Heel Tough Blog: What 2 Watch 4 - BYU Exhibition

@UNC_Baksetball

For the first time since March, the Tar Heels will take the floor and play a competitive game of basketball, although tonight’s game is technically an exhibition. A few years ago, the NCAA voted to allow schools to play in two exhibitions per preseason, as long as one of the exhibitions benefits a charity foundation. Last year, UNC played at Memphis, in an exhibition that benefited St. Jude’s hospital, and tonight they’ll travel to Salt Lake City, Utah, to take on the preseason #8 BYU Cougars, who feature the #1 recruit from the last recruiting cycle, in AJ Dybantsa. 

It was an eventful off-season for Carolina Basketball, as Hubert Davis officially brought in a GM, Jim Tanner, to help with roster construction and player contracts. That move was necessary, even before UNC fully overhauled its roster from last year, bringing in 11 new players, when you count transfers, high school recruits, and international pros. Seth Trimble returned to UNC for his senior season, and of all the returning Tar Heels, he’s the one with the most experience under Hubert Davis. Two years ago, Hubert Davis banked on transfers Harrison Ingram and Cormac Ryan to help put the program in a position to compete for conference and national championships. This year, he’ll be relying on Henri Veesaar, Kyan Evans, and top-10 recruit Caleb Wilson to do the same. 

One of the biggest off-season additions was international pro Luka Bogavac, whom Carolina brought over late in the summer. His playing status has been up in the air over the last month, and when Hubert Davis met with the media on Wednesday ahead of tonight’s exhibition, he stated that Luka has been cleared by the NCAA, but they are still awaiting on the University to make him eligible to play basketball in 2025-26. With that in mind, his status for tonight’s exhibition is up in the air, as of right now. 

Tonight is one of many ranked on ranked exhibitions that will take place across the college basketball this weekend, as BYU enters the season preseason ranked #8, and Carolina enters preseason ranked #25, earning a preseason ranking for the 20th straight season. While tonight’s result doesn’t officially count, it is our first look at this year’s squad, against someone other than themselves. Here’s what to watch for tonight, during the first of two preseason exhibitions for Carolina: 

1. The Freshmen: All eyes will be on BYU’s AJ Dybantsa and UNC’s Caleb Wilson, as they enter as two top-10 recruits from the previous recruiting cycle, Dybantsa chose BYU over Carolina and Kansas, and is believed by many to be the #1 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft. Caleb Wilson has embraced the pressure of being a five-star recruit to enroll at UNC. He will take his matchup seriously, knowing he can send a message to the college basketball world. At the same time, everyone is focused on Dybantsa, Cam Boozer at Duke, and Darryn Peterson at Kansas. 

2. Revamped Frontcourt: This is our first look at how Carolina’s revamped frontcourt will look against power conference competition. Last year, UNC was too small to handle the best teams in college basketball, as they suffered losses to schools like Duke, Kansas, Auburn, Alabama, Florida, Michigan State, and others. Hubert Davis set out to make his roster and longer, and he achieved that, bringing in six players, 6-6, or taller. Many people expect the legendary high-low game to return to UNC in some fashion, but make no mistake about it, with all the size and length, the expectation is for Carolina to score more easily at the rim, rebound the way you’re used to seeing this program rebound the basketball, and offer more overall defensive resistance than they did a year ago. 

3. New-Look Backcourt: While Seth Trimble, his backcourt mates from last year are not. RJ Davis is gone after a decorated career at UNC. And Ian Jackson (St. John’s) and Elliot Cadeau (Michigan) both transferred out of the program. Hubert Davis countered that by bringing in Kyan Evans (Colorado State) and Jaydon Young (Virginia Tech) while bringing in Derek Dixon and Isaiah Denis. How Evans acclimates himself to the UNC system, and the overall level of competition in the ACC will be something to monitor, but all eyes are on the aforementioned Trimble, who has waited his turn to be “the guy”. He’s been explosive and efficient in the two intra-squad scrimmages so far this preseason. Let’s see if that carries over tonight, against one of the best teams the sport has to offer. 

How to Watch: Tonight’s exhibition will be streamed on the WatchESPN App. 

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