When will Luka Bogavac be cleared to play?
Apparently the Serbian sharpshooter has been signed off on as eligible by the NCAA and he’s enrolled and going to class. The stonewall is some kind of administrative hold-up regarding processing his international
transcript that UNC has been working on for months. It’s all very frustrating from the outside.
Perimeter shooting has looked to be an issue for the Tar Heels and Luka would certainly boost that, although they did shoot better against Winston-Salem State. Jaydon Young hit three from deep and Jarin Stevenson added two from distance contributing to the 12-32 overall count which is not spectacular but better than the BYU exhibition.
I’m not sure what the deal is with the internal eligibility question but hopefully it can be solved before the Kansas game next week.
How fast can this team gel?
So far it looks to be on a good course. Even though there are 10 new players on the roster it seems like they are coming together well. That was the great thing about the 2023-24 team; the new players and the existing players meshed so perfectly together.
Also, the issue against team chemistry is often the incoming freshmen who are just looking to be one and done but that definitely does not seem to be the case with this team. While Caleb Wilson may and probably will be in the NBA next year, he sure seems like an unselfish, if not highlight-making, team player.
“When I’m about to dunk on somebody, I look them in their face.” Maybe one of the all-time Carolina basketball quotes already from Caleb Wilson.
The true litmus test will be when this team faces some adversity on the road. How do they power through that together?
Can Kyan Evans run the offense like the point guard UNC fans hope for?
Phil Ford. Kenny Smith. Ed Cota. Ty Lawson. Raymond Felton. Kendall Marshall. Marcus Paige. Joel Berry. Coby White. The list goes on and on.
Tar Heel basketball fans have long been spoiled with phenomenal point guard play. It’s a staple of the offense and a necessity to make a deep tournament run.
Through the blue-white scrimmage and two exhibition games Kyan Evans has looked solid, but the things that set the above names apart from your average point guard was speed and court vision.
In the two exhibition games Kyan had seven assists and only two turnovers in 39 minutes. I’m not sure he can reach the level of the great UNC floor generals this year but protecting the ball better than Elliott Cadeau did the previous two seasons is a good start.
How hot is Hubert’s seat getting in year five?
Coach Davis has had two good seasons (2022 making it to the National Championship and 2024 to the Sweet 16) and two not-so-good seasons (2023 missing the tournament and 2025 barely making the tournament and getting knocked out in round one).
Is this a make or break year for Hubert? Personally I like him and want to see him succeed. I loved him as a player (at Carolina — not when he was beating my Charlotte Hornets with the New York Knicks in the playoffs), as a broadcaster on ESPN’s GameDay, and as Roy’s successor.
There are people on both sides of the fence on this one. Coach has seemed very relaxed and confident in pregame interviews and press conferences but the UNC basketball boosters are an impatient bunch. They are ready to get off the roller coaster and return to sustained success as unfair as that may be.
It’s just reality and Hubert is well aware of the standard.
