North Carolina Hoops Gets Its First Win Over Duke This Season

It wasn’t necessarily a surprise that Armando Bacot chose North Carolina last night but it’s still a big time win no matter what. UNC was the favorite to land the big man from Virginia for quite some time, but Duke made a big time push during the July recruiting period.

Bacot, a 6’10” big plays his high school ball at IMG Academy and for Team Takeover on the Nike EYBL circuit. This past season was the big breakout for Bacot, who outplayed James Wiseman at the Peach Jam en route to winning the MVP after averaging 15 and 11.

This is a huge get for UNC for another reason though. First off, they are going to be thin in the frontcourt next season. Luke Maye is going to graduate. Nassir Little is expected to be a one and done. They still do have Sterling Manley, Garrison Brooks and Brandon Huffman, but the question is how much of a jump can they make going into their sophomore years? Bacot brings that for sure feel to the big position, plus we know Roy isn’t opposed to playing two bigs.

Here’s the other thing. UNC needs to keep recruiting guys like this. We’ve seen that you need high end talent to win the NCAA Tournament. UNC had that when they won with Justin Jackson and Joel Berry. Getting back to the top-10 recruiting classes and bringing in guys like Bacot helps UNC stay as one of the top programs in the country. They are doing it this year with the likes of Little and Coby White and off to a good start for next season now.

Here’s your obligatory mixtape: