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UNC Basketball: ESPN’s Dick Vitale talks North Carolina hoops

By Blake Cockrum

LAS VEGAS, NV - MARCH 06: Sportscaster Dick Vitale (C) dances with members of the Gonzaga Bulldogs band before the championship game of the West Coast Conference basketball tournament between the Bulldogs and the Brigham Young Cougars at the Orleans Arena on March 6, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Bulldogs won 74-54. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NV - MARCH 06: Sportscaster Dick Vitale (C) dances with members of the Gonzaga Bulldogs band before the championship game of the West Coast Conference basketball tournament between the Bulldogs and the Brigham Young Cougars at the Orleans Arena on March 6, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Bulldogs won 74-54. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) /
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ESPN’s Dick Vitale talks UNC basketball leading up to the 2021-22 college hoops season

The 2021-22 college basketball season is just around the corner, and longtime ESPN analyst and TV personality Dick Vitale has released his list of things that excite him most on the hardwood over the next several months.

The North Carolina Tar Heels make a few appearances on the list, beginning with Vitale’s thoughts on first-year UNC head coach Hubert Davis taking over the storied basketball program following the retirement of three-time national title-winner Roy Williams.

"“When Roy Williams announced his retirement, the Tar Heels kept the replacement in-house just as they did when the Michelangelo of coaching Dean Smith retired,” Vitale writes. “Davis spent nine seasons on the bench with Williams, and becomes the fourth former Tar Heel to become UNC head coach. He is the first Black head coach in Carolina men’s basketball history.”"

Obviously, Davis has huge shoes to fill on the North Carolina bench, but he’s as prepared for it as anyone in coaching, and more familiar with the terrain after nearly a decade studying under his Hall-of-Fame mentor in Chapel Hill.

The Tar Heels are also among Vitale’s “Sweet 16 intriguing teams” category, as he mentions the pressure that Davis is facing in year one, along with the ever-important return of junior big man Armando Bacot and the addition of transfer players Dawson Garcia and Brady Manek.

"“Davis will be under the microscope in his first season at his alma mater,” Vitale said. “Armando Bacot’s return helps, as will transfers including Dawson Garcia and Brady Manek.”"

Vitale also has 16 nonconference games that he’s looking forward to this season, and three of them involve the Tar Heels. The first is a bout with the Purdue Boilermakers in the Hall of Fame Tip-Off Tournament scheduled for November 20. Vitale highlights the low-post matchup between UNC’s Dawson Garcia and Purdue’s Trevion Williams, as they square off in a very early-season game featuring two top 25 programs.

Less than two weeks later, the Tar Heels will host the Michigan Wolverines at the Dean Smith Center as part of the ACC/Big 10 Challenge. This game pits the Tar Heels against one of last year’s NCAA Tournament Elite Eight teams, and features a player that North Carolina spent a long time recruiting but couldn’t secure, freshman power forward Caleb Houstan.

Lastly, Vitale is looking forward to North Carolina’s date with the UCLA Bruins in Las Vegas scheduled for December 18. The new-look Tar Heels will match up with one of last season’s surprise Final Four teams — the one that narrowly edged out the Michigan Wolverines en route to the National Semifinal — in an early-season CBS Sports Classic matchup.

Tar Heel fans are, no doubt, just as excited about the incredible nonconference slate that Davis and his team have in front of them in year one of the new regime. It’ll be a heck of a challenge, but hopefully it prepares them for a tough trek through the ACC and a deep run in the NCAA Tournament.

Next. UNC recruiting target picks ACC rival. dark

For all the latest on the UNC basketball program, check back with Keeping It Heel.

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