UNC Basketball: Tar Heels need more from Armando Bacot

The Tar Heels left the Battle 4 Atlantis in late November thinking they had a budding superstar in Armando Bacot, but we haven’t seen that level of play from him since then.

What happened to the Armando Bacot that had 23 points, 12 rebounds and 6 blocks against Oregon (who is now ranked 4th in the country)? The five-star recruit from Richmond, Virginia had a stretch of games that had him on track to be an all ACC player and probably a spot in a couple of NBA mock drafts, but all of that has vanished.

Watching Armando Bacot play with his drive and intensity made him my favorite Tar Heel right out of the gate. He was grabbing every rebound and blocking shots with ferocity, but for some reason, It feels like he’s lost that energy.

The Cole Anthony injury was demoralizing, but I was kind of excited to see how Bacot was going to rise to the occasion with an increased offensive role and more opportunities. Well, I was very wrong. Not only did he fail to rise to the occasion, but he failed to stay at the level he was playing at before.

In the four games played without Anthony, Bacot is averaging 6.75 points per game while shooting 25 percent from the field. This has been extremely unexpected from Bacot as his potential appears to be the roof.

When it comes down to it, trying to find the issue with Bacot feels like an intensity and a will thing for the freshman. He doesn’t seem as locked in as he was earlier in the year. He’s playing with a more hesitant playstyle which makes him less of a weapon for the Tar Heels.

For example, look how quick his move is in the game against Oregon. When he got the ball he knew exactly what his goal was and stayed determined to make sure he got to the rim. He missed the shot but performed a beautiful move that got him to the free-throw line.

In the Yale game where he underperformed and played tentative, there were moments where he looked beyond passive. There were many scenarios where this came up but look at this clip below to understand some of these opportunities he wasn’t exploiting.

I mean, come on now. Look at the daylight he was given to either get to the rim or take a short uncontested mid-range jump shot. He’s as talented as they come. He’s got the length and the athleticism but seems somewhat scared which this team cannot afford right now.

The Tar Heels are about to enter ACC play and need Armando Bacot at full strength to compete with how talented the conference is. I don’t know what the answer is with Bacot but someone in that locker room needs to make sure that he knows how gifted he is and that he needs to act like it so this team can win and compete at the highest level.

He’s a freshman playing at the highest stage of college basketball, the pressure that comes with it is unquestioned and with a team that needs all it can get it’s hands-on, Bacot is crucial. They need to run more plays for him and this needs to be a team thing. He’s too special to play his freshman year tentative…help him out!

Look for Armando Bacot to find his footing as conference plays gets underway as Georiga Tech comes to Chapel Hill on January 4th. It’s crucial for UNC to come out hot and let the rest of the conference know that the Tar Heels are still legitimate even with the slow start.