The Tar Heels look to build off last seasons second round exit in the NCAA Tournament, backed by a rejuvenated roster and hungry veteran leaders.
North Carolina faced a flurry of injuries in the 2023-24 season, using just seven players in last year’s bout against the UConn Huskies. Head Coach Courtney Banghart entered today’s media availability with a light-hearted message. “We’re healthy. Yay. Knock on everything that you know.”
When healthy, the Tar Heels present a slew of problems for opposing teams, due to the plethora of playmakers on their roster. Swiss army knife, and fifth year player Alyssa Ustby highlighted how her off-season was spent expanding her game to the three point line, in order to help Banghart’s offense run more smoothly.
Graduate student and starting guard, Lexi Donarski, remains North Carolina’s primary floor spacer. Through four seasons, Donarski shoots 35.7% from three on 5.9 attempts per game. The modern game can be characterized as a “pace and space” style of play, and Banghart has every intent to follow that model for the 2024-25 season.
Former Tar Heel and current Oregon Duck, Deja Kelly, recently had choice words for her former team on TikTok, saying “I carried that program on my back for four years in the most humble way”.
When asked about what excited her about this upcoming season, Courtney Banghart responded, “I think this is a really connected group. It’s a very popular time to talk about those words, but it’s not a word I would have always used, and this group is really connected with one another.”
The Tar Heels are drowning out the outside noise, despite the media storm that was unleashed with Deja’s comments. Regardless, the expanded Atlantic Coast Conference will have a few constants, one being UNC posing a real threat to hoist the conference trophy at season’s end.
