With North Carolina’s loss to Kansas in the national championship game a week into the rearview mirror, and the coaching staff back from a busy weekend watching prospects, the business of moving forward begins for UNC’s program.
Some players have decisions to make about their futures, and will do so with the benefit of information gathered by the program, which is an ongoing process and quite valuable to the players.
In particular, two Tar Heels with eligibility remaining could choose to move on to the NBA. Armando Bacot and Caleb Love are the most discussed players who could opt for the next level. Senior wing Leaky Black could use the extra year because of COVID-19 and come back as well, though those things and more will be discussed when Davis and the players have their end-of-season meetings.
Bacot, a 6-foot-10 native of Richmond, VA, tested the draft waters last spring, but a fairly recent rule changes allows him to do so again and still be allowed to return to school. He led the Tar Heels in scoring at 16.3 points per game, rebounding at 13.1 per contest, and blocked shots with 65. Bacot shot 56.9 percent from the floor, and converted 67 percent of his free throw attempts.
He also tied Navy’s David Robinson (1985, 1986) for the all-time single-season record with 31 double-doubles. Bacot grabbed 20 or more rebounds in a game five times. He also became the first player in history to record a double-double in all six NCAA Tournament games, including pulling down 22 rebounds in the Elite Eight win over St. Peter’s and 21 in the national semifinals victory over Duke.
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UNC Coach Hubert Davis told THI in an exclusive interview in late February that in order for players to stick in the NBA, they “must be elite” at something, and with that, he believes Bacot certainly does one thing extremely well.
“One of the things that Armando does at an elite level is he rebounds,” Davis said. “That translates.”
Also in an exclusive interview with THI late in the season, Bacot said he wants his jersey hanging in the rafters inside the Smith Center, noting he really wants to win ACC Player of the Year, but the team stuff comes first.
“I want to put a team banner somewhere up there in one of those categories,” he said. “I just want to be a part of some type of team history at North Carolina. If that’s winning an ACC regular season championship, ACC Tournament, national championship, just something.”
Multiple sources close to the situation have indicated to THI they believe Bacot will return to UNC for his senior season. A need to develop more, win a national championship, and achieve more personal success and honors are important to Bacot. In addition, the potential for what he could earn through NIL is impressive enough it could make resisting NBA money for another year an option to consider.
That doesn’t mean his situation is etched in stone. And until Bacot publicly reveals his intentions, his eventual decision remains in question.
Sophomore guard Caleb Love could submit his name into the NBA Draft to test the waters and return, which he did not do a year ago. It would not be a surprise if Love does that, and might make sense. It would give him a chance to attain information from the league about his game, and if he chose to return, allow him another year to sharpen those aspects strengthening his chances at sticking in the NBA. He would have until June 1 to remove his name and return to UNC.
The 6-foot-4 native of St. Louis, who reportedly has a 6-foot-9 wingspan, developed into a clutch player for the Tar Heels this season, converting big shots and free throws often late in close games over the final two months. His three highest scoring games occurred in the NCAA Tournament: 30 versus UCLA in the Sweet 16; 28 versus Duke in the national semifinals; and 23 versus Marquette in the first round.
Among the things Love was quite proud of late this season was how his work in the offseason and sharpening his game in-season started paying off. Love believes in his work and grind, and clearly sees an NBA career in his future.
“I put in so much work this offseason, not only the offseason, (but) throughout the whole season,” Love told THI last week in New Orleans, explaining his surge in performance late in the season. “Just sticking to my work.”
Love finished the campaign averaging 15.9 points per contest while shooting 37.1 percent from the floor, including 36 percent from beyond the arc. He converted 86.3 percent of his free throws. In addition, Love was second on the team averaging 3.6 assists. Carolina was 13-0 when Love scored 20 or more points, and 14-0 when he handed out at least five assists in a game.
Like with Bacot, sources with knowledge of the NIL potential of Love, have told THI that Love could also earn enough through NIL to make returning for another year a fairly easy decision.
In looking at nine recently updated NBA mock drafts, several of which only project the first round, Bacot was at Nos. 40 (NBADraft.Net), and 54 (NBADraftRoom.com), respectively. Love was in the first round in three mocks updated since the national championship game, including Nos. 27 (Fox Sports), 29 (Yahoo! Sports), and 30 (NBADraftRoom.com). He did not appear in two mocks that included a second round (USA Today & Tankathon).
Players have until April 24 to submit their names into the 2022 NBA Draft.
As for Black, he somewhat hinted at the possibility of returning during a postgame interview in February. A source very close to Black told THI in March it was “likely” he would take advantage of the extra year and return to UNC. In addition, Davis said on his radio show last month he would welcome back Black if that’s what the 6-foot-8 native of Concord, NC, wants.
"The thing that I want for Leaky and the thing I want for everyone is I want them to reach all their dreams and goals,” Carolina’s coach said. “And if Leaky's dream and goal is to come back one more year, I would absolutely love that."
Black averaged 4.9 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 2.7 assists, plus he had 34 steals, and blocked 26 shots. Black improved his shooting from the previous two seasons, hitting 46.6 percent from the floor, including 33.3 percent from three-point range. He was a defensive dynamo for the Tar Heels, guarding the one-through-four spots, and effectively shutting down some of the best players in college basketball.
Speculating on specific names of current Tar Heels that might enter the transfer portal would be unfair. Unless someone formally enters the portal, THI will not entertain conjecture.
