'Hollywood' Heels

Bacot says North Carolina will 'have a chip on our shoulder' this season. Breaking down UNC's chance for a bounce-back season. Plus, Cincinnati's recruiting is fine form, a Jared Grasso update and much more.

Author

Mike Miller
October 09, 2023

College hoops games won’t start for another month. But the sport’s blue bloods have already grabbed attention — in college football.

North Carolina (12), Duke (17), UCLA (18), Kansas (23) and Kentucky (24) are all ranked in the AP college football poll for the first time ever (the poll started in 1936). Whether all five (or any of them) will still be ranked when attention turns to hoops is another story.

Let's get to weekend news.

1. ‘Hollywood’ Heels not about to repeat last season

Armando Bacot is one of college hoops’ gems. The North Carolina senior is a walking double-double (not hyperbole; he averaged 15 and 10 last season, and 16 and 13 as a junior), a beast down low, and a tough, tough player (him playing on a bum ankle in the 2022 national title game remains an impressive move).

Still, plenty of guys can hoop. Bacot’s also an All-American when it comes to candor. He didn’t hold back in this recent one-on-one interview with Jeff Goodman.

That continued into North Carolina’s media day on Friday. The 6-11 center was candid about why the Heels went from being ranked No. 1 in the preseason to 20-13 overall and missed out on the NCAA Tournament.

“I thought last year we were a little Hollywood,” Bacot said Friday, via Inside Carolina. “So I think this year, we definitely got humbled, and it gave us some perspective on everything. But I mean, with all that, too, though, we’re ready to fight and we’re ready to prove a lot of people wrong. So we’re definitely going to have a chip on our shoulder.”

And, to be clear, the Heels didn’t have a formal conversation about changing things. They’re just not in the mood for a repeat of last season.

“I think getting our ass kicked a few times last year, I think that really showed us like, what needs to be done and what doesn’t need to be done.”

Can they do it? That’s one of the biggest questions entering the 2023-24 season. They lost plenty of talent, including do-everything defender Leaky Black, versatile big Pete Nance, and starting guard Caleb Love (you might’ve heard about the last one), replaced them with sharpshooter Cormac Ryan, talented (and somewhat underwhelming) wing Harrison Ingram, and freshman point guard Elliot Cadeau, among others.

As Goodman wrote in The Almanac, this new group is expected to fit better in predefined roles and potentially remove chemistry issues. They’ll lean on Bacot quite a bit, Davis can be a playmaker when needed, and the role players can fill in the rest.

Still, that raises another issue. From The Almanac:

Who is going to be the go-to guy with the game on the line?

Whether for better or worse, Love was fearless and wanted the ball in his hands in that situation. Obviously, Bacot is a threat down low, but Davis needs to fill that role because he has the ability to get a bucket, and also to create something for one of his teammates.

“From an offensive standpoint, RJ doesn’t need to change much at all,” Hubert Davis said. “We need him to score and distribute, and to make plays.”

Then there’s the macro question of whether Davis is the right head coach for this program. He was handpicked by Roy Williams a couple of years ago, but besides that one month in March of 2022, his resume is mediocre — at least by UNC standards. Davis’ positivity is unlike most other coaches, but there are questions about whether he is too lenient and concerns about his on-court coaching decisions.

There’s much, much more to digest from Goodman’s preview, so if you haven’t bought The Almanac yet, get on that. (It’s just $20).

And we’ll keep highlighting Bacot’s best stuff this season, whether it’s on the court or in front of a microphone. Love that guy.

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2. Cincy keeps clawing back

Cincinnati’s got a proud hoops tradition, whether it’s going back to Oscar Robertson or Ed Jucker, or more recently under Bob Huggins and Mick Cronin.

Current coach Wes Miller righted the ship from the John Brannen days, and is now prepping the Bearcats for a move into the Big 12 basketball gauntlet. They might struggle this season, but the future is bright given all these stars coming to Cincy.

The latest and greatest landed over the weekend.

Betsey’s a 6-8 forward who’s ranked No. 32 overall in the class of 2024. He’s a terrific shooter, and got great size for the wing, making him an immediate asset against Big 12 defenses. He’ll struggle to guard Big 12 players, but he’s no different from most of the conference’s freshmen in that regard.

More importantly, he’s Cincinnati’s second Top 100 commit for 2024, making it the first time in over 15 years that the Bearcats have multiple top-100 in consecutive classes.

They’ll need that kind of talent to compete against the upper echelon of the Big 12, which not only has 5-star players, but is one of the conferences filled with older players who transferred in.

Sure seems like Miller’s doing his part.

Other recruiting 2024 recruiting news:

3. Jared Grasso may not be Bryant’s coach much longer

News emerged last week that Bryant coach Jared Grasso was on a leave of absence from the program for a “personal matter.”

That absence got a lot more complicated after he was arrested and charged last week with failure to stop for accident resulting in damage to vehicle, per multiple reports. This was two days after his leave of absence was announced.

His arraignment is scheduled for Oct. 24.

Grasso, 43, signed a long-term extension with the school in 2022, and has been its head coach since 2018-19.

Phil Martelli Jr. is the interim coach, and likely will continue in that capacity for the foreseeable future. Bryant opens its season on Nov. 6 against Dartmouth.

4. Buckeyes offer Bryce James

Over the last year (or so) we tried to not overdo Bronny James’ recruitment and eventual commitment to USC. Time to do the same thing with his brother, Bryce.

So, only news-worthy updates for LeBron’s other son, such as this:

Bryce, a 2025 prospect, visited Columbus last weekend, which is why the offer came about. Ohio State was long viewed as one of the likely landing spots for Bronny, so it’s not a surprise they’d offer Bryce. The Buckeyes have long been a favorite of Ohio-native LeBron.

The only other known offer for the 6-4 shooting guard is from Duquesne, which is coached by Keith Dambrot, LeBron’s former high school coach.

Bryce is rated as a 4-star prospect and Top 150 overall. He’s playing his junior season at Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks, Calif.

5. Standouts from Team USA minicamp

Eighty-four of the best high school players in the country spent the last three days in Colorado Springs at the 2023 USA Basketball Junior National Team minicamp.

It’s no surprise that 2026 prospect AJ Dybantsa stood out. The ongoing debate over the summer was if Dybantsa was the nation’s best prep player, regardless of class. He apparently scored whenever he felt like it, whether it was off the bounce or off the catch.

But there were other performances to note.

Bryson Tiller and Akai Fleming, two of the top players in the class of 2025, put on shot-making displays on Saturday. Point guard JJ Mandaquit was a star running the show, along with 2026 prospect Brandon McCoy.

A bunch of 2024 rated as 5-star prospects, including Drake Powell (headed to UNC), Cam Scott (Texas), Annor Boateng (Missouri) and 2025 prospect Darius Acuff (TBD) also stood out on Sunday, whether it was because of their hustle or their confidence.

Finally, Boogie Fland, a 5-star combo guard in the class of 2024, earned On3.com’s weekend MVP award. His playmaking and shooting stood out, but they noted Fland’s leadership was a significant factor.

Illinois intrigue

Last season, the Orange entered the season with questions about their point guard. This season, it’s more of the same. Is this the only thing keeping Illinois from being a Top 10 team this season? Or can they put together a mish-mash that provides enough consistency for Brad Underwood to finally have a breakthrough March?

Links as you wonder what Taylor Swift will use to rhyme with Achilles.

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