5-Star Basketball Visit, Game Week (and a Hulu Docuseries) for UNC Football
Plus: Tar Heels fighting for NFL roster spots, projected basketball starting lineup, recruits put on a show in L.A., an all-time great UNC Basketball cover, Olympic sports roundup
Before we start, here’s a huge THANK YOU to everyone who has subscribed to the Tar Heel Times Newsletter! The reception has been unbelievable. In less that one month, we’ve made the “Substack Bestseller” list!
Being new to this format, I’m not quite sure what that means, but it seems good. And as we keep growing, please be sure to let me know how you’re enjoying the content. Now on to the updates…
Basketball
Now that all UNC Basketball players are on campus participating in preseason workouts, perhaps it’s a good time to speculate on who the starters might be. RL Bynum from Tar Heel Tribune, did just that. His projected starters are Kyan Evans (PG), Seth Trimble (SG), Luka Bogavac (SF), Caleb Wilson (PF), and Henri Veesaar (C). That seems about right.
SLAM magazine released a special collector’s edition featuring the all-time greats of Carolina Basketball. Did they omit anyone who should have been included? Lennie Rosenbluth definitely comes to mind.
Basketball Recruiting
The big recruiting news over the weekend was the official visit of 5-star wing Anthony Thompson. Here are some social media photos from his visit. From the looks of his height, standing next to 6-10 Caleb Wilson, he appears to be very tall for a small forward…a “stretch four,” perhaps?
Next weekend also will be hugely important with 5-star point guard Deron Rippey, Jr. and 5-star power forward Toni Bryant in Chapel Hill for official visits during the big football weekend.
Several UNC recruits participated in the third annual Mamba League Invitational in Los Angeles this weekend, including Bryson Howard, Cameron Holmes, Cole Cloer, Maximo Adams, Cameron Williams, and junior CJ Rosser. It’s a unique outdoor game setting in the shadows of the downtown L.A. skyscrapers. Cloer fired up the crowd with an impressive drive and dunk. Click the image below for the Instagram video.
Football
UNC Football is officially in game week mode as the Tar Heels prepare to host TCU in Bill Belichick’s Tar Heel debut on Labor Day night.
Not only will the Tar Heels be in the national spotlight on Week 1, UNC Football will be featured in a Hulu season-long documentary set to air this fall. Here’s the Instagram video of Bill Belichick announcing the series, with more details to come:
The Tar Heels’ offensive line remains a complete mystery given the reported injuries and personnel shuffling. Rod Baxley of the Fayetteville Observer provided a great rundown of what he saw at practice and speculated on what the the depth chart may look like.
In the NFL, Mack Hollins continues to do great work for the Special Olympics and even involved Patriots teammate Drake Maye in giving back this week:
Former Carolina defensive back Kyler McMichael was released by the Pittsburgh Steelers.
And quarterback Sam Howell has a new home with the Philadelphia Eagles after being traded Sunday from the Minnesota Vikings.
NFL teams must trim their final rosters to 53 players by Tuesday at 4 p.m., so here’s a nice roundup of how Tar Heels in the NFL fared during their final preseason games.
Football Recruiting
It was a huge weekend for class of 2026 UNC wide receiver commit Zamaurious Robertson, who had 10 catches for 167 yards and 2 touchdowns in Dillon (S.C.) High’s 36-33 loss to Scotland (N.C.) High on Friday. Defensive linemen Ashton Blatt and Zavion Griffin-Haynes also had big games. Check out the full rundown from Inside Carolina’s Don Callahan.
Women’s Basketball Recruiting
Several UNC Women’s Basketball recruits also participated in the Mamba League Invitational over the weekend, including class of 2026 4-star Tar Heel center commit Noelle Bofia, Autumn Fleary, Jenca Lewis, Jayda Porter, and Morghan Reckley.
Baseball
Much like the men’s and women’s basketball teams, the Diamond Heels are continuing their preseason work behind the scenes with their back-to-school early morning grind. Here’s a cool pre-dawn shot of Kenan Stadium from new UNC Baseball General Manager Carter Hicks:
As for Tar Heels in the minor leagues, Myrtle Beach Pelicans outfielder Kane Kepley continues to impress at the Single-A level. Pitcher Austin Love looks ready to make the jump to Triple-A after a strong season with the Springfield Cardinals. And outfielder Vance Honeycutt is still trying to find himself with the Single-A Aberdeen IronBirds.
Olympic Sports
Congratulations to UNC Men’s Lacrosse players Owen Duffy, Anthony Raio, and Brady Wambach on winning Silver at the World Lacrosse Men’s U20 World Championship in South Korea on Saturday. Unfortunately, they fell to Canada, 6-5, in the championship game but a great experience on the world stage for those Tar Heels, nonetheless.
On another world stage, UNC Women’s Soccer freshmen Lauren Malsom and Riley Kennedy have been selected to compete with the U-17 National Team for a pair of international friendlies in Spain.
Carolina Men’s Soccer won its season opener 3-1 over UCF on Thursday and followed that up with a 2-1 come-from-behind victory over Seattle University on Sunday.
The women’s team fell to Georgia, 2-0, on Thursday but bounced back 4-0 against Rice on Sunday. They are still missing starting defender/midfielder Tessa Dellarose with injury, but it’s been a slow start to the season for the defending national champs, who are now ranked No. 12 nationally after starting the season at No. 1.
UNC Women’s Lacrosse announced the signing of former Yale team captain Sophie Straka and last season’s Louisville assist leader Negai Nakazawa.
And don’t miss the Women’s Lacrosse 2025 National Championship Documentary “Cashing Receipts.” It’s a great watch.
This Week’s Tar Heel Birthdays
Happy birthday shoutouts this week to…
A.J. Blue, Miami Dolphins Asst. Strength & Conditioning Coach: August 24 (37)
Adam Warren, Former MLB Pitcher, August 25 (38)
Mack Brown, Hall of Fame Football Coach, August 27 (74)
Drake Maye, NFL Quarterback, August 30 (23)
Vic Seixas, International Tennis Hall of Fame: August 30 (1923-2024)
Tar Heel Tidbits
This event isn’t for another month, but I just learned about it this week and it seems like an excellent opportunity to give back to your community if you’re so inclined.
Last year, the family of Eric Montross along with The Rams Club founded the “Montross Day of Service,” which takes place every Sept. 23rd (Montross’ birthday) to honor the life and legacy of the former Tar Heel center, radio color commentator, and philanthropist. Please take a moment to learn more about the special day and how you can get involved.
Final Thoughts
As a reminder, this newsletter will remain free through the end of August, giving you a chance to see what it’s all about while giving me time to dial in the content that’s most valuable to you. Starting Labor Day, it will switch to a paid model: $5/month or $50/year, with a 1-week free trial you can cancel anytime.
So, why the paid subscription model? It’s simple. Tar Heel Times will always remain a free website, but this newsletter is something new—more personal, more focused, and directly supported by readers like you. It’s a clean, ad-free UNC digest delivered straight to your inbox, without clutter or clickbait. Your support helps cover the time and effort it takes to put it all together.
Go Heels, and a sincere thank you to the many of our over 1,400 subscribers who have already become paid supporters.
James
Thanks so much, Steve. I'm glad you're enjoying it, and it's been a blast to write. Hopefully it will become even better as I continue to find my groove with this new format.
The subscription has already paid for itself...keep the great content coming!