North Carolina
North Carolina made unwanted history last year. The No. 19 Tar Heels have overhauled their roster
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — Little went right for North Carolina last season on the way to making unwanted history. Hubert Davis knew things had to change quickly, from the composition of the roster to how the Tar Heels push tempo.
He accomplished the first in the offseason. The second could determine the 19th-ranked Tar Heels’ success this season.
Program mainstays Armando Bacot and RJ Davis are back, familiar names from from the unexpected 2022 run to the NCAA championship game in Hubert Davis’ first season after taking over for retired Hall of Famer Roy Williams. There are also five transfers among seven newcomers after the Tar Heels became the first team to open at No. 1 in the preseason Associated Press Top 25 poll and miss the NCAA Tournament since its expansion to 64 teams in 1985.
“One of the things that I wanted to change or do a better job this year compared to last year was just our tempo,” Davis said. “I wanted to play faster. Whether it’s a make or miss, I want us to go.”
That has long been a hallmark of UNC teams. But the Tar Heels ranked just 99th in KenPom’s adjusted tempo (68.8 possessions) compared to 39th in Davis’ first year and routinely ranking highly under Williams. They often got stagnant in looking for Bacot inside, settled for 3-pointers with a team that just couldn’t shoot (31.2%) and never found a cohesive form.
Six players transferred out, while versatile defender Leaky Black graduated. The departures included scoring leader Caleb Love, a streaky guard who sandwiched head-scratching decisions and shaky shot selection around thrilling shot-making moments. Love transferred to No. 12 Arizona, while reserve forward Puff Johnson transferred to Penn State.
Davis found help in the portal, including a three-time Notre Dame captain in guard Cormac Ryan and Stanford forward Harrison Ingram. There was also the addition of five-star point guard Elliot Cadeau, who reclassified to arrive a year early, and four-star forward Zayden High.
“You would think the newcomers and the freshmen, like they were here for four years,” RJ Davis said, adding: “I think we’re all understanding each other and the chemistry’s been going well, and it’s only going to continue to get better.”
MAKING PIECES FIT
The additions address last year’s issues on paper, such as Ryan and Brown transfer Paxson Wojcik offering 3-point shooting or Cadeau’s penchant for passing.
“I think we look at the team now, RJ’s really the guy that can score off the dribble,” Bacot said. “Then we’ve got Cormac who can knock down shots. We’ve got (Cadeau) who can pass the ball. We’ve got Paxson (as) a shooter. So we’ve got guys that have got more of a defined role versus having two lead guards that want to score the ball.”
TRIMBLE’S MINUTES
Reserve guard Seth Trimble was UNC’s top-rated recruit last year, but saw his minutes dwindle. He worked on regaining confidence and improving his outside shot.
“I feel like last year, I just kind of went through a spurt where I lost it mentally and then it just kind of all went downhill from there,” Trimble said. “So that was one of the things that I just told myself I’d never let happen again.”
HEALTHY WASHINGTON
The Tar Heels would love to see 6-10 sophomore Jalen Washington find a larger role. He averaged 2.2 points in a season that saw him miss time early while rehabbing a knee injury that sidelined him for his senior season of high school.
“There was a lot of playing, a lot of just full-go activity,” Washington said. “So I feel like I’ve definitely taken a big jump this summer compared to the last one when I first got here.”
THE SCHEDULE
The Tar Heels open Nov. 6 against Radford . UNC plays in the Battle 4 Atlantis — which features No. 14 Arkansas and No. 22 Villanova — over Thanksgiving, then returns home to host No. 9 Tennessee. There are also dates with No. 6 and defending national champion Connecticut (Dec. 5) at Madison Square Garden and No. 16 Kentucky (Dec. 16).
UNC opens ACC play Dec. 2 against Florida State. A March 9 trip to No. 2 Duke ends the regular season.
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AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball
ASHEBORO, N.C. (WTVD) — The North Carolina Zoo is celebrating 50 years.
Located in Asheboro, the zoo houses about 1,700 animals and over 250 species primarily from Africa and North America.
On social media, NC Zoo wrote Friday:
“Throughout our history, we’ve been home to a diverse array of remarkable animals, dedicated keepers, and passionate employees who work tirelessly behind the scenes. Join us in honoring this milestone by visiting the Zoo in 2024!”
The Zoo also mentioned the Zoo’s first animals, which were two Galapagos tortoises named Tort and Retort.
The post said in part: “These two tortoises symbolize the early days of the North Carolina Zoo and are cherished deeply in our hearts.”
The North Carolina Zoo is one of two state-supported zoos in the country. The other is the Minnesota Zoo.
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North Carolina
NC has some of the most dangerous roads in the US: See how Wilmington-area counties rank
With a recent study revealing North Carolina as one of the states with the riskiest roads to travel, some may wonder how safe the roads are here in the Cape Fear region.
MarketWatch Guides, a site that provides “reviews of consumer products and services to help readers make educated purchasing decisions,” focuses in part on car insurance comparisons, vehicle safety and more.
A recent study by the site analyzed factors including annual miles driven per 100,000 system miles, percentage of rough roads and fatal injuries per 100,000 licensed drivers. States were given a rating out of 10 points, with 10 being the most dangerous.
More: Distracted driving in Wilmington: How big of a problem is it?
North Carolina’s ranking among the most dangerous
According to the study, the states with the most dangerous drivers based on the factors studied are:
- Louisiana – 7.55/10
- California – 7.21/10
- New Mexico – 6.74/10
- Hawaii – 6.73/10
- Delaware – 6.67/10
- New Jersey – 6.53/10
- Mississippi – 6.47/10
- North Carolina – 6.39/10
- Massachusetts – 6.33/10
- Maryland and Texas – 6.26/10
According to the study, North Carolina had 32.5 fatal injuries per 100,000 licensed drivers, but only 2.1% of rough roads, which was the lowest percentage out of the other ranked states.
For a more localized perspective, the North Carolina Department of Transportation releases annual traffic crash facts data. The most recent 2022 report includes a ranking of counties based on several factors, including reported crashes, crash severity, crash rates based on population, registered vehicles and estimated vehicle miles traveled.
The most dangerous county for drivers, ranked at No. 1 for the past five years, was Robeson County. The county had 60 fatal crashes in 2022 with 1,136 non-fatal injury crashes. The rest of the total 4,056 crashes were property-damage-only. The county with the best ranking was Hyde County, coming in at No. 100. The county had one fatal crash in 2022 and 10 non-fatal injury crashes. The county had a total of 45 crashes, the rest of which were property damage only.
More: MyReporter: Which intersections see the most red-light camera violations in Wilmington?
Here’s where the Cape Fear region counties ranked.
Brunswick County
Ranked No. 76 in 2022, Brunswick County had 25 fatal crashes and 715 non-fatal injury crashes. The total crashes for that year were 3,146. The remainder of the crashes were property damage only.
New Hanover County
Ranked No. 58, New Hanover had 19 fatal crashes and 1,313 non-fatal injury crashes, both of which went down from 2021. The total crashes in New Hanover were 5,617. The remainder of the crashes were property damage only.
Pender County
Ranked No. 47, Pender County had the worst ranking despite having the lowest number of crashes. The county had 12 fatal crashes and 374 non-fatal injury crashes, and a total of 1,156 crashes. The rest of the crashes were property damage only.
Iris Seaton, USA Today Network, contributed to this report.
Tropical Storm Debby already has parts of Florida under tropical storm warnings. The Florida Big Bend is currently under a Hurricane Warning. Debby is forecast to briefly strengthen into a category 1 hurricane as it moves over the Gulf of Mexico where water temperatures are near 90 degrees.
As it continues its path over land it is expected to dial back to tropical storm strength as it reaches the Carolinas mid to late next week. Moderate rainfall is possible for northeast North Carolina and southern Virginia by the end of the week.
Higher amounts of rain are possible for southernmost portions of the Outer Banks but generally models show 2-4 inches for northeast North Carolina and 1-2 inches for southern Virginia through Thursday.
Stay with News 3’s First Warning Weather Team for the latest updates as the storm develops.
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