

Here’s hoping doctors are working on a cure for this guy.

🏀 Up next: The postseason looms. Carolina will play Thursday — if the seeds hold — against Clemson. Then it’s likely a rematch with Dook. How we see it…

• Andy: It wouldn’t totally surprise me to see Clemson collapse against whoever they play on Wednesday, but let’s assume we see the Tigers for a second time in less than two weeks. I think the Heels match the physicality in this one, and it isn’t as close as it was in Chapel Hill. The rematch with Duke will, unfortunately, look a lot like the game in Cameron. Boo.

• Reed: Clemson nearly got us last week, and I can’t say I’m delighted to play them again. It’s going to be a battle to see what wins out: our superior talent or their physicality. It’s honestly a toss-up to me, but I do think we’ll edge them again — barely. If we do, I can’t see us beating Dook, in part because they always take the conference tournament way more seriously than we do.

✏️ Send your questions and comments our way at thbthd@gmail.com.

Go Heels!

• Cormac Ryan to the Bucks. The guard signed a two-way deal last week after a standout season in the G League, where he shot 42.3% from three and averaged 20.4 points per game. Dawg!

• No. 5 or No. 6? With the way the Heels have been playing lately, a bump in postseason seeding feels within reach. Plenty of bracketologists — including Joe Lunardi — currently slot Carolina on the 6 line, but a 5 is well within striking distance, with a #4 likely representing the ceiling.

We’re your editors Reed and Andy, remaining so very grateful Cory Alexander has called so few our games this season. Let’s get to it…

1. The lead off: The Caleb-less Heels would like a word

Andy: Reed, Carolina is 4-1 since Caleb Wilson went out with an injury and the only loss is a fluke of a game in Raleigh in which Henri Veesaar also sat out. I’ll have to admit that I did not expect the team to do this well without their superstar.

• We gave Hubert Davis and staff some grief after the horrendous California trip, do we need to give them some praise for this recent run?

Reed: For sure. There’s been a fair amount of instability this season, and losing Wilson was one of those oh-crap moments that might have sunk a lesser (or at least, a less expensive) team. So credit to the coaches for adjusting, especially the rotations and seemingly pushing other players to assert themselves. I think we’ve seen that most notably with Seth.

Andy: One of the Hubert criticisms is that he might be too nice of a guy but this team never lost confidence during a stretch where other guys had to step up. I think you have to give some credit to the coaches for that and the positive attitude they bring to the team.

Reed: Agree. But I also think a lot of the role players are starting to be more consistent in giving the team what we all expected at the beginning of the season. And whether this is out of coaching or just necessity in Wilson’s absence, I don’t know. I think it’s maybe a bit more the latter. But it’s great to see.

• I mean, if you look at even the last couple games, yeah, Trimble has been almost superhuman, but the others? Very solid.

• Kyan Evans versus VT, for instance, got more minutes than Dixon and only took two shots. He made one. Add to that three assists. Against Louisville, two shots, one make. That’s controlled, let-the-game-come-to-you basketball. Playing his role.

• High is proving himself more with every game to be the capable, energy-bringing back up we’d all thought he would, and Powell and Luka are starting to look more confident in their shots.

I hope it’s all coming together at the right time, and it’s going to be really interesting to see if these gains carry over when Wilson comes back or will the players just defer to him. We’ll know in a week or two.

2. Smith Center debate: How the F do other schools pay for their teams?

Reed writes…

There’s one question about the whole arena debate I keep coming back to: Why us? Why does Carolina — arguably the strongest legacy brand in college basketball — have to consider such drastic action like scrapping its longtime arena?

• Why aren’t other big names in college basketball being forced to do the same thing?

Let’s take Kansas, for example. The Jayhawks still play where they have for the last 70 years: Allen Fieldhouse — although the historic arena was recently renovated. The concourses and food options were upgraded, and the seating capacity was dropped by 1,000. (Sound familiar?)

• The venue still doesn’t have air conditioning, which the fans and university just choose to live with, seeing it as a trade-off to keep playing in such an iconic venue.

And then there’s Duke (boooo! bite me!), who will probably never move on from 80-year-old Cameron. But at the same time, they have no problem paying for top players and fielding a Final Four-level team each season What gives? Why is Carolina left to shake a tin cup for change on the street corner?

• Let’s look at how they do it, for illustrative purposes, compared to UNC.

🎟️ They charge more for tickets

Cameron has less than half the capacity of the Dean Dome. However, that scarcity allows the university to milk the hell out of the deep-pocketed donors who want season tickets.

• Dookies have to pony up reportedly in the $8k range every single year just for the privilege of sitting next to a socially awkward chem major sweating onto a cheer sheet. And the school is free to adjust the mandatory gift to the “market rate.” UNC legacy donors who paid for the Dean Dome and have seats, by contrast, pay pretty much face value.

💰 Their donors are richer

The Rams Club has like 20,000 members, but much of Duke’s float comes from just a handful of monocle-eyed, patrician hedge fund whales who set up the Legacy Fund with a $1 million minimum buy-in. The goal was simple: to make sure Duke basketball never had to rely on the university’s budget in order to pay for the revolving door of one-and-done future New Orleans Pelicans.

• This connected web of donors also helps set up legitimate (cough, cough) branding opportunities for players to get them paid way above the cap money the school is allowed to hand out.

💵 Many of their expenses are pre-paid

Duke has a few fat-cat donors who endow coaching positions and non-revenue teams, meaning those salaries and expenses don’t have to come out of the school’s operating budget — unlike at UNC. That frees up millions to spend elsewhere, like for color-coded stickers to put on the Boozers to tell them apart.

• One example: Jon Scheyer’s official title is — and are you sitting down? — “Michael J. Krzyzewski Leadership Head Coach,” because part of his salary is paid by a business school endowment.

• UNC is trying to move closer to this model but lags behind Duke.

🤫 They’re private

And by not being a public university, can get away with more stuff than UNC can. The amount they spend on coaches, players and other areas isn’t public, allowing them to outbid rivals.

• They also face fewer constraints in how they spend their cash. Duke isn’t subject to government or taxpayer oversight. Private schools are also more free in choosing how to spend endowment money.

➕ One other huge factor: UNC has much higher operating costs because of its size and the number of sports it fields. Carolina actually brings in more in total athletic revenue, but they have to shell out more to keep the lights on.

The bottom line: On a recent Carolina Insider podcast, Chancellor Lee Roberts suggested that building a new arena was the best option so UNC didn’t get left behind.

He cited the Harvard football team as an example of what can happen if a program doesn’t evolve.

• Harvard won 12 national championships — but the last one came in 1920, after “the world changed around them,” the chancellor said. Harvard didn’t know at the time they’d won their last title.

Right, except that was a choice, not about obstinance. The Ivy League banned its football teams from competing in the postseason for 80 years, because they thought it conflicted with exams.

• That ban was lifted last season and Harvard, who went 9-1, made it to the FCS playoffs. With players who don’t earn scholarships and only a pittance in NIL money.

To me, Harvard isn’t an example of what it looks like to be left behind. It’s a reminder that fielding quality teams is an incredibly complex formula. Thinking there’s a single magic bullet, especially money alone, is folly. Solving your problems might just mean finding different ways to use your funds or being more creative in leveraging your tradition — or at least your donors.

3. This week’s reason why Duke sucks

Andy writes…

The UNC Women’s team got a big win on Sunday over #12 Duke in Carmichael during Senior Day for Nyla Harris and Indya Nivar. It’s their biggest win of the season and after a few shaky games earlier, this team is playing its best basketball at the right time.

• The Duke team fell right into Duke form, whining about calls and trying to take charges all over the court.

• I quite enjoyed the moment towards the end of the game when the Devils’ best player, Toby Fournier, missed a crucial layup and then promptly fouled out of the game when Carolina rebounded the miss.

• Watching her sulk to the bench reminded me of a lot some of the men’s players from the past. Delicious.

🏀 Up next: Big week incoming. Time to really see what this team is made of, as we face a (fading) Clemson team and (surging) Duke one. How we see it…

• Andy: Senior nights have usually gone well for the Heels and I don’t think this will be any different against Clemson. This team finding a way to win at Cameron seems like a tall task, but if Caleb Wilson does come back, anything is possible. Still, though, I see 1-1 this week.

• Reed: Clemson is a really important game for the conference standings, and although the Tigers have underperformed a little this season, they still beat Miami, Louisville and SMU. I expect a close win followed by an L at Cameron.

✏️ Send your questions and comments our way at thbthd@gmail.com.

Go Heels!

• R.J. Davis’s jersey was supposed to join the others in the rafters tonight against Louisville. He earned the honor by winning 2024 ACC Player of the Year — and being among the toughest little nuts to ever play for Carolina. But weather postponed the ceremony. Looking forward to the rescheduled event so he can get his due.

We’re your editors Reed and Andy. Screw State. Let’s dive in…

1. The lead off: Four questions for the home stretch

The season is winding down, and Carolina is still a bit unsettled with injuries, changing line ups and inconsistent play. Here’s four questions we’re thinking about this week:

Is Zayden High our new favorite player?

He may not have quite reached that status yet, but we do owe him an apology. We would cringe when he came in the game earlier in the year and now we actually worry when he has to go out. He’s been such an unexpected boost to the team, bringing energy and toughness and much needed rebounding. He’s said earlier in the season he was too worried about making a mistake. Now he’s just playing. Keep it up, big man.

Will we survive without Caleb Wilson?

Barely. We’ve seen that we are capable of beating bad teams (looking at you Pitt and Syracuse) but if our guards don’t show up against above-average opponents, things can get scary. Hurry back, Caleb.

Where do our NCAA tourney chances stand?

It feels like we just need to avoid bad losses at this point and we will be in. VTech seems like a winnable game. Clemson is a toss-up. We’re not feeling great about either Louisville or Duke. After that, you just want to avoid the 8/9 line. If we get Caleb back, no one would want us as a 7-seed in their bracket.

Is Hubert Davis’s job more secure?

Probably not. We will see how the team fares in the postseason, but after five years, you have to have a conversation about the direction of the program. Maybe a run to the Final Four this year would be enough to take the heat off, but the administration needs to decide if Hubert can consistently put a championship-caliber team on the floor.

2. Transfers: Would you rather have them on the team?

Several former UNC players were in the spotlight last week, with Ven-Allen Lubin notching the rivalry victory for State and Elliot Cadeau kind of crapping the bed against Duke (12.5% shooting).

• If you’re like us, you probably have a million “what ifs” flying around in your head. What if they’d stayed? And if they had, would they be producing the same as with their new squad?

❓ Simple question: Would you rather still have them on the team?

Elliot Cadeau | Michigan | 10 points, 5.6 assists

Reed: Yes. His shooting is iffy, but no one can dispute his passing ability. He’d be great throwing lobs to Caleb Wilson. He’d have also shored up the point guard position — a bit of a deficiency this year — with Dixon backing him up.

Andy: For sure. You know about my affinity for pass-first point guards. UNC currently leads the nation in dunks per game but with Cadeau throwing oops to Caleb and Henri, we might have been able to set an unbeatable record in that category. He still can be a bit turnover-prone but I don’t think there’s any doubt he would start ahead of Dixon or Evans.

Ven-Allen Lubin | State | 13.6 points, 7 rebounds

Reed: Nope. I loved the dude, but I’m not sure where he’d fit in with this roster. He wouldn’t have started over Veesaar, and he’s also not quite big enough to give us the physical inside presence we really need. Would he have helped? No doubt. Would we be significantly better with him? Probably not.

Andy: Nah. He would have been a decent backup big but I still don’t like the fact that he told UNC he was coming back and ended up bolting. The timing of his change of heart kept us from finding a better bench big in the portal.

Cade Tyson | Minnesota | 19.5 points, 49.5% FG

Reed: No. He should have thrived in our stand-in-the-corner-and-wait-to-take-a-three offense, and to this day, I can’t explain why he sputtered. He’s probably a rhythm shooter who needed more minutes to get rolling. Doubtful he’d be scoring this much at Carolina.

Andy: Nope. It’s still a mystery to me what happened to him during his time at UNC. Was it just the worst case of yips a shooter has ever had? This team could definitely use some more consistent shooting from three but the fit just wasn’t right for Tyson.

Ian Jackson | St. John’s | 10.4 points, 2.3 rebounds

Reed: No. This current team is already stacked with wing players who can sometimes hit threes and don’t rebound so well. We’re full up, thanks. And for a supposed lottery pick, Jackson hasn’t exactly blown up at his new team. He’s actually averaging fewer minutes than at UNC.

Andy: Now that he cut his hair, definitely not. He was a little too ball-dominant for my tastes last year and his defense was all over the place. We certainly do have a lot of wings on this team but we could use someone with a little more beef at that spot. That’s not Ian at all.

Jalen Washington | Vanderbilt | 8.8 points, 5.7 rebounds

Reed: No. He’s another where I’m not sure where he’d fit in. Given how High has stepped up, Washington might have fallen to third in the center rotation.

Andy: I actually would like to have him on this team. He would have been a solid backup big and he’s just an all-around great guy. It felt like there were some attitude issues on last year’s team but Jalen certainly wasn’t contributing to that.

3. Corporate basketball: A cautionary tale

Reed writes…

I couldn’t help notice that the stands at last week’s NBA All-Star Game — arguably among the hottest tickets in sports — were pretty much empty. Like tumbleweeds empty. Like Sugar Ray concert empty. The arena reportedly installed flashing lights in the seats to give the impression that there were actual, living human beings seated there.

• And the arena had zero buzz, according to those who were there.

The All-Star Game long ago stopped being for regular fans and now only exists to serve deep-pocketed corporations and DJ Khaled on a bender.

• It’s like a lot of sports in 2026, and if the owners/managers have their way, it would be like a lot more.

Corporate sports suck. Sports that serve only to make money suck. There’s no passion, no love, no authenticity. I’m not saying UNC basketball will one day turn into an NBA All-Star-level of corporate apathy, but if Carolina North goes forward, it’s going to be a lot closer to it than to the past — than to Walter Davis hitting a bank shot in Carmichael or George Lynch fueling a comeback against FSU in the Smith Center.

• It’s just inevitable. When you prioritize luxury boxes, set out to make the experience more “premium” and shrink the number of tickets so prices balloon, this is what you get.

Does UNC have to do it? Is this worth it to field a great basketball team and pay for other non-revenue sports? Maybe it is, but just know that there’s a price to be paid for everything. So in the debate, let’s at least keep scenes like the All-Star game in mind.

4. This week’s reason why Duke sucks

Quick update on the court storming after the UNC-Duke game two weeks ago. Like O.J., Jon Scheyer has probably not rested, scouring the face of the earth until he finds the person responsible for punching his staffer in the face.

Turns out though, no one got punched. Raise your hand if you have three functioning brain cells and already knew this was true.

The DA for Chatham and Orange Counties, Jeff Nieman, weighed in last week with, not just tossed-off speculation, but with actual legal details. His conclusion: There is “zero evidence” someone got slugged.

• What’s more, he wrote on X, that there was also no evidence that “a staffer was ‘trampled on the floor’ or ‘in a complete brawl,’” as Scheyer had claimed.

Nieman was immediately accused of being a UNC homer. He responded that sports rivalries are none of his business, but justice is.

• “I’ve seen firsthand how reckless accusations of violence incite more violence,” he wrote. “Someone with the power and influence of a major men’s basketball coach should exercise more discretion before just saying things that can have real-world consequences.”

Scheyer refused to give an inch. When asked about the accusations, he doubled down — without offering evidence.

• “I’ll tell you that I know what I saw and I know what happened with our staff after the game, and that’s the bottom line,” he said after a game against Syracuse. “I’m always going to support our staff in those situations, and again, I could’ve even said more and I’m not going to do that, but we’re moving on.”

Only thing that got trampled here was the truth.

🏀 Up next: Tonight it’s Louisville, then next weekend, Carolina welcomes Virginia Tech. Our predictions…

• Andy: It feels like until we get Caleb back, VTech is the only game on the schedule that I feel good about. This year’s Louisville squad is a bad matchup for Carolina, even with a fully healthy roster. I hope it doesn’t get ugly.

• Reed: Louisville’s guards, offense and three-point shooting scare me. I don’t see us winning that one. According to ESPN, UNC has an 82% of beating Tech, and I hope it’s that easy. VT has been surprisingly dangerous this year though, and I wouldn’t be surprised if we barely eek out a victory.

✏️ Send your questions and comments our way at thbthd@gmail.com.

Go Heels!

• If he doesn’t return, what does that mean for the team’s chances the rest of the season? And how will that affect our eventual NCAA seed? And will the injury give Hubert a mulligan season in the eyes of the admin if UNC fizzles?

Too much to think about. Let’s get to more pressing stuff…

1. The lead off: Can the Heels keep finding a way?

Reed: You were in the Dome for Pitt. What was the atmosphere like?

Andy: Everyone knew that Caleb was going to be out but when word started to trickle out that Veesaar might also have to sit, you could hear the murmurs of dread around the stadium. When Zayden High was announced as the starting center, I let out a long exhale and sighed, “Welp. Here we go.”

Reed: He probably did the same. Still though, one thing that frustrates me about this team is that they’re pretty talented, just not particularly consistent — outside of maybe Wilson and Veesaar. So when supporting players are forced to play more minutes like this, you really never know what you’ll get. It could be disaster or it could be legend. Against Pitt, we got legend.

Andy: Yeah, Carolina started out absolutely red hot, hitting their first 8 shots. Who knew that all of these slow starts could just be magically solved by running High, Stevenson and Bogavac out there at the beginning of the game? [/sarcasm]

• I have to admit that High played really well and when he came out for a breather, the crowd gave him a warm round of applause. To me, it was almost a “bless your heart” moment when the fans were just so darn proud of the team showing them something that no one expected.

Reed: Gotta give some love to Stevenson, as well. He, like High, was also put in that tough position of, “We are counting on you to do something you haven’t really done all season,” and he really delivered.

Andy: It’s not unusual in sports that when you have a key player go down to injury, the next game usually goes pretty well. Everyone is focused and wants to show that they can win without that important cog. It certainly helped in this instance that a pretty bad Pitt team was the opponent. It’s the next few games after that where you find out if it can be sustained. Road games at State and Syracuse were going to be tough regardless. Let’s see what this ragtag group can pull off this week.

• One last thing. I’ve grown to really dislike Pitt under Jeff Capel so I found a little extra joy putting a beatdown on them without our two best players.

2. Ask Spenser

Former UNC guard Spenser Dalton answers your questions. Send them our way at thbthd@gmail.com

Q: You played with J.P. Tokoto. How similar is Seth’s game?

J.P. and Seth both have some similar qualities. Namely, their athletic ability. Both can jump out of the gym, but J.P. was taller and longer than Seth, so was better around the rim than Seth is.

• J.P. was one of the best pickup players to ever step foot in the Smith Center. One on one, he was unstoppable. Seth may not be quite as vocal as J.P. was, but I think as Seth has matured he's become a more vocal player and leader. Both are incredible defenders and exciting players!

3. This week’s reason why Duke sucks

Want to know who’s in the Epstein files? This guy.

If you’re thinking, “Eh, seems about right,” we’re with you. He’s Duke business professor Dan Ariely, and his name appears repeatedly in the cachet that the government released. Just another high-profile dude who was weirdly chummy with the sex offender.

Ariety is seen exchanging several emails with Epstein, including:

• One in which he offers to introduce Epstein to the CEO of Ashley Madison.

• Another in which Epstein sends him a New York Times op-ed written by his lawyers which defended Epstein’s original plea deal, to which Ariely responded, “Sorry about this. How are you in general?”

And the creepiest of all in which Ariely in 2012 asks Epstein, “Would you send me the name and email of the redhead that was here with you? She seemed very very smart and I would love to be able to meet her again at some point.”

• Ariely — not making this up — studies irrational behavior. Make your own joke there.

• He’s also, for a long time, been accused of using falsified data or making up studies.

He responded to the Epstein connection with a bizarrely aloof letter in the Duke newspaper in which he claimed, “As a researcher who studies human behavior, I was curious about [Epstein].” Mm-kay, my dude.

He also claimed he mentioned “redhead” in the one email “as a physical detail solely to help identify who I meant because I did not know her name.”

The university has said it’s “evaluating” the information.

➕ Bonus Duke Sucks: The UNC Women’s team lost to Duke on Sunday, 72-68. Duke shot 21 free throws in the game, Carolina shot … 0. Zero. None. Nada. Zilch. After all the bellyaching about the UNC men being called for only 1 foul last weekend, I’m sure this discrepancy will be the lead story, right? Yeah, don’t count on it.

🏀 Up next: Yeah, it’s State — sigh — then Syracuse next weekend. Our predictions…

• Andy: State might be the only team that has been more inconsistent than UNC this year. Carolina’s guards will have to play well on both ends to get the W. If Veesaar plays in both games, I think we can find a way to go 2-0.

• Reed: I’m never afraid of State. They always find a way to lose to us. But man, if we can go 2-0 this week, that would be enormous.

✏️ Send your questions and comments our way at thbthd@gmail.com.

Go Heels!

• Still, this might be one of the cases where it’s actually just an honor to be there. Drake’s young. He’ll be back. If New England can get him some decent protection, watch out.

We’re your editors Reed and Andy, still in a sodium coma from eating Super Bowl food. On to it…

1. The lead off: Hooooooooooooly sheeeeeeeeeeeet!

Caleb Wilson and Seth Trimble will get most of the credit for this game — and that’s fair — but this really was a team effort. And because this was such a huge win, we’re going to say something nice about the other guys who helped get us this very improbable win.

• Henri Veessaar, who let’s be honest disappeared in the first half, game out in the second half determined to play tougher and make a bigger impact. At one point, he got the ball down on the block and just rammed his shoulder into Ngongba’s chest, then went on to drop the ball through the hoop. Offensive foul? Maaaaaybe. But did I love it? No doubt about it.

• Derek Dixon. So much of basketball, especially the Duke-UNC game, is mental. Do you believe you can make that basket? Will you thrive under the lights and enormous pressure? Many don’t. But Dixon met the moment and made so many confident plays, including that huge three late which so many other freshmen would have been too petrified to take. I do think he was the (mostly) unsung hero of this win.

• Jarin Stevenson. We liked a lot of what he did, but we also liked what he didn’t do — namely forcing shots. He knows he’s not a deadeye shooter, and he wisely passed up several open threes to make an extra pass and get a better shot.

• Jonathan Powell. He doesn’t play much, but he still seems to have a killer instinct, a little bit of an edge. He looks ready when he arrives on the floor. As soon as he got on the floor against Duke, he dropped a confident three.

• Luka Bogavac. He didn’t have the best shooting night, but he did manage to pull of some sort of strutting chicken dance on the way to the locker room after the win. That’s a win in our book.

• Jaydon Young. He only played one minute against Duke, but let’s still acknowledge whatever mystical influence he had on the team after he was inserted into the starting line up and the win streak that followed.

2. By the numbers: Dean Dome vs. Carolina North

The debate over the future of Carolina basketball continues, and if you’re like us, you might be a little confused about the pluses and minuses of each plan.

• Like we said last week, there are no obvious answers.

But we thought we’d throw out a few of the numbers we found useful in trying to understand this story.

$15 million

That’s the money that UNC is supposedly leaving on the table by not building a new arena and sticking with the Dome.

~$3 million

That’s how much money concerts are projected to bring in from a new arena. For all the talk of how lucrative using the space for events was supposed to be, this is surprisingly low to us.

~$8 million

The revenue the university stands to make from renting luxury suites and club access to deep-pocketed corporations at a new arena — just as Hinton James had always dreamed.

~$2-$4 million

The value of naming rights at the new arena, including — sigh — uniform patches for the players and on-court signage. (That ugly Novo Nordisk logo currently on the floor of the Smith Center reportedly brings in between $500k and $1 million a year.)

$100 million

The biggest drag on the Smith Center is the fact that it needs a new roof, and it’ll cost a ton to put one on. Critics of the “renovate” plan often cite this number as the reason to walk away.

5,000

The projected number of fewer seats inside the Dean Dome if it’s renovated and luxury boxes are installed. (They gotta go somewhere.) It could be that the revenue brought in by the luxury boxes will be somewhat offset by the revenue lost from those seats that no longer exist.

$20.5 million

A very familiar figure — the amount schools can now directly pay athletes, and it’s a problem for a lot of schools, including Carolina, because it’s a huge line item that just popped up out of nowhere. How do you cover it? Will you have to cut other sports to pay for football and basketball, as UNC has threatened? So much of the new arena conversation hinges on this money.

3. This week’s reason why Duke sucks

You knew it was coming, we knew it was coming. As soon as the Seth dropped the historic three in the Blue Devils’ eye, you knew Duke was going to have to shift the focus to something else besides the team’s collapse.

• Enter court storming, the favorite punching bag of Jon Scheyer since forever. For a program that supposedly prides itself on toughness, they spent Saturday night sounding pretty fragile.

“It’s hard to talk about the game when I was most concerned just for the safety of our players,” Scheyer said. “I got staff members that got punched in the face. My family pushing people away, trying to not get trampled. That’s not what this game is about. That was a scary ending.”

Sorry, but “punched in the face?” According to Bubba Cunningham and the news reports we’ve seen, that claim seems far-fetched. At most, it seems like someone got accidentally pushed.

It’s no surprise Duke went back to this well. Scheyer has claimed during previous court stormings against his team that he’s had to “shield” his guys — as if a six-foot-something basketball player needs protecting from an overly excited algebra major.

• And we all remember the Filipowski incident, where the Duke forward brushed knees with a spindly fan and had to be dramatically carried off the court. Of course, Duke never bothered to do an MRI, and Filipowski started the next game just four days later and played 30 minutes.

We can all agree that the opposing side should never be put in danger by fans. But we’ve never seen any evidence that they have. If you lose, let the fans celebrate and just get off the court.

🏀 Up next: A quick turnaround to Miami then it’s back home against Pitt on Valentine’s Day in what’s certain to be an anti-love fest…

• Predictions: Miami is a physical, grinding team that could give Carolina trouble. We should have an easier time dispatching Capel and Pitt. The program should have a long memory about the bad blood Pitt has churned up.

✏️ Send your questions and comments our way at thbthd@gmail.com.

Go Heels!

• 🏀 CBS Sports Classic updated. Kansas was added to the annual December mini-tournament at MSG. UNC will face Kentucky in 2026, the Jayhawks in 2027 and OSU in 2028.

• ❌ Hall of Fame snubs Belichick. Rumor is, the exclusion was meant as a punishment for Spygate and the other cheating scandals. We were pulling for him just to see how uncomfortably short his acceptance speech was gonna be.

• 📺 We’re #4…in TV ratings. According to Nielsen, Carolina is currently the fourth most watched team. Michigan State is #1.

We’re your editors Reed and Andy, both freezing our tails off in different parts of the country. Let’s go…

1. The lead off: Can we make peace with being a three-point team?

Andy: I know this is what basketball is becoming but it still feels so weird to see a Carolina team put up 30+ threes per game.

• With arguably one of the best front courts in the nation and the best UNC front court in at least 15 years, you would think we would want to get Wilson and Veesaar as many shots as possible.

Reed: It’s true. But in the team’s defense, many of those shots are open, and they probably shouldn’t pass them up. I think part of it has to do with Hubert’s philosophy and part of it has to do with Wilson. Nearly every team has double teamed him this year, and he’s done well at finding the open man — which often leads to an decent look from three.

• Also, this team is — on paper at least — stacked with shooters. Every single player who gets significant minutes can shoot the three. Every. Single. Player. I can’t remember another UNC team like that.

Andy: Statistically, there are two excellent shooters on this team: Veesaar and Dixon. Four other guys (Trimble, Young, Powell and Bogavac) are hovering around the 33% mark.

• Stevenson has been much better in the ACC than early in the season so it’s possible that we could turn into a team that can hit from any position on the floor. I just need to get comfortable with the streakiness and stop yelling at the TV.

Reed: Yeah, sometimes this style of play doesn’t feel very North Carolina, but for now I’m rolling with it.

2. Ask Spenser

Former UNC guard Spenser Dalton answers your questions. Send them our way at thbthd@gmail.com

Q: What was the celebration like after beating Dook your senior year?

The locker room after that game was one of the more memorable moments of that season. Everyone was so excited, jumping up and down, hugging and high-fiving, banging on lockers, and then Coach Williams came dancing in the locker room. It was a huge moment for us as a team.

• After, I remember the team bus drove down Franklin Street on the way back to the Smith Center (this wasn't standard) and tons of people were still out and about, even coming up to the bus and tapping the sides, pointing and clapping for us.

• I think the team gathered at someone's apartment and went out to the bars. The normal attention most of the guys got was elevated to full celeb status!

3. A fool-proof blueprint for beating Duke

Some things are just a given in a Duke game. You can expect to face an interchangeable cast of hired guns, parachuted in every fall and extracted by draft night. You know Jon Scheyer will, for some reason, do that weird thing where he talks out the side of his mouth. And some deep-bench goon will come in and make some sort of cheap play and get way more excited about it than is warranted.

Jay Bilas likes to talk about how this game “always delivers.” And back in the old days of college basketball, that was true. But nowadays, money and talent rule more than they ever did, and the hard truth is, Duke has more of both — and has for a few years.

• The Blue Devils swept UNC last year by double digits in both games. Previous year, split. Year before that, swept.

Getting back on top is gonna take — we’re not gonna say a miracle — but an all-hands-on-deck special kind of night from the team. It can be done. Here’s how:

1. Stop Boozer

And not the shorter one. Cam Boozer is good. We will give him that but we don’t think this Duke team has much else. There are some solid returnees and talented transfers but the better Boozer has carried this team on his shoulders for most of the year. Make him work for his points and the chances for a Heels victory go up.

We know that Caleb makes lists and creates motivation for himself. Look for #8 to go after the Boozer twins. Hard. He played on the same AAU team as these dudes last year and was asked to take a lesser role so that they could shine. He hasn’t forgotten that.

2. Sweet lord, someone get a rebound

Our front court is very, very good. But Duke’s might be more physical. Patrick Ngongba is the kind of player that has given Veesaar problems in the past. He’s thicc, with two c’s, and Cam Boozer also hits the board hard.

To have any sort of chance, we’re going to have to step on those a-holes’ heads and just go and get some boards. The team has been lagging in that area of late. Wilson and Veesaar combined for just 5 total rebounds against UVA. Carolina currently ranks eighth in the conference for defensive rebounds.

The guards will also have to get involved, as has been the case most of the season. “One of the things in the past I used to say is, ‘This isn’t a Armando Bacot rebounding game, this is a UNC rebounding game,’” Hubert Davis said recently.

3. Limit turnovers

UNC has averaged less than four turnovers a game since Derek Dixon entered the starting lineup (they had 0 in the second half against GT), so the trendline has been better in this category. But we know the boys will be hyped up and you can’t let that lead to sloppiness against a defense that leads the ACC in fewest points allowed per game and defensive FG%.

4. Hit threes

When this team has multiple players hitting threes, they look like one of the best teams in the country. Unfortunately, that hasn’t happened too often. In a game where Carolina will be an underdog at home, having a good game from beyond the arc is almost critical. Evans, Powell, Luka, Stevenson, Dixon, do whatever you need to do — rub crystals, get hypnotized — but if you have an open shot, it has to fall this game.

5. Everyone contribute

Or almost everyone. Yes, Caleb Wilson was the stuff of legends in the GT game. But the box score revealed a much more well-rounded effort. Veesaar has 20 and 12 and led in plus/minus. Bogavac had arguably his best game yet. Trimble chipped in a quiet 18.

That said, the others didn’t have their best outings. Evans, Dixon and Powell combined for 2-16 from the field. Beating Duke is gonna take a little something from everyone. Punch in, gentlemen. Time to go to work.

4. This week’s reason why Duke sucks

Here’s one of the biggest mysteries of pro sports. How is it that a coach can get fired for driving one team into the ground, then immediately get picked up to coach another team?

Coaching pro sports is less a job and more like university professor’s tenure. Pretty much the only way you can possibly find yourself unemployed is to get on LeBron’s bad side — or to die.

Take Doc Rivers, our favorite rent-a-coach (and Duke booster) who’s had more spins around the NBA than a middle-aged groupie. In the last decade alone, he’s been at the LA Clippers, Philly and now Milwaukee. Even suspiciously giving his son a sweetheart deal in LA didn’t tip off other owners that maybe he’s not the guy to lead you to the promised land.

But the Bucks didn’t get that memo, and hired him, and now, right on cue, the franchise is sinking. They’re 12th in the East and the face of the team, Giannis, is so fed up, he wants out.

Former Buck Jae Crowder thinks he knows why (psst, it’s Doc), and it doesn’t take Enola Holmes to know he’s probably right. In our minds, the failure is all karmic payback for Rivers saying he hated Carolina.

🏀 Up next: Tonight, it’s Syracuse then Saturday, Dook comes to town. Our predictions…

• Andy: The team has looked better since the West Coast disaster but you can’t look past the Orange. With a few extra days to prepare for round 1 vs the Blue Devils, I think the Heels find a way. 2-0 on the week and momentum on the upswing.

• Reed: Syracuse is indeed that classic look-past game. The Heels could get a scare, but ultimately win. Duke is tougher, and I’m actually less worried about the damage Boozer will do than that of Isaiah Evans and Caleb Foster. I think we come back down to earth a little.

✏️ Send your questions and comments our way at thbthd@gmail.com.

Go Heels!

• ⚖️ Puff Johnson is back for a sixth year of college ball. The former Penn State guard was cleared to join Ohio State midseason even though he’s technically out of eligibility. He sued, arguing for a medical hardship waiver, and after the judge issued a temp restraining order, he was allowed to suit up.

• 💰Rashad McCants actually sounds sane in this new video interview. He’s even gracious about his time at UNC, recalls the legendary Roy "no rims” practice, and calls NIL legalized under-the-table payments from alumni — something he says were rampant in his day but he never partook.

Moving on…

1. The lead off: Back on track

Reed: I’d just like to point out this fun stat: Carolina is 2-0 with Jaydon Young starting. Tell me you thought you’d hear that sentence back in November.

• And I’m obviously not saying he’s the reason for the two-game winning streak, but I think we can all agree, something needed to change with this team. And shaking up the starters might have lit a fire. Question is, can this continue?

Andy: I love what Young brings to the team. It’s not like he’s lighting the stat sheet on fire but he sets the tone with his aggressiveness right from the jump. And for a team that has had problems with slow starts the last couple of years, his energy can only help. I say leave him out there until someone else takes the spot.

• The other guy who has seemingly cemented his place in the starting lineup is Derek Dixon. With each game, he looks more and more confident. 11 points, 7 assists and only 1 turnover against UVA was a huge reason Carolina got the win.

• Dixon also led the team in +/- with +22 in 33 minutes played. Meanwhile, Kyan Evans was -17 in only 7 minutes. ‘Nuf said.

Reed: Dixon just looks so confident. He’s not afraid to take shots and lets the game come to him. I think he’s only going to get better and better. Anoint him our point guard. Debate over.

• Also huge props to Jarin Stevenson. This was his game. What we saw against UVA was what we’d hoped he’d be bringing all year: hustle, tight defense and versatility on offense, whether that means posting a smaller player or hitting a well-timed three.

Andy: Don’t look now, Reed, but Stevenson is shooting 47% from three (8/17) in ACC games. I don’t expect him to continue shooting quite at that level but if he’s a legit threat from outside, that’s huge for this team.

• Shout out to Luka as well for keeping the team close in the first half. I still don’t know if that is what we will get from him consistently or if we just have to live with game-to-game streakiness.

Reed: Right. For me to really believe in this team, I need consistent contributions from everyone so wins don’t depend on a once-in-a-season performance from a supporting player.

2. Ask Spenser

Former UNC guard Spenser Dalton answers your questions. Send them our way at thbthd@gmail.com

Q: Why is our pick and roll coverage sometimes so bad? Is drop coverage the way to go?

A: Pick and roll coverage hasn’t been good for multiple reasons, and neither strategy of switching or drop coverage has been executed well.

For switching, the Heels haven’t communicated early and often, so the timing of the switches is off. If one guy looks like he doesn’t know what he’s doing, it’s because the communication wasn’t there. The switches (usually we’ve switched 1 through 4) either don’t happen at all, are late, or aren’t made with urgency. Both guys need to step into proper guarding position quickly and aggressively with high hands and in a defensive stance.

I have personally never liked drop coverage because it allows the dribbler to come off the screen without pressure, and that’s exactly what’s happening to the Heels. The big man guarding the screener should be maybe 1-2 steps lower than his man so he can deter the dribbler from shooting a 3 or getting downhill, AND guard the roll man while the guard recovers. Our guys are far too deep in the lane and therefore not doing anything really.

• The guards can also do a better job of knowing their personnel (shooter, driver, passer) and getting around screens—getting around screens is hard to do, hence why there’s multiple strategies for defending the ball screen, but it could still be done with more urgency.

In summary, it’s poor communication, lack of urgency/effort, poor technique and poor floor positioning.

3. The Heel Debate: What should become of the Smith Center?

Lots of chatter this week, as a decision draws closer about where UNC basketball will play in the future: in a renovated Smith Center or in a brand new arena at Carolina North. Our takes…

🏗️ A new arena at Carolina North is the way to go

Andy writes…

Don’t get me wrong, I love the Smith Center and the history there. The building was just three years old when I started at Carolina and I have fond memories of countless games. But I’m fine if I never see the bathroom pee troughs again in my life.

• New traditions don’t have to be bad.

I trust that if the powers that be do build a new arena, it will be state-of-the-art and will be unique to UNC Basketball and its history. It’s a chance to rework the student seating and could create an even bigger homecourt advantage for the team. When the Smith Center opened, it was one-of-a-kind. There’s no reason the new place can’t be the same.

• “It’s practically in Pittsboro”

That’s what people said about the Dean Dome when they decided to build it “all the way down in South Campus”. The campus grew larger and that statement seems silly today. Carolina North may seem like a haul in 2026, but with plans to put dorms and classrooms in the area and discussions of a tram back and forth to the main campus, it will only take a few classes of students to come through before it becomes an afterthought. I still remember people talking about missing Carmichael my freshman year and I couldn’t imagine anything better than the 20,000+ who could cheer on the Heels in the Smith Center.

• The place to be at UNC

I actually like the idea of a multi-use area around the new arena. Have you been to The Battery in Atlanta outside of the Braves stadium? How about the cool block of bars and restaurants outside Wrigley in Chicago? Tailgating before and after basketball games could become a real thing. I’d love to break down the game over an IPA with friends after a Heels win instead of trudging back up the hill from the Smith Center or weaving your way through the Bowles Lot only to be jammed up that one staircase as you try to get to your car.

I understand not wanting to give up the nostalgia of a 40-year-old building but to think something awesome can’t be built to take UNC Basketball into the next 40 years is burying your head in the red clay that would need to be broken to lay down the first bricks.

🔨 Just renovate the Smith Center

Reed writes…

I think we can all agree there are pluses and minuses to both plans and no clear answer. But for me, fixing up the Smith Center is the way to go.

Never mind the fact that endless growth is unsustainable and I don’t think ethically we should just continue to build new things and discard the old. But I also think the three reasons Chancellor Lee Roberts has given for a new arena don’t hold water.

Reason #1: The students need to be closer to the court.

A new arena would allow the university to boot the donors who were granted seats way back when the Smith Center was built, and theoretically allow more students to sit closer to the action, providing a greater home court advantage.

I don’t love the ethics of double crossing the Carolina faithful who put up the money to build the previous arena, but the point is, how much more of an advantage would this change bring?

Carolina already wins about 85% of its games at the Smith Center — 17% higher than the average college team. And yes, some of that has to do with us being really good. But the Dome already provides a pretty good home court advantage.

Also, seat licenses aren’t forever. They’re allowed to be passed down only one generation. My great-uncle had one, and it passed to his son upon his death. The son has since died, meaning those four seats are back in circulation. How long until all the seats are?

Reason #2: We need a new arena to be an elite program

Well, the plans I’ve seen for renovating the Dean Dome seem like it would make a pretty good arena great. But that point aside, many, many elite programs operate out of old or small arenas.

Maybe there are players who didn’t go to Duke or Kansas or Gonzaga because of seating capacity but I haven’t heard of them. If anything, recruits are in awe of the Dean Dome and all the tradition it represents.

Reason #3: We need to provide fans with more or they won’t leave their houses

I dunno. I know fans — myself included — who have gotten on a plane to come see a game. And that passion has nothing to do with whatever slapped-up mall or string of Chipotles and Paneras they ultimately put around Carolina North.

Would it be nice to have dining and bar options around the Smith Center? Sure. But if they do renovate the existing building, the food and drink options will get an upgrade, as well. Eat there.

I’m also skeptical that a new arena will drastically improve traffic flow. Any time you’ve got 16,000 people arriving somewhere, there will be bottlenecks.

The bottom line: More than anything, staying at the Smith Center is about values and deciding what’s really important to Carolina. Maybe a new arena would make more money.

• But the problem becomes, if making money is your primary goal, there’s literally nothing you can’t justify in that pursuit. We’d be five years away from, “Well, it was called the Dean Smith Center North, but this crypto company offered to write this check, and well — we’ve just got to keep up with what other schools are doing.”

Chasing more and more revenue never ends; there’s always another dollar to be had. That’s how we’ve gotten to this world where BMW owners have to pay a monthly subscription fee to use their car’s heated seats. Or a university that seeks investment from Saudi Arabia. When decisions are grounded in basketball tradition and values, the choices become clearer.

4. This week’s reason why Duke sucks

We told you last week Darian Mensah was hitting the transfer portal. This week, we learned Duke’s reaction: and it’ll be billed by the hour.

The university is suing its former quarterback over an NIL agreement, claiming Mensah violated “numerous provisions” of his contract that constitute “irreparable harm” when he decided to bolt. One man’s roster turnover is another man’s breach of contract.

Instead of competing their way out of a problem, Duke is going to lawyer its way. And honestly, maybe Mensah is in the wrong. But at a certain point, instead of crying that Section IV, Paragraph XXIII says this, you just have to improve your culture so the mercenary players you bought off to come there decide to stay.

Let’s go, Drake Maye. We know who we’re rooting for this Super Bowl.

🏀 Up next: It’s off to Atlanta to face Georgia Tech. Our predictions…

• Andy: I was glad to be wrong about the UVA game and I think the team may have found something in the new lineup and rotations. After a week off to heal up a bit, Carolina cruises over the Jackets.

• Reed: W. GT is pretty mid, and the offensive firepower we’ve demonstrated of late should be enough.

✏️ Send your questions and comments our way at thbthd@gmail.com.

Go Heels!

• It was a different era for Carolina — and for basketball. It was slower, the players were less freak physical specimens and ol skool big men ruled. The number of soft, turnaround half-hooks Montross got in the paint was insane.

• Dean Smith had almost supernatural powers. He would draw up a play, and the action would unfold just as he predicted. He also brought an extreme sense of confidence. Even when down by 20, he’d say, “We’ve got them right where we want them.” And ultimately, Carolina did. Different era. Sigh.

• The fashions were awful. Striped shorts, Big Dog t’s, turtlenecks. It’s a wonder anyone hooked up with anyone. A fun time capsule.

Now onto less fun topics…

1. The lead off: Can Carolina basketball be saved?

Reed: Dramatic headline, I know, but I think it’s fair to say that’s the point where we are. It’s amazing what three games can do. And one of them was even a win.

Andy: The speed at which the narrative about this team and this season flipped is stunning. Was the out-of-conference schedule that easy or is the ACC that good? Is it both? Are the recent struggles a sign that reintegrating Seth Trimble into the lineup wasn’t going to be as smooth as we thought?

• Or is this just another piece of evidence, similar to the last few years, that points to bad coaching?

Reed: I think it does, and if I had to guess, I’d think Hubert will resign at the end of this season, barring some turnaround. And all the evidence suggests that turnaround ain’t coming.

• Once I saw Caleb Wilson’s press conference after the Stanford loss, I had a terrible feeling that the season was over. Like, right then and there. I’ve never seen a player so resigned. He was such a long way from that charismatic guy who arrived on campus over the summer. He mumbled, looked down at the table and suggested that both his teammates and coaching staff were letting him down.

• I don’t think any of these players believe in this team, the coaches or themselves anymore. I don’t know how you come back from that.

Andy: I really wanted Hubert Davis to be the guy because it meant the continuation of the legacy of Dean Smith. But I’ve simply run out of reasons why we consistently see the same issues.

• The job of the coaches is to put the players in a place where they can be successful and good coaches find ways to get the most out of the talent on the team. This roster isn’t stocked with multiple NBA players but there is enough talent there to not get blown out at California (second-half comeback notwithstanding).

Reed: It’s really baffling what the hell has happened to this team. They showed so much promise early on, and now — like you said — it’s the same old things we’ve seen again and again. Not prepared, don’t come out with energy, not executing, regressing as the season goes on. And the rotations? Coaches have to be held responsible.

• And the worst part is, there’s no great candidate on the horizon — at least one from the Carolina family. My big worry is that basketball is going to go the way of football. We’ll get desperate and make a rash decision, hire someone who doesn’t represent the program’s legacy or its values. Maybe Belichick has another son?

2. Do players get worse when they come to Carolina?

One of the reasons UNC finds itself underperforming this season is because some of the new players have let us down. There’s no other way to say it. And it’s been a trend.

Again and again in recent years, players have arrived at UNC with decent pedigrees from other schools, only to underperform compared to their previous season.

• Pete Nance? He went from scoring 15 points a game and shooting 45% from three at Northwestern to 10 points a game and hitting 32% from long range during his one season at Carolina.

• Kyan Evans is on a similar trajectory. And don’t forget that expectations were high before he arrived. Reuters wrote, “Evans can help soften the blow of losing…RJ Davis.” Now his three-point accuracy is down 13%, his scoring has nearly been cut in half, and his role seemingly declining.

And the list goes on, including with other players on this year’s squad, unfortunately.

Transferring has always been, and probably always will be, a mixed bag. Players who switch schools, studies show, do often increase playing time and minutes (discontent with their roles is one main reason why they leave), but their stats are up and down. And studies are iffy on whether bringing in transfers improves a team.

Overseas pro players who transfer into American college teams do usually improve their box score — but that’s often a result of having an increased role on their new club.

So what is happening at UNC? Hubert has landed some truly impactful players from the portal — Brady “Bang, Bang, Motherf—ker” Manek — comes to mind. But more often than not, players seem to almost take a step back. Some theories…

Theory 1: The competition is stepped up

The ACC, no matter what some in the national media might tell you, is still a gladiator arena on any given night. It’s stocked with quality players and quality teams. And that quality may overwhelm some players who’ve previously balled in lesser conferences.

Something similar may be happening to overseas players, who often have trouble adjusting to the speed and physicality of the American college game.

Theory #2: They’re just the wrong fit

Some players just thrive in particular systems, and if they’re in the wrong one, their production suffers. Alondes Williams went from a supporting piece at Oklahoma to the ACC player of the year at Wake, after being inserted into a more spread, guard-centric offense. And two more words for you: Cade Tyson.

• Hubert’s offense is more fluid, requiring players to make quick decisions and read the defense. Players who come from more rigid systems with plays and defined roles might struggle.

Theory #3: UNC’s system sucks

Hubert’s defensive system seems to be closer to “bend but don’t break”. They want to limit paint touches at the expense of trying to create turnovers by playing the passing lanes. Switching every screen is also a hallmark and often leads to mismatches and miscommunication. The offense seems to be hit or miss. Against lesser competition, Hubert’s teams can produce high-assist games and open shots. Against better teams, it seems to devolve into stagnation and pick-and-roll with the shot clock running out.

3. Part II: Buy, sell or hold?

The ACC season is steaming ahead, so it’s a good time to assess the players as if they were stocks. Would you buy, sell or hold? Last week, we covered the starters. This week, the bench.

Luka Bogavac

Reed: Hold. I had high hopes, but he’s been frustratingly inconsistent. His three-point shooting has impressed me, and he’s one of the only guards, besides Trimble, who wants to drive to the rim. We just need more from him.

Andy: Hold. I go back and forth on Luka. Sometimes I watch him and think he needs to be our starting point guard. Then he will come down and take a contested three before a single pass has been made on the possession. I keep waiting for it to “click” for him but maybe it never happens.

Jonathan Powell

Reed: Buy. I don’t know what’s going on with his minutes, but I’d love to see more of him. I really like his toughness. He’s the closest this team has to a dawg.

Andy: Buy. He screws up on defense. A lot. But I see a guy who plays hard all the time and can hit the corner three. I’m ready to live with his misgivings and leave him out there. I said the same thing about Jae’lyn Whithers last year.

Jaydon Young

Reed: Two months ago, I never, ever thought I’d say this, but I’m buying. He’s a player who has made the most of his limited minutes and worked his way into the rotation through effort and toughness — and hitting threes at a decent clip. And he was one of the very few players to bring a spark in the Cal game. I think it says something that he was on the floor during the final minutes. But again, if he’s so valuable that he warrants crunch time, why the hell don’t they play him more and just see what happens?

Andy: Buy. Another guy like Powell who plays hard all the time. I also love the fact that he grew up a huge Carolina fan and looks to be the only player on the team who takes pride in the jersey.

Derek Dixon

Reed: Buy. His start against Cal brought some good things and some bad, including dumb turnovers. I’ll live with it though. It’s pretty clear we have no other option at point guard, and I’ll take his size and shooting over Evans.

Andy: Reluctant buy. I thought he was going to be the answer at point guard but my confidence is fading fast. If he can keep hitting shots, he should stay on the floor but he doesn’t seem to play any more agressively than Evans does.

Zayden High

Reed: Sell. One of the biggest things kneecapping the team this season — besides the lack of a reliable point guard — is the inability of either High or Brown to reliably provide back up minutes to Veesaar. He did get some points against Cal, but is that something we can count on from here on out?

Andy: Selling implies that I owned stock at some point. I’m creating a new category: Never Buy In The First Place. There’s just no reason for this guy to be in the game. Either go small-ball with Stevenson or let James Brown use his five fouls when you have to rest Veesaar.

4. This week’s reason why Duke sucks

We will admit that this might be more of a “The State Of College Sports Sucks” moment but it couldn’t have happened to a more deserving school.

After initially saying he was returning to Duke next season, star QB Darian Mensah decided hours before the deadline to enter the transfer portal. He reportedly had originally agreed to a 2-year contract for $4M per year. Even after Mensah led Duke to an ACC Championship, he opted to bolt from the Bull City.

• It leaves the Blue Devil football team in a bind to come up with an apt replacement at the last minute. What a shame that they finally broke through and back into an ACC title only to be shut out of the playoffs and have their best player skip town after saying he was coming back.

• Another reminder that in modern college football, loyalty lasts right up until the next deposit clears. Tough break for Duke. Tougher look for the sport.

Thanks for reading.

🏀 Up next: Notre Dame and UVA await. Our predictions…

• Andy: For me, it all hinges on the Notre Dame game. Find a way to win that at home and I think it gives us enough of a boost to beat Virginia. A home loss to the Irish, however, will only further crush whatever confidence the team has left. I think they find a way to get it done and go 2-0.

• Reed: I hope the season can be salvaged, and if it can, it starts here. A home win against ND is a must and one against Virginia would reset the narrative. My guess is we split these games: beat ND, get buried on the road at UVA.

✏️ Send your questions and comments our way at thbthd@gmail.com.

Go Heels!