CHAPEL HILL – At some point during the long season that commences Wednesday, North Carolina’s locker room is going to need a dose of levity.

Stressed, tired and maybe even a bit shaken, the Tar Heels are certain to find themselves in such a moment. That’s a guarantee for every college basketball team.

Good thing for them they have someone who can provide an antidote, who can lighten the mood and allow for a needed collective exhale. Such a talent can lessen the strain of a season and serve the underbelly of what makes a team tick while bringing them closer together. You laugh together you’ll like playing together, too.

Garrison Brooks is a funny man for sure, but freshman Armando Bacot may give Brooks a run for his money.

Bacot’s humor may not be as biting as the doozies Brooks can deliver, but his efforts will come in different forms and might sometimes be unintended. It’s all in fun, though. That’s how Bacot rolls, and it’s an attribute every team needs inside the locker room.

“Usually, freshmen don’t come in this confident,” sophomore Leaky Black said about Bacot. “But he backs it up pretty good. If you see him in practice, he backs it up. He runs the floor really well for a big man. He’s a really good player.”

You see, joking in the manner Bacot does goes together with confidence. There’s a carefree nature to how Bacot does things, and that looseness can really help a team, though it’s not likely something Bacot specifically thinks about when he’s messing with a teammate or blasting out another tweet.

There is a line however, to what’s kosher in a locker room and on social media. Stuff within the team will be handled accordingly but going too far in a public forum is something different altogether.

“Oh definitely, there’s a lot of stuff I want to tweet out that I can’t say,” Bacot said, smiling. “But if you know me, I’m like a jokester. Everybody knows they can always come up to me and I’ll always joke with them. But I have to watch myself more now.”

UNC fans will watch Bacot’s serious side this season operating in the low post. He’s a true interior player whose talents include catching, turning and scoring, hitting some short-to-mid-range stuff, putting back misses, protecting the rim and helping Brooks on the lower blocks.

At 6-foot-10 and 232 pounds, Bacot is already a load at the age of 19, and the former McDonald’s All-America is the perfect complement for Brooks, the 6-foor-9 junior who is UNC’s leading returning scorer at nearly eight points a game.

The mandate for Brooks this season is to produce more, and Bacot’s presence down low should help him satisfy that mission.

“He’s going to be a huge contribution to our success…” Brooks said about Bacot. “I’m trying to help Mando, but I think Mando’s going to help me always get better because he pushes me to be better every day.”

Mando, as Bacot’s teammates call him, learned early on what will please his Hall of Fame coach. That understanding has enabled him to improve each day, as well.

Roy Williams doesn’t skimp on things that are absolutes to him on the basketball court. His teams must rebound, run the floor, move on offense and respond to the demands of the benevolent dictatorship he runs.

“To be successful in this system you’ve got to run, you’ve got to have a good idea of what spacing is,” Bacot said. “Knowing those little details to be successful in this system is the main thing.”

Knowing your place in the locker room is important, too. And much of the goofiness would ring hollow if Bacot didn’t have game. But he does.

Justin Pierce is also new to UNC, having played the last three seasons at William & Mary, so he wasn’t all that familiar with Bacot before arriving in Chapel Hill this past summer. A student of the game, perhaps he gives one of the clearer testimonies to what kind of player Tar Heels’ fans will see this season in the Richmond, VA, native.

“He’s a great shot blocker, he’s really, really skilled on the inside,” Pierce said. “I really like playing with him because he can really catch and he’s got great foot work. Coming off ball screens you can throw it to him wherever and he’s got great hands and can finish.”

And Bacot can joke, lighten a stressed mood and make his teammates forget their worries if even for just a fleeting moment.

Sometimes, that’s enough to shake the tree and proceed forward. All in a day, month and the grind of a season in college basketball.