Heel Tough Blog: What 2 Watch 4 - Blue/White Scrimmage

Sports Illustrated

Preseason practice is well underway in Chapel Hill, with the first of two exhibitions, not too far away for Hubert Davis and the Tar Heels. But before we get to those, the program has to hold its annual Blue/White scrimmage, which will take place tomorrow afternoon in the Smith Center, shortly after the conclusion of the UNC/Clemson football game in Kenan Stadium. 

It was a busy off-season for Hubert Davis, who had to revamp his roster, after losing RJ Davis to graduation, Elliot Cadeau and Ian Jackson to the transfer portal, and Drake Powell to the NBA Draft, after a disappointing season, that saw Carolina get bounced from the NCAA Tournament in the Round of 64, after starting the season preseason ranked inside the top 10. The up and down rollercoaster that the program has been on has Hubert Davis on the hot seat, according to many within the UNC fan base, although Bubba Cunningham hasn’t made it known that Davis’s job is on the line entering his fifth season on the UNC bench. 

With his job potentially on the line, Hubert Davis welcomes in 10 new players to help restore the program atop of the ACC and the national polls, putting a bigger emphasis on the preseason, because this roster needs to come together ASAP, to avoid the slow start to the season the team experienced last year. Tomorrow is our first look at this year’s Carolina Basketball squad, and here’s what to watch for if you’re attending tomorrow’s scrimmage: 

1. Luka Bogavac: After the initial wave of transfers was secured earlier this spring, it was still clear that Carolina needed to add another wing to the roster, to ensure it had enough talent on the depth on the perimeter, something they didn’t have last season. With all the wings all but gone in the transfer portal, Hubert Davis turned to the international scene and brought in Luka Bogavac, a native of Montenegro, to play on the perimeter for the Tar Heels this season. Bogavac played professionally overseas and considered entering the NBA Draft last season, but instead, he’ll be playing his first season of college basketball, and the team needs him to be an efficient, consistent scoring threat from the outside. So far, his coaches and his teammates have raved about his ability not to get sped up, and he is always playing under control. While Luka is still awaiting clearance from the NCAA, it would ease the concern of his head coach if he knows what to expect from him on a night-in, night-out basis. 

2. Revamped Frontcourt:  After not having enough bigs last year, Carolina has a plethora of bigs to use this season, including Arizona transfer Henri Veesaar and Alabama transfer Jarin Stevenson. Those two join the returning James Brown and Zayden High, who is back with the program after serving a University suspension last year. Factor in Caleb Wilson, and the aforementioned Bogavac, and West Virginia transfer Jonathan Powell, and there’s a better feeling around this area of the team, as compared to last year, when so many players played out of position to accommodate the lack of talent and depth at the 4 and the 5. Having the legitimate size and athleticism needed to compete at the highest level of the sport is one reason to be optimistic entering the 2025-26 season. 

3. Caleb Wilson: Speaking of Caleb Wilson, all eyes will be on the five-star freshman, who is set to play the stretch-4 this season for Hubert Davis. Wilson enters carrying the burden of a top-10 recruit, needing to help restore the program back where its supposed to be. His athleticism will make him a must-watch on both ends of the floor, as he’ll make game-changing plays happen quite often. It’s important for Hubert Davis that Wilson plays at a high level after seeing Ian Jackson and Elliot Cadeau transfer away in the off-season. At some point, Carolina has to maximize off the top-10 talent they are able to land in high school recruiting. 

4. New Look Backcourt: With RJ Davis off to the NBA and Elliot Cadeau off to Michigan, Hubert Davis has retooled his backcourt around veteran Seth Trimble, bringing in Colorado State transfer Kyan Evans, Virginia Tech transfer Jaydon Young, and incoming freshmen Derek Dixon and Isaiah Denis. While Davis will likely have Trimble and Evans on two separate teams tomorrow, we should get a feel of how they’ll play together when they share the backcourt and how they can each complement one another. Evans is a natural scorer, while Trimble excels at slashing to the basket and creating scoring chances in transition. The quicker the two mesh, the better for Carolina, because they are both being counted on to contribute in a big way this season. 

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