Lucas: Early Orientation

By Adam Lucas

Virtually the entire roster is new, but the 2025-26 Tar Heels don't get a couple days of easy orientation.

The official practice schedule begins on September 22. But NCAA rules allow teams eight hours per week before practice begins to lift, do individual workouts or team sessions. Carolina began the pre-practice workout portion of the schedule on Tuesday morning at 7:45 a.m. and then gathered again on Thursday morning for some defense-focused work.

Having so many new faces means even the very basic parts of practice have to be taught. Fast break drill number one has been done at almost every practice for the last two decades; the Tar Heels did it a little more slowly on Tuesday morning before Hubert Davis reminded them that even though it's August, a bigger goal awaits.

Just a couple repetitions into the full-court drill, the head coach blew the whistle. "OK," he said. "Now we have to make 25 layups in this drill in two minutes."

It's harder than it sounds. And it's not just making 25 layups…it's making 25 layups the exact way Davis demands. "Right hand layups on the right side. Left hand layups on the left side. I'm not taking any shortcuts," Davis said as he pointed to the end of the Smith Center with the national championship banners. "I'm not taking one shortcut so we can get that banner right up there." (That's the exact point Davis is making in the attached photo by Maggie Hobson.)

His team looks considerably different. Davis said one of his offseason priorities was adding size. When the Heels split into guards and post players, the post group is noticeably bigger. There's 7-foot Henri Veesaar, a transfer from Arizona, the true center Carolina frequently needed last season. But there are also five other players who stand at least 6-foot-10: Zayden High, James Brown, Caleb Wilson, Jarin Stevenson and Ivan Matlekovic. Last year's team had two players who were at least 6-foot-10.

But it's a smaller player who is already the unquestioned leader of the team. Seth Trimble is the most experienced Tar Heel and also the most vocal, a role that seems to come naturally to him. He's the one who schedules the regular pickup games—several alums will be in town this weekend for some high quality competition—and the one who gathers the team before and after every practice.

He's also the one who has provided guidance during the inevitable offseason arguments about out of bounds calls or the correct score during pickup games. It's obvious, even in August, his teammates listen to him.

It's still very early, of course. The Tar Heels don't even have an official schedule yet (last year, the ACC released it on Sept. 24). But it's still good to have basketball in the Smith Center again, and it's much more fun to learn how to pronounce Luka Bogavac—a reminder that the GoHeels online roster has pronunciation audio for each Tar Heel you might need—while watching him knock down three-pointers.

Watch the Carolina Basketball social channels over the weekend for the first in a series of introductory content on each new Tar Heel player on the roster. This weekend's subject will be Kyan Evans. The UNC guard will also be the guest on tomorrow's episode of the Carolina Insider podcast, which will have introductory interviews with each new Tar Heel in the weeks to come, so it's a good time to subscribe and make sure you don't miss one.

Players Mentioned

Luka Bogavac

James Brown

Kyan Evans

Zayden High

Ivan Matlekovic

Jarin Stevenson

Seth Trimble

Henri Veesaar

Caleb Wilson

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