University of North Carolina Athletics
Sayon Keita
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Lucas: USC Rapid Reactions
October 9, 2026 | Men's Basketball, Featured Writers, Adam Lucas
Quick takeaways from Carolina's exhibition opener.
By Adam Lucas
1. Carolina gets a very encouraging, 88-70 exhibition win over Southern California in Greensboro to open the exhibition season.
2. A clue that this team will be fun to watch: Matt Able and Terrence Brown, who will be two of Carolina's most important players, were scoreless for the first 32 minutes of game action and had six turnovers between them. But Carolina still built a 61-53 lead during that span. When Able and Brown weren't themselves, finishing with five points and those six turnovers, the Heels were able to get contributions from essentially everyone else to take the lead.
3. That "everyone else" included Jarin Stevenson, who played aggressively on his way to 25 points. The returnee hit four three-pointers and had 10 rebounds. That's exactly the kind of production Malone wants to see from him.
4. What you might not have expected are great nights from Isaiah Denis and Maximo Adams. Denis never worked his way into the rotation after a finger injury last year, and Adams is a freshman. But with Able and Brown not themselves, the Denis/Adams duo were essential. Denis scored 14 and Adams, who was aggressive early when Carolina needed it, had 11 points and six rebounds. Malone wrapped Denis in a big hug when he left the court and said, "I'm proud of you." In addition to his scoring, Carolina is trusting Denis to run the offense, a new role, and he's making solid strides.
5. Get used to this kind of box score from Neo Avdalas. The Virginia Tech transfer had 15 points, nine rebounds and five assists in just 24 minutes of action. He's an essential part of Malone's attack and does a little bit of everything.
6. Neither team had the full roster it wants to field when the season begins next month. Due to injury, Southern Cal was missing KJ Lewis, Eric Reibe and Christian Collins, three players who will be in their rotation. And Carolina played without big man Cameron Fens, who is awaiting eligibility clearance and would be an important part of the post equation for Michael Malone.
7. Malone received a big ovation when he walked out of the tunnel for the first time as Carolina's head coach with a couple of minutes remaining before tipoff. The Carolina crowd wasn't huge, but the ones who were there were extremely enthusiastic. You know you're getting your diehards when it's an October 9 exhibition game against USC.
8. Carolina had a 2-for-1 opportunity at the end of the first half and immediately took it, with Malone reminding Avdalas of the game situation and Avdalas quickly converting a basket. The Tar Heels didn't get the full benefit of the scenario because of an offensive foul on the second possession, but it was nice to watch them turn something they've practiced into (mostly) game execution. A similar example: Stevenson twice took advantage of Alijah Arenas' foul trouble, posting him up and scoring over him on a couple key late game possessions.
9. Interesting to get a first opportunity to see how a Malone bench functions. In most cases, Malone--who called a timeout early in both the first and second half after transition and defensive breakdowns--spends the first few seconds of each stoppage consulting with his staff before taking over the huddle.
10. No question about the most fun play of the night: Sayon Keita got a second half steal and then sprinted unguarded for a two-handed dunk. The entire bench erupted, and Keita was beaming as he came to the huddle after a Trojan timeout. Keita had eight points and six rebounds to go with his four fouls in 19 minutes. That was a tough (and big) first opponent in Keita's first collegiate game. He's going to look significantly more advanced against foes who aren't as tall and athletic, and he's improving rapidly enough that the Trojans probably wouldn't recognize him if they face him in March.
11. Great to see numerous Tar Heel basketball lettermen in attendance, with perhaps the headliner being Ty Lawson (who was wearing a Ty Lawson jersey). The 2009 national champion is an infrequent attendee at games, so it was great to see him back at the location of his memorable '09 performance against LSU in the NCAA Tournament. He scored 21 of his 23 points after halftime in that game. This is also a reminder not to use Epsom salts on your toe injuries without doctor approval.
12. Carolina now has another week of practice before traveling to Indianapolis next Sunday to face Indiana at 5 p.m.
1. Carolina gets a very encouraging, 88-70 exhibition win over Southern California in Greensboro to open the exhibition season.
2. A clue that this team will be fun to watch: Matt Able and Terrence Brown, who will be two of Carolina's most important players, were scoreless for the first 32 minutes of game action and had six turnovers between them. But Carolina still built a 61-53 lead during that span. When Able and Brown weren't themselves, finishing with five points and those six turnovers, the Heels were able to get contributions from essentially everyone else to take the lead.
3. That "everyone else" included Jarin Stevenson, who played aggressively on his way to 25 points. The returnee hit four three-pointers and had 10 rebounds. That's exactly the kind of production Malone wants to see from him.
4. What you might not have expected are great nights from Isaiah Denis and Maximo Adams. Denis never worked his way into the rotation after a finger injury last year, and Adams is a freshman. But with Able and Brown not themselves, the Denis/Adams duo were essential. Denis scored 14 and Adams, who was aggressive early when Carolina needed it, had 11 points and six rebounds. Malone wrapped Denis in a big hug when he left the court and said, "I'm proud of you." In addition to his scoring, Carolina is trusting Denis to run the offense, a new role, and he's making solid strides.
5. Get used to this kind of box score from Neo Avdalas. The Virginia Tech transfer had 15 points, nine rebounds and five assists in just 24 minutes of action. He's an essential part of Malone's attack and does a little bit of everything.
6. Neither team had the full roster it wants to field when the season begins next month. Due to injury, Southern Cal was missing KJ Lewis, Eric Reibe and Christian Collins, three players who will be in their rotation. And Carolina played without big man Cameron Fens, who is awaiting eligibility clearance and would be an important part of the post equation for Michael Malone.
7. Malone received a big ovation when he walked out of the tunnel for the first time as Carolina's head coach with a couple of minutes remaining before tipoff. The Carolina crowd wasn't huge, but the ones who were there were extremely enthusiastic. You know you're getting your diehards when it's an October 9 exhibition game against USC.
8. Carolina had a 2-for-1 opportunity at the end of the first half and immediately took it, with Malone reminding Avdalas of the game situation and Avdalas quickly converting a basket. The Tar Heels didn't get the full benefit of the scenario because of an offensive foul on the second possession, but it was nice to watch them turn something they've practiced into (mostly) game execution. A similar example: Stevenson twice took advantage of Alijah Arenas' foul trouble, posting him up and scoring over him on a couple key late game possessions.
9. Interesting to get a first opportunity to see how a Malone bench functions. In most cases, Malone--who called a timeout early in both the first and second half after transition and defensive breakdowns--spends the first few seconds of each stoppage consulting with his staff before taking over the huddle.
10. No question about the most fun play of the night: Sayon Keita got a second half steal and then sprinted unguarded for a two-handed dunk. The entire bench erupted, and Keita was beaming as he came to the huddle after a Trojan timeout. Keita had eight points and six rebounds to go with his four fouls in 19 minutes. That was a tough (and big) first opponent in Keita's first collegiate game. He's going to look significantly more advanced against foes who aren't as tall and athletic, and he's improving rapidly enough that the Trojans probably wouldn't recognize him if they face him in March.
11. Great to see numerous Tar Heel basketball lettermen in attendance, with perhaps the headliner being Ty Lawson (who was wearing a Ty Lawson jersey). The 2009 national champion is an infrequent attendee at games, so it was great to see him back at the location of his memorable '09 performance against LSU in the NCAA Tournament. He scored 21 of his 23 points after halftime in that game. This is also a reminder not to use Epsom salts on your toe injuries without doctor approval.
12. Carolina now has another week of practice before traveling to Indianapolis next Sunday to face Indiana at 5 p.m.
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