Keeping It Heel
Fansided

UNC Basketball trio make Dick Vitale’s Preseason All-American Teams

By Nick Delahanty

Dec 1, 2021; Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; ESPN announcer Dick Vitale comes in before the game at Dean E. Smith Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 1, 2021; Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; ESPN announcer Dick Vitale comes in before the game at Dean E. Smith Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit

Three members of the UNC basketball program earned Preseason All-American honors from legendary college basketball analyst Dick Vitale.

In anticipation of the 2022-2023 college basketball season, legendary college basketball analyst Dick Vitale released his annual Preseason All-American honors.

This year, three UNC basketball standouts have been named to Vitale’s, as he calls it, “All-Rolls Royce” squads.

Isn’t that awesome baby!!!!

In what shouldn’t be a surprise, Armando Bacot earned first-team honors. The rising senior is coming off a tremendous junior season, he’s just one of two Tar Heels in the last 50 seasons to average a double-double in points and rebounds in their career. We’ve witnessed Bacot re-write the UNC basketball record books, now we’ll wait and see if he can help lead the program to a national title this upcoming season.

Junior guard Caleb Love was named to Vitale’s second-team Preseason All-American squad. Of course, we all talk about Love’s clutch shot in the Final Four against Duke, but there’s more to the St. Louis, Missouri native than just one big play.

Love is coming off a season in which he increased his scoring, shooting percentage, and rebounds per game. If he continues to prove his offensive consistency, he’s going to be even more of a matchup nightmare for opposing defenses this season.

R.J. Davis rounds out the honors for the Tar Heels, as Vitale tabbed the junior guard as a third-team Preseason All-American selection.

Similar to Love, Davis improved in essentially every aspect of the game. With a year of experience under his belt, the White Plains, New York native became an integral part of the Tar Heels run to the national championship game and should have the same impact with this year’s squad as well.

All three players are very deserving of the recognition, as it’s safe to say that this won’t be the last we hear about them as the season continues to inch closer.

dark. Next. Zayden High announces Top 5 finalists

Follow us @KeepingItHeel on Twitter and like our fan page on Facebook for continued coverage of UNC basketball news, updates, and recruiting.

Home/UNC Basketball