Eventually, defending champion UConn’s threes were bound to start falling. But the Huskies’ second-half shooting barrage was overshadowed someone by transfer guard Cam Spencer’s chippiness (though, at the very least, referees wised up and assessed him an early technical foul of his own after halftime).
Spencer’s first half was defined by the smack he talked directly in the grill of Armando Bacot. Bacot was penalized following an emphatic dunk; Spencer, until the second half, got off scot-free for showing similar levels of emotion. That’s what you get for playing at Madison Square Garden in a bubbling cauldron of Connecticut natives, though.
Spencer first tweaked Tar Heel nerves when he got in Bacot’s face after flipping the ball cavalierly after a made UConn basket. His mission to irritate was just beginning, though, and his tough-nosed antics have Carolina fans wondering why the Rutgers transfer chose Dan Hurley over Jon Scheyer.
Cam Spencer should be playing in Durham
— Tate Frazier (@tatefrazier) December 6, 2023
New UNC Basketball villain Cam Spencer belongs on Duke, not UConn
Cameron Indoor seems like it would’ve been a perfect spot for Spencer’s sharpshooting.
Either that, or on the wing next to Chad Michael Murray sorting out the beefs and foibles of his awkward teenage years.
Are we sure cam Spencer didn't go to high school at Tree Hill?
— ♛Young Simba♛ (A Leaky Black Stan Account) (@CrownedPrinceHC) December 6, 2023
Bottom line? Spencer likely left NIL money on the table not choosing to follow in Duke’s proud tradition of tripping, chirping, grating dorks, but his team is certainly off to a better start than Scheyer’s.
And who knows? Maybe he’ll have a place at the next level, when all is said and done.
Cam Spencer’s favorite player growing up pic.twitter.com/xUqqVB6Bdt
— “Casual” UNC Fan (@sportsfan513) December 6, 2023
It’s happened before.