Two UNC basketball standouts make top returners list

Two UNC basketball standouts made Andy Katz’s top 25 returners list for the upcoming 2022-2023 season. Which Tar Heels made the cut?!

We’re still a few months away from the official start of the college basketball season. Still, it’s never too early for college basketball analysts to start looking ahead in anticipation of the return of the sport.

This week, popular analyst Andy Katz broke down his list of the top 25 returning players in the country. He announced five spots per day, starting with 25 and proceeding to the top spot on the list.

The UNC basketball program is well-represented on the list, as they are the only team in the entire country to have two players among the top 15 spots on the list.

So, you’re probably wondering, who made the cut?! Well, we’re here to tell you!

Coming in at No. 15 on the list is standout guard Caleb Love. The rising junior is coming off a sophomore campaign where he averaged 15.9 points, 3.6 assists, and 3.4 rebounds per game. He also played a major role in the Tar Heels run to the NCAA title game, as a 30-point game against UCLA and a 28-point outing against rival Duke in the Final Four were major contributors to the team’s overall success.

Love is very deserving of a spot on this list, as he saw a major jump in production from his freshman to sophomore seasons. Although the NBA was an enticing option for Love, the St. Louis, Missouri native decided that he still had business to take of in Chapel Hill.

The other player on the list shouldn’t be surprising to anyone, as he is regarded as one of the top players in the entire country.

Katz considers UNC basketball standout Armando Bacot as one of the top returning players in the country, as he placed him No. 3 overall on his list. Bacot is coming off an incredible junior season in which he re-wrote numerous North Carolina Basketball records, including the program’s single-season double-doubles record.

Bacot will most likely go into the season as the ACC Preseason Player of the Year, and should also be mentioned among the All-American contenders as well. In his senior season, Bacot will continue to chase a National Championship while also adding to his already impressive college basketball resume.

Expectations are high for the Tar Heels heading into the 2022-2023 season, and the guys who made this list will definitely be called upon to continue making a major impact in helping the program achieve its goals moving forward.

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