Tar Heels Tidbits: Men’s hoops struggling, Jalek Felton suspended and Ryan Switzer receives award

North Carolina basketball struggling to find its identity, baseball season on the horizon, and Ryan Switzer the recipient of a prestigious award

The North Carolina men’s basketball team has lost three consecutive conference games for the first time since the 2014-15 season. The Tar Heels will look to right the ship on Saturday against last-place Pittsburgh.

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The sixth-ranked Tar Heels baseball team is just two weeks away from their season-opening road series against South Florida.

Former Tar Heel standout Ryan Switzer is set to receive the University of North Carolina’s highest athletic honor during halftime of the Duke/North Carolina game.

And the top running back prospect in the country, who plans to make his announcement in June, named North Carolina to his list of six finalists.

We’ve got all of that and more in this week’s edition of Tar Heels Tidbits.

Baseball

• Baseball season is just two weeks away for the Tar Heels, who begin their 2018 campaign with a three-game road series at South Florida. North Carolina is ranked sixth in Baseball America’s preseason top-25. Perfect Game, a respected amateur baseball website, has picked North Carolina to win the ACC Coastal Division this season.

Basketball

• North Carolina lost its third consecutive game on Tuesday, falling to Clemson 82-78 at Littlejohn Coliseum. The Tar Heels trailed by double-digits much of the second half, before storming back to tie the game at 74. Cameron Johnson’s career-high 32 points and Joel Berry’s 27 ignited North Carolina’s furious comeback.
• Theo Pinson was sidelined with an injury just two minutes into the Tar Heels’ game at Clemson after he was fouled while going up for a rebound. With his legs swept out from under him, he fell hard on his tailbone and injured his shoulder in the process. After laying on the court for a few moments, Pinson walked to the bench, and shortly after, the locker room. Though Pinson did not return to the game, it appears he was left out primarily for cautionary reasons.

• Freshman point guard Jalek Felton was suspended by the University of North Carolina on Tuesday morning. No specifics have been released due to the nature of the case, but his attorney insists that the suspension is not a punishment, but rather a time for the specifics of the case to be investigated.
• There is still no definite timetable for Seventh Woods’ return to the UNC lineup, but he was seen practicing with the team before the game at Clemson. That suggests that his return to the court could be sooner than later, and much-needed for a team that’s lost three-straight games and now without backup point guard Jalek Felton.
• ESPN named North Carolina junior power forward Luke Maye one of college basketball’s top breakout players. After averaging just 5.5 points and 3.9 rebounds per game as a sophomore, he’s averaging 18 points and 10.4 rebounds as a junior. He’s scored 20 or more points in 10 games and recorded 12 double-doubles.

Football

• Charlie Heck was named Academic All-ACC on Wednesday, and was the only Tar Heel selected to the team this year. Members of the team must maintain a 3.0 grade point average for the previous semester and a 3.0 cumulative average over the course of their academic career.

• Former North Carolina wide receiver and current Dallas Cowboy Ryan Switzer will receive the Patterson Medal, the university’s highest athletic honor. The award will be presented to Switzer at halftime of the Tar Heels’ game against Duke on February 8th.

Recruiting

• Roy Williams extended a scholarship offer to class of 2018 prospect E.J. Montgomery. The 6-foot-10, 200-pound power forward is currently working with a list of 11 schools, but plans to cut the list down to five or six in the near future. He’s currently ranked sixth in 247Sports’ Top247, and No. 12 in the 247Sports Composite.

• Devyn Ford, the No. 1 running back in the class of 2019, has named North Carolina to his list of six finalists. The 5-foot-11, 185-pound Virginia native is also considering Clemson, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Penn State and Virginia Tech, and plans to make a commitment in June.