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UNC Basketball: Tar Heels host first Summer practice

By Zack Pearson

WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 11: Head coach Roy Williams of the North Carolina Tar Heels looks on against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish during the second half in the semifinals of the 2016 ACC Basketball Tournament at Verizon Center on March 11, 2016 in Washington, DC. North Carolina Tar Heels won, 78-47.(Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 11: Head coach Roy Williams of the North Carolina Tar Heels looks on against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish during the second half in the semifinals of the 2016 ACC Basketball Tournament at Verizon Center on March 11, 2016 in Washington, DC. North Carolina Tar Heels won, 78-47.(Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) /
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The UNC Basketball program hosted its first Summer practice this past week including a scrimmage with alumni in the Dean Dome

The calendar will flip to July on Sunday but that doesn’t mean college basketball has to stop.

Nope, instead there is not only recruiting news going on but also actual practices as programs are permitted to hold a few Summer practices this week. The North Carolina Tar Heels tipped off their Summer activities with a practice on Thursday as Roy Williams got the first look at his new roster on the court.

After five of UNC’s top six players from a season ago left due to graduation or the NBA, Williams and his staff welcomed in a Top 10 recruiting class plus headlined by Cole Anthony and Armando Bacot, as well as added two graduate transfers.In addition, key rotation guys like Garrison Brooks, Rechon “Leaky” Black, Brandon Robinson, Sterling Manley and Andrew Platek are back. This should make for an interesting roster dynamic with a lot of competition for playing time.

With the current players on campus for practice, they were joined by former UNC Basketball players who were either working out at the facilities or helping with the annual Roy Williams’ Basketball camps. Each year Williams and the UNC staff put on Basketball camps for the youth, which are always a big deal.

But the camps aren’t the only highlight.

One of the biggest events of the Summer is the annual pickup games in the Dean Dome where current and former players come together for a scrimmage. As you can see in the Instagram posts below by Kendall Marshall and Marcus Ginyard, several former players were there including Justin Jackson, Tyler Hansbrough, Justin Watts, Mike Copeland, Quentin Thomas, Deonte Thompson, David Noel and Theo Pinson among others:

Current players from the roster also participated in the game, giving them a chance to go up against some players that left their legacy on the program. UNC doesn’t release the stats from the pickup games as they are secret and not many people are allowed in attendance.

The Tar Heels will open up their 2019-20 season with an ACC home game against Notre Dame on November 6th. They will begin training camp and practices in October to prepare for the upcoming season.

For more on the UNC Basketball program, please check back with Keeping It Heel.

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