‘OPENING NIGHT of NCAA BASKETBALL’

-North Carolina Ushers in New Era-

By Jiraiya Hoops Harlan

It's that time of year again. Time to start cheering for your favorite college basketball team. I will be cheering for the 19th ranked *Tar Heels* from North Carolina (soon to be much higher ranked). Our first game will be Tuesday, November 9th vs the Loyola Greyhounds. This will be the first year for our new head coach Hubert Davis who takes over for legendary Roy Williams. Davis is the first black coach in the history of North Carolina Basketball! Davis played for Dean Smith at Carolina from 1988-92 and was an assistant coach on Roy Williams’ UNC staff from 2012-21. Davis’ Tar Heels started with an exhibition game against Elizabeth City State. The 83-55 beat down took place on Friday, November 5th in the Dean Dome. Carolina showed off its superior size and overall athleticism all night long. Forward DAWSON GARCIA (6’11 transfer from Marquette) led the way with 17 points. Followed by 6’10 (F/C) ARMANDO BACOT and 6’9 (F) BRADY MANEK with 16 each. Thankfully, Bacot decided that it was in his best interest to return to Chapel Hill for his junior season (after going through the NBA Draft process). This was great news for us because he led last year’s team in both scoring (12.3) and rebounds (7.8) per game. Our next game is Friday, November 12th vs. Brown University. *The term “tar heel” dates back to North Carolina’s early history. Workers distilled turpentine from the sticky sap of pine trees and burned pine boughs to produce tar. These workers often went barefoot during hot summer months and thus collected tar on their heels. During the Civil War, North Carolina soldiers called themselves “tar heels” as an expression of state pride.