UNC Basketball has one of the sports biggest impact players

The UNC Basketball program hopes to bounce back from a disappointing 2022-2023 season, and they have a big man who can help.

Yesterday, the UNC basketball schedule was released. Today, we are forty days from the college basketball season beginning, and the Tar Heels hoping to erase the bad memories from last year’s disappointing results of missing the NCAA Tournament.

John Fanta, a reporter for Fox Sports, released his top forty players and coaches that he believes will have the most impact on the 2023-2024 College Basketball season. UNC Basketball fans will find some familiar names on the list, including in the top five.

Coming in at No. 4 on Fanta’s list is none other than Tar Heel big man, Armando Bacot. Bacot has been through it all during his time at North Carolina, reaching the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. Fanta’s take on why Bacot can impact the college basketball landscape addresses that.

"In the last two seasons, no player has been more important to his team than Bacot. North Carolina went from being an 8-seed to reaching the national championship game, then went from being the preseason No. 1 team … to missing the Big Dance altogether. Bacot has seen it all, while at the same time achieving history of his own. It’s wild to think Bacot is already North Carolina’s all-time leading rebounder with 1,335 boards and 68 double-doubles. Can UNC bounce back? That starts with Bacot’s leadership."

Tar Heel fans will be hoping Bacot, and senior guard RJ Davis, can lead this year’s team back to the promised land after the 2022-2023 season. UNC Basketball Head Coach Hubert Davis is also on Fanta’s list at No. 37.

"His first season saw the highest of highs seemingly out of nowhere, as he led the Tar Heels to the national championship game. His second year featured the lowest of lows with dysfunction and disappointment. So, Davis has seen it all in a short period, but he did a nice job bringing in transfers that I believe will fit in well. If all the pieces connect correctly, this could be a team that contends at the top of the ACC and is in the top 20-25."

There aren’t many concerns surrounding Hubert Davis with finding talent and recruiting that talent to come to Chapel Hill, as he has one of the top transfer classes in the country to go along with the No. 1 recruiting class for 2024. Putting that talent to work on the floor has been a struggle during the first two seasons that Tar Heel fans hope to see corrected in year three. How do you think Bacot and Hubert Davis shape the 2023-2024 College Basketball landscape?

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