Bacot Named Preseason First-Team AP All-American
North Carolina forward Armando Bacot has been named to the Associated Press first-team All-American team as voited by a 60-person media panel that was announced Monday.
Headlining the team is Purdue big man Zach Edey, Marquette guard Tyler Kolek, Kansas center Hunter Dickinson, and Duke forward Kyle Filipowski.
Bacot returns to UNC for his fifth season, and with it will have a chance to achieve some career numbers that will place him among the most productive Tar Heels of all time. He is already the program’s all-time leader in rebounds with 1,335, and with an average of 422 rebounds each of the last two seasons, a similar performance would out him near 1,800 for his career, a mark that could stand forever.
With 1,810 points, Bacot is 1,062 behind Tyler Hansbrough’s all-time mark at UNC, so it will stand. But Bacot has a terrific chance at passing Phil Ford as the second-leading all-time scorer at Carolina. Ford has 2,290 points, only 480 ahead of Bacot. So, barring an injury, Bacot, who scored 509 points last season, should become number two on the list.
As much as the numbers and who he is among on the all-time stat lists are important to the 6-foot-10 native of Richmond, VA, Bacot would rather win more than anything else. He hasn’t entirely had a typical UNC basketball experience, and that gnaws at him.
“I want to win and I want to be able to experience those things,” Bacot said. “I want to win, and I am not sitting right here saying I am perfect; I mess up, too. I want to win, and that's all I care about. That's all I want to do.”
Bacot, who was the first player in college basketball history with six double-doubles in one NCAA Tournament while leading the Tar Heels to the 2022 national championship game, averaged 15.9 points and 10.4 rebounds per game last season. He was named first-team All-ACC for the second consecutive season.
Edey’s decision made it easy for Associated Press Top 25 men’s basketball poll voters who picked the preseason All-America team.
Edey had a dominating 2022-23 season to sweep all the major national player of the year awards, including AP. The 7-foot-4, 300-pound center averaged 22.3 points, 12.9 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game while shooting 60.7 percent from the field.
Kolek had a dynamic second season at Marquette after transferring from George Mason. The 6-3 guard was the Big East player of the year after averaging 12.9 points, 7.5 assists and 4.1 rebounds while shooting nearly 40% from 3-point range.
A third-team AP All-American after last season, Kolek was limited in the NCAA Tournament due to a thumb injury suffered in the first round, but his return helped the Golden Eagles earn a No. 5 ranking in the AP preseason poll.
He was an honorable mention AP All-American last season after averaging 18.5 points and 9.0 rebounds at Michigan. The agile 7-footer immediately added
to already-lofty expectations at Kansas, which earned the preseason No. 1 ranking with Dickinson anchoring the middle.
A highly touted recruit, Filipowski lived up to expectations his first season at Duke, becoming the fourth ACC player to earn rookie of the year and conference tournament MVP honors in the same season.
The 7-footer led all freshmen with 16 doubles last season and topped the Blue Devils in scoring and rebounding, averaging 15.1 points and 8.9 rebounds. His return and another stellar recruiting class landed Duke at No. 2 in the preseason poll.