Caleb Wilson Comes Home, Belichick Denied, UNC Women's Tennis Takes Down No. 1
Plus: Antawn Jamison gives back, Mitch Mason update, Women's hoops heads to Raleigh, Crystal Dunn retires
I hope everyone is safe and warm as many of us continue to dig out of the snow. Since we last caught up, Caleb Wilson had a happy homecoming in Atlanta, Bill Belichick was denied election to the Pro Football Hall of Fame on his first ballot, UNC Women’s Tennis took down No. 9 NC State and No. 1 Georgia, soccer legend Crystal Dunn retired, and more. On to the updates…
🏀 Basketball
No. 16 UNC took care of business against Georgia Tech on Saturday, 97-75 in Caleb Wilson’s homecoming. Here are some noteworthy nuggets from the win:
Caleb Wilson scored 22 points and set two UNC freshman records. It was his 21st consecutive game scoring in double figures, the longest streak to begin a career by a freshman and it was his 15th 20-point game.
The Tar Heels committed just 2(!) turnovers, which were the fewest ever by UNC on the road.
UNC also set a school record for fewest turnovers in consecutive games with six (four at Virginia and two at Georgia Tech).
Carolina will need to put that win behind them quickly, though, as they have a short turnaround before hosting Syracuse on Monday (7:00, ESPN).
Caleb Wilson has obviously been a star on the offensive end of the court all season, but he’s starting to be recognized for his defensive abilities as well. Wilson was named to the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Watch List on Thursday.
It was also announced that Carolina Basketball will face Kentucky in the 2026 CBS Sports Classic on Dec. 19 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Kansas will face Ohio State in the other half of the double-header.
And the Smith Center will be this site of ESPN’s College GameDay on Saturday, Feb. 7 ahead of UNC’s game against Duke.
Per ESPN producer (and UNC alum) Bryan Ives, Saturday will mark the 88th meeting in which both Duke and North Carolina are ranked. That is 47 more than any other matchup. In those games:
North Carolina: 44 wins, 77.9 PPG
Duke: 43 wins, 77.4 PPG
Two Tar Heels very familiar with the North Carolina-Duke rivalry, Makhtar N’Diaye and Antawn Jamison reunited recently at the invitation of the Dakar Youth Olympics Committee to work with basketball players in N’Diaye’s home country of Senegal. N’Diaye posted a great photo gallery on Instagram of Jamison’s first trip to Africa.
In “where are they now?” news, former UNC guard and 1993 NCAA Champion Dante Calabria is continuing his basketball coaching career this season with the Montreal Toundra, which is part of Canada’s Basketball Super League founded in 2023.
🏈 Football, Recruiting & Transfer Portal
North Carolina’s 2026 football schedule has been announced, and it could be another tough season. The Tar Heels begin with a rematch against TCU in Dublin, Ireland. UNC also visits, Clemson, Pitt, and Virginia and hosts Notre Dame, Miami, Louisville, and NC State. The Tar Heels likely will not be favored in any of those matchups.
In surprise news of the week, Bill Belichick did not receive enough votes to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility, failing to receive 40 of the 50 necessary votes. Apparently, several voters decided to “punish” Belichick for his alleged involvement in the infamous “Deflate-gate” and “Spy-gate” NFL scandals. This is not a good look for the voting committee, and blowback by fans and media was fierce.
Former North Carolina defensive lineman Jahvaree Ritzie has signed a Reserve/Future contract with the Pittsburgh Steelers, which guarantees him a slot on the team’s 90-player training camp roster next season.
And on a sad note, UNC Football Team Chaplain Mitch Mason announced his transition to hospice care as a result of his lengthy battle against idiopathic small fiber neuropathy, an incurable, debilitating nerve disorder. Here is the announcement he posted on social media last Monday. Please keep Mitch in your thoughts:
🏀 Women’s Basketball
There was no Women’s Basketball game this past week, but there is a HUGE game Monday as coach Courtney Banghart’s squad heads to Raleigh to face the Wolfpack at 6:00 p.m. (ESPN2). The UNC men’s team plays Syracuse at 7:00 on ESPN, so it will be a split screen or channel surfing night as the games overlap for a half.
Congratulations to Indya Nivar, who was named to the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Watch List last week. Nivar is averaging an impressive 2.1 steals per game in ACC play.
Finally, 2026 5-star UNC Women’s Basketball signee Kate Harpring has been nominated for the prestigious McDonald’s All-American game.
⚾ Baseball
The Diamond Heels continue spring practices leading up to the season-opener against Indiana at Boshamer Stadium on Feb. 13. UNC held an intrasquad scrimmage this past Thursday, with Erik Paulsen blasting a 372-foot home run to right center while going 2-3 with two RBI and a run scored.
UNC Baseball was picked to finish second in the ACC behind Georgia Tech during the media preseason poll released last week.
🏅 Olympic Sports
It was a big week for No. 3 UNC Women’s Tennis. On Tuesday, reigning ITA national champion Reese Brantmeier was named ACC player of the week along with doubles partner Alanis Hamilton.
On Friday, the Tar Heels scored a huge come-from-behind victory to beat No. 9 NC State, 4-3. And if that wasn’t enough, UNC followed that up with a convincing 5-2 victory over No. 1 and defending national champion Georgia.
Former UNC Women’s Soccer and U.S. Women’s National team great Crystal Dunn announced her retirement from professional soccer. A legend in the sport, here is a link to Dunn’s farewell post on Instagram and a few of her too-many-to-list accolades:
2012 Honda Award for Soccer
2012 NCAA Champion
2013 MAC Hermann Trophy Winner
2013 ACC Athlete of the Year
2019 World Cup Champion
2020 Olympic Bronze Medalist
2024 Olympic Gold Medalist
13-year US Women’s National Team Veteran
3x NWSL Champion
⏪ This Week In Tar Heel History
February 2, 1995: Jerry Stackhouse (25 points), Rasheed Wallace (25), and Donald Williams (24) combined for 74 points as Carolina beats Duke, 102-100, in double overtime. Blue Devil guard Jeff Capel sends the game into a second overtime with a halfcourt three-pointer, but a Jeff McInnis steal and basket provides the winning margin for UNC.
🎂 This Week’s Tar Heel Birthdays
Happy birthday shouts out to…
Lawrence Taylor, 2x Super Bowl champion, 1986 NFL MVP, Pro Football Hall of Fame, ACC POY, UNC No. 98 Honored Jersey, All-American: Feb. 4 (67)
Kennedy Meeks, 2017 Basketball National Champion, 9-year Overseas Professional: Feb. 5 (31)
John Kuester, 1977 ACC Tournament MVP, 3-year NBA player, longtime college/NBA coach, 2004 NBA Champion (asst. coach): Feb. 6 (71)
Fiona Crawley, Women’s Tennis All-American, 2023 ITA National POY, Honda Award Winner, Doubles National Champion: Feb. 7 (24)
Mike O’Koren, 3x Basketball All-American, Longtime NBA Player and Asst. Coach, Feb. 7 (68)
🏁 Final Thoughts
Thanks again to everyone for supporting the Tar Heel Times Newsletter. I hope you had a great weekend, and please leave a comment to let me know how you’re enjoying the content, what you’d like to see more of, or anything else that’s on your mind. I truly appreciate your support.
Go Heels!
James
That is one heck of a list of birthday people. Amazing to have so many class people linked to our university. And that was one really great ESPN article about Mack Hollins. Go Heels!
Thanks for sharing the "Where's Dook" photo. My sister and I were there with our mom and we saw those UNC greats with the sign. However, that was from the 2005 National Championship and I remember it well because it was the last live UNC basketball my mom attended before passing away later that year. Still, awesome photo!