UNC Basketball Blue-White Scrimmage, Football Falters, Diamond Heels Romp

Plus: Drake Maye's big night, recruiting updates, Volleyball dominates Duke, 2 Tar Heels awarded "Order of the Long Leaf Pine"

UNC Freshman Forward Caleb Wilson | Photo: Joshua Lawton, Tar Heel Tribune

UNC Basketball held its annual Blue-White Scrimmage, Ludacris performed in Polk Place, and in between UNC Football forgot to show up against Clemson. The Diamond Heels routed Walters State in a baseball scrimmage, Drake Maye looked like a star on Sunday Night Football, No. 25 UNC Volleyball dominated Duke, and more. On to the updates…

Basketball

Tar Heel fans got their first look at the 2025-26 UNC men’s basketball team on Saturday afternoon, as UNC held its annual Blue-White scrimmage at the Smith Center. For the record, the White team won 55-50, but this exhibition was more about getting a look at the individual players rather than winning or losing.

Unofficially, the leading scorers for the game were junior wing Luka Bogavac with 14 points, freshman forward Caleb Wilson with 11, and sophomore guard Jonathan Powell with 11. Freshmen guards Derek Dixon and Isaiah Denis and forward Ivan Matlekovic and did not play due to injury.

Here are the scrimmage highlights, courtesy of Inside Carolina:

And for those wondering, Luka Bogavac reportedly will be listed as a junior instead of a freshman on the UNC Basketball roster, per R.L. Bynum of Tar Heel Tribune, although the official roster has yet to reflect the change.

UNC and Butler have scheduled a home-and-home basketball series:

“Butler and North Carolina have agreed to a men’s basketball home-and-home series that will feature games during the 2026-27 and 2027-28 seasons. The teams will play in Chapel Hill in either November or December of 2026 before the Bulldogs host the Tar Heels at Hinkle Fieldhouse in either November or December of 2027.“

In the NBA, RJ Davis got off to a hot start to the exhibition season, scoring 14 points in 18 minutes as his Lakers fell 103-81 to the Phoenix Suns.

And former UNC forward Leaky Black has signed an Exhibit 10 deal with the Washington Wizards.

“After spending the 2024-25 season with the G League’s Capital City Go-Go, Black will now have the opportunity to compete for a two-way roster spot with the Wizards. Over 33 G League regular-season contests last year, the 26-year-old forward averaged 8.4 points, 5.0 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and 1.3 steals per game.”

Football

In between Saturday’s highlights of the Ludacris concert and the Blue-White Scrimmage, there was a football game. I won’t spend too much time on it this week, but UNC Football is currently in a bad place after falling 38-10 to Clemson in a game that was essentially over after the first quarter.

Thankfully, the Tar Heels have another open date next week to make some improvements before heading west to face Cal on Oct. 17 at 10:30 p.m. ET(!). Do we stay up for that one?

It was a big week for several Tar Heels in the NFL. R.L. Bynum at Tar Heel Tribune has the comprehensive rundown.

• Drake Maye and the Patriots handed the Bills their first loss with a huge 23-20 road victory. Maye was nearly flawless, completing 22 of 30 passes for 273 yards.

• Javonte Williams notched a career-high 135 rushing yards, including two touchdowns to help the Cowboys beat the Jets, 37-22.

• Cedric Gray had six tackles, six assists, and a tackle-for-loss for the Titans.

Basketball Recruiting