UNC basketball tops St. Augustine’s in exhibition. Takeaways from the Tar Heels’ win

Chip Alexander
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How many times was this said last season: North Carolina can shoot 3-pointers but the Tar Heels can’t make ‘em?

UNC coach Hubert Davis believes he has more 3-point “makers” this season, not just shooters, and it looked that way Friday as the Tar Heels raced past St. Augustine’s 117-53 in an exhibition game at the Smith Center.

Soon after the ball went up, UNC’s R.J. Davis started nailing jumpers. The senior guard scored 17 points in the first six minutes, hitting four of five 3’s, and had 20 of his 22 points in the first half.

“What’s so great about this team is we’ve got a lot of shooters and we don’t always have to rely on the paint,” R.J. Davis said. “We were able to share the ball, everybody got to play and we had a lot of fun. We were moving the ball, and we went from good to great shots tonight.”

Hubert Davis has bemoaned the Heels’ 3-point shooting last season, and with good reason — UNC was last in the ACC at 31%. But the Heels hit eight of their first 10 shots from the arc in the opening half and looked comfortable doing it, although their 3-point shooting did cool in the second half.

North Carolina’s Harrison Ingram (55) lets out a yell after a dunk by teammate James Okonkwo (32) to give the Tar Heels’ a 117-53 victory against St. Augustine’s on Friday, October 27, 2023 at the Smith Center in Chapel Hill, N.C.
North Carolina’s Harrison Ingram (55) lets out a yell after a dunk by teammate James Okonkwo (32) to give the Tar Heels’ a 117-53 victory against St. Augustine’s on Friday, October 27, 2023 at the Smith Center in Chapel Hill, N.C.

By halftime, the lead was 65-26, UNC. The only downside was having guard Cormac Ryan, the transfer from Notre Dame, leave the game in the final minute of the half with an injured leg. Ryan, who had 10 first-half points, was on the bench in the second half but did not play -- a precautionary move, Davis said.

“I would characterize it as Carolina basketball,” Davis said of the game. “I felt like we played hard, I felt like we played smart and played together and we had fun.”

St. Augustine’s had a familiar coaching face on the bench in Chucky Brown, the former N.C. State standout and NBA veteran. The Falcons, 8-18 last season, were outmanned and shot the ball poorly but continued to compete, showing some different defensive looks.

The Heels, ranked No. 19 in preseason, open the 2023-24 season Nov. 6 against Radford at the Smith Center.

North Carolina coach Hubert Davis directs his team in the first half against St. Augustine’s on Friday, October 27, 2023 at the Smith Center in Chapel Hill, N.C.
North Carolina coach Hubert Davis directs his team in the first half against St. Augustine’s on Friday, October 27, 2023 at the Smith Center in Chapel Hill, N.C.

Takeaways from UNC basketball’s exhibition

▪ For those wondering who Davis would send out to start: Bacot, Davis, Ryan, Harrison Ingram and Paxson Wojcik. That’s three graduates (Bacot, Ryan, Wojcik), a senior (Davis) and a junior (Ingram).

The first two off the bench were freshmen: Elliot Cadeau and Zayden High.

▪ Teams will have to keep an eye on Ingram behind the arc. The junior transfer from Stanford, a big guy at 6-7 and 230 pounds, drained a couple of 3s from the top of the key in the first half and had 14 of his 16 points at the break.

▪ Davis said he expects Bacot to play this season like a guy ready to have his jersey go into the rafters. Bacot’s leaner and fitter and determined to lead the Heels back to the NCAA Tournament after their miss past season and again contend for a national championship.

Bacot was matched up early Friday against Chris Volo, a burly 7-foot senior. He was a little antsy with the ball in the first half, missing a dunk and stepping out of bounds on a baseline spin move. Bacot finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds.

North Carolina’s Elliott Cadeau (2) works on his free throw shooting form prior to the Tar Heels’ exhibition game against St. Augustine’s on Friday, October 27, 2023 at the Smith Center in Chapel Hill, N.C.
North Carolina’s Elliott Cadeau (2) works on his free throw shooting form prior to the Tar Heels’ exhibition game against St. Augustine’s on Friday, October 27, 2023 at the Smith Center in Chapel Hill, N.C.

▪ Cadeau plays with no fear. In the first half the guard drove to the basket, getting the shot to drop despite getting challenged and banged by Volo, the Falcons’ big man. Cadeau added the free throw for a 3-point play.

In the second half, Cadeau pump-faked a 3-pointer, took a dribble closer and then airballed his jumper. Moments later, he drove the lane and rose high for a take-that kind of slam.

▪ Some early returns: Davis scored on a layup on Heels’ first possession and UNC then forced a clock violation defensively on the Falcons’ first possession – pleasing the head coach. Davis then nailed a 3-pointer and picked up a conventional three-point play with a drive-and-one off the break.

Davis scored the first eight points of the game as the Heels raced to the 10-0 lead before junior guard MacNasa Hughes knocked down a couple of 3’s for the Falcons.

▪ The St. Aug’s pregame warmup included a brief mini-scrimmage. The Falcons went four-on-four, rotating players in and out after each made basket in an interesting twist.

St. Aug’s missed 24 of its 33 shots from the field in the opening half. Hughes had a team-high 16 points for the Falcons.