Summer Recruiting & UNC Basketball Updates
Well, I was hoping to have a quiet under-the-radar soft launch of the Tar Heel Times newsletter where I could work out the kinks for a small group of readers, but we ended up with almost 500 subscribers in the first three days. Wow…thank you immensely! So, I guess we’re jumping right into “live action,” to coin a Hubert Davis phrase.
I also want to thank everyone for the dozens of ideas you’ve already sent in on how to make the newsletter enjoyable and useful for everyone. This type of interaction is exactly why I wanted to try out the newsletter format. So please send along your feedback and suggestions.
Now, on to the good stuff...
Basketball
The non-conference portion of the 2022-23 UNC men’s basketball schedule was released this week. The Tar Heels host Johnson C. Smith for an exhibition game to tip off the season on Friday, October 28, and the schedule doesn’t get too tough until UNC travels to Portland, Oregon for the Phil Knight Invitational, Nov. 24-27.
The Tar Heels are already going through summer practices in preparation for the season, and Carolina Basketball posted a short practice video on Twitter recently. If you look quickly you’ll catch a glimpse of the freshmen, Northwestern transfer Pete Nance, and even a brief Luke Maye sighting.
Speaking of Luke Maye. I attended a cookout in Chapel Hill a few weeks ago, hosted by a friend of my wife, and found myself eating dinner around a poolside table with Luke seated to my left, Cam Johnson on my right, and Sterling Manley and Brandon Robinson seated across from me. It was a completely random encounter, but they couldn’t have been nicer. Dinner conversation among them centered mostly around music and basketball as you might expect. But, unsurprisingly, they never asked this 51-year-old for his opinion on their Drake vs. Kanye debate. Go figure.
Sterling is back from playing in China last season. Luke said he’d be in town most of the summer as he is between teams at the moment. He played in Italy two seasons ago, which he said wasn’t as enjoyable as it could have been due to COVID lockdowns. And he played in Spain last season which he said he enjoyed more. Luke was unsure where he’ll be playing next, but in the meantime he’s keeping in shape by working out from time to time with the current team.
Other former UNC players who recently signed overseas include:
Walker Miller: New Zealand (summer) then the Netherlands
Joel James: Canada (summer) then off to Russia (be safe, big guy!)
Kenny Williams: Athens, Greece
Marcus Paige: Spain
Former UNC players in the NBA Summer League include:
Day’Ron Sharpe: Brooklyn Nets
Justin Jackson: Boston Celtics
Garrison Brooks: New York Knicks
Brady Manek: Charlotte Hornets
R.L. Bynum at the Tar Heel Tribune has a great rundown on each of their Summer League performances.
Also, I’m pretty sure Brady Manek didn’t wear this awesome necklace from his Instagram photo in any of his Summer League games, but could you blame him if he did?
On the women’s basketball side, incoming freshman point guard Paulina Paris has reported to Chapel Hill and is working out with the Tar Heels. She’s UNC’s lone member of this year’s recruiting class for a team expected to be ranked in the Top 10 nationally. So, let’s be sure to throw our full support behind both the men’s and women’s teams this season. Both should be really good.
Basketball Recruiting
On the basketball recruiting front, the Nike EYBL Peach Jam began Sunday and continues through next Sunday in North Augusta, SC. College coaches may attend games beginning Wednesday. You can live stream the Peach Jam here, as I’m sure many coaches will be doing before they attend.
Several high-priority UNC basketball recruits will be participating in the event, including 2023 power forwards Zayden High and T.J. Power, who were just recently offered by Hubert Davis following the decommitment of G.G. Jackson. Here are the most prominent names to watch:
T.J. Power - 2023 4-Star PF, Offered
Simeon Wilcher - 2023 5-Star CG, Committed
Zayden High - 2023 4-Star PF, Offered
Tre Johnson - 2024 5-Star SG, Offered
Drake Powell - 2024 4-Star SF, Offered
Cam Scott - 2024 5-Star SG, Offered
Jarin Stevenson - 2024 5-Star PF, Offered
Isaiah Evans - 2024 4-Star SF
And as I’m editing this on Monday, UNC commit Simeon Wilcher scored 30, so here are some of his highlights to start the week:
Football Recruiting
4-star defensive end Rico Walker, from Hickory, NC committed to UNC on Monday, choosing the Tar Heels over his other four finalists: Auburn, Florida, Tennessee, and Maryland. He becomes the highest-rated recruit to date in UNC’s 2023 football recruiting class.
The Tar Heels have another chance to make a big recruiting splash Tuesday, July 19 at 6:30 p.m. as 4-star defensive tackle Jamaal Jarrett chooses between UNC, Georgia, and Auburn. Jarrett’s decision is expected to come down to the home-state Tar Heels and national champion Bulldogs, with Georgia being the likely destination.
And here are the commitment dates of several other UNC Football recruits who have the Tar Heels high on their list:
4-Star CB Braeden Marshall - July 30th
4-Star DL Daevin Hobbs - August 1st
3-Star LB Amare Campbell - August 24th
3-Star WR Paul Billups - August 24th
4-Star LB Kaveion Keys - August 27th
3-Star CB Shelton Lewis - By start of season
This Week’s Tar Heel Birthdays
Dave Drechsler (62) 2x Football All-American
Stuart Scott (1965-2015) Sportscaster
Louise Fletcher (88) Nurse Ratched from “One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest”
Kristine Lilly (51) 4x NCAA Soccer Champion, 2x World Cup Champion, 2x Olympic Gold Medalist
Jim Tatum (1913-1959) UNC Football & Baseball Player, Head Football Coach
Tar Heel Tidbits
NASA’s new James Webb Space Telescope returned its first high-resolution images last week. In case you didn’t know, James Webb graduated from UNC with a B.A. in Education in 1928 and was the head of NASA from 1961 to 1968. The telescope is named in his honor, and the images are astounding.
I haven’t kept up with professional wrestling since the NWO days of the 1990s, but UNC Track & Field star Anna Keefer announced on Instagram that she’s got a tryout lined up with the WWE. If she makes the cut, she’ll join former UNC offensive lineman Brennan Williams as a member of the WWE family.
And finally, if you’re not already doing so, go give Deon Thompson a follow on Instagram. He does a beautiful job documenting his travels around the world as he plays basketball overseas. In the photo below, he’s enjoying some down time at Wrightsville Beach, which I thought fit well with this post during these dog days of summer.
Questions & Feedback
Well, that’s almost all for the first Newsletter. If you made it this far, then thank you, and I’d love to know your thoughts.
Will a once-per-week email be enough? Two maybe? Is there other content you’d like covered or discussed more in depth, or something you’d like de-emphasized? Also, please reply or comment with any questions you’d like answered and I’ll do my best to answer them in the next newsletter.
About the Author
And since this is the introductory newsletter, it seems like a good time to tell you a little more about myself. I’m James, the creator of Tar Heel Times and a 1993 graduate of UNC. I also played wide receiver for the Tar Heels during the first Mack Brown era before moving on to life as a high school English teacher/coach and now as a software developer.
I’ll share some fun football stories from those UNC days as time goes on, but thus far it’s been great seeing several of my old teammates back coaching and working at Carolina: Corey Holliday, Rick Steinbacher, Dwight Hollier, Kevin Donnalley, Tommy Thigpen, Natrone Means, and Clint Gwaltney. Joining the Carolina Family truly is a “40-year decision.”
Until next time, please send me your questions and feedback, and Go Heels!
James
www.tarheeltimes.com
oh yea forgot..more golf news please. We should have a great team coming back next year. Love what you are doing with this format.
Great read. Thank you,