Luka Bogavac Still in Limbo, UNC Basketball Faces BYU & AJ Dybantsa, Heels Host 'Hoos

Plus: Basketball recruiting slump, Diamond Heels land a lefty, Maximo Adams visit, Charly Bruder NPOW

North Carolina guard Luka Bogavac | Photo: Maggie Hobson, UNC Athletics

Luka Bogavac has been cleared to play by the NCAA but not by UNC. What gives? Meanwhile UNC Basketball faces BYU and former recruiting target AJ Dybantsa on Friday. Carolina Football hosts Virginia, basketball recruiting hits a slump, 4-star wing Maximo Adams is set to visit, UNC Baseball lands another pitcher, and more. On to the updates…

Basketball

UNC Basketball travels to Salt Lake City, Utah on Friday night to face off against No. 8 BYU in a pre-season exhibition matchup. BYU is led by freshman phenom and likely top-5 NBA Draft pick AJ Dybantsa, who listed the Tar Heels among his finalists in the recruiting process before committing to the Cougars.

BYU freshman AJ Dybantsa on his official visit to UNC

Hubert Davis spoke about the matchup at his press conference on Wednesday:

“There are huge benefits in playing games like this. Obviously, playing against such a really good opponent in BYU gives us an opportunity to be able to take a clear look at ourselves on things that we’re doing well, things that we need to improve on before the regular season starts.”

Davis also offered more information on the eligibility status of guard Luka Bogavac, who has been cleared by the NCAA but apparently not by UNC:

“From an NCAA standpoint, yes,” Davis said regarding Bogavac being cleared. “Institutionally wise, we’re working on it and were making progress.” When asked if he will play in Friday night’s exhibition against BYU in Salt Lake City, UT, Davis replied, “Possibly.”

Bogavac so far has cleared the visa process and secured NCAA eligibility, he’s taking classes at Carolina, practicing with the team, but UNC hasn’t cleared him to play in games yet? Davis was vague in addressing the situation, but hopefully it gets worked out soon.

UNC will receive $500,000 for playing the exhibition game against BYU. In total, Carolina is set to pay $650,000 to eight nonconference teams and receive at least $750,000 in two other games.

Football

UNC Football hosts the No. 16 Virginia Cavaliers (6-1) for a noon kickoff at Kenan Stadium on Saturday. This week’s pre-game concert in Polk Place features Collective Soul, whose performance begins at 10:00 a.m.

The Tar Heels showed solid improvement last weekend against Cal. Can it carry over against the ‘Hoos? If so, it will be without three players who left the program this week:

• Offensive lineman William Boone is no longer on the team and reportedly will seek a medical redshirt before transferring.

• Pass rusher Pryce Yates, one of UNC’s big wins in the transfer portal, is no longer on the team after attempting a comeback from recurring concussions.

• And UNC football program source also confirmed to TarHeel247 that freshman tight end Yasir Smith is no longer with the program.

Some click-seeking members of the media may portray this as players fleeing a sinking ship, but all of these departures seem like unique cases and not a symptom of some larger issue…although there are still issues.

Finally, it was announced that UNC’s game next weekend at Syracuse will take place Friday, Oct. 31 (Halloween night) at 7:30 on ESPN. 🎃

Basketball Recruiting

It looks like it could be transfer portal or bust to build next season’s basketball recruiting class after some prominent recruiting misses.