University of North Carolina Athletics
Photo by: Jeffrey A. Camarati
Lucas: The Stache
February 3, 2026 | Men's Basketball, Featured Writers, Adam Lucas
Carolina needs production from Luka Bogavac, and a missing mustache might hold the key.
By Adam Lucas
When the story of the 2025-26 University of North Carolina basketball season is written, it will of course include a healthy dose of Caleb Wilson highlights. There will be a large amount of Henri Veesaar praise. Seth Trimble will play an integral role.
And if all goes extremely well over the next six weeks, there will be a prominent mention of a very important mustache.
By now, with Carolina sitting 18-4 after Monday's unusual 87-77 win over Syracuse, we are well aware of the value of Wilson (22 points and nine rebounds), Veesaar (17 points and 11 rebounds) and Trimble (nine points and five rebounds with clutch free throws at the end to seal what had suddenly become an uncomfortable game).
That trio alone is good enough to get the Tar Heels to approximately where they are right now: in the top third of the Atlantic Coast Conference standings, a national top-20 squad, and a threat to compete with anyone.
To be more than that, though, Carolina will need more than just those three players. They will certainly need to close games better than they did on Monday, when they built a 32-point lead but then allowed Syracuse to go on a 37-11 run. But they will also need the production of Luka Bogavac, which has perhaps been unlocked by the elimination of some very particular facial hair.
It was just before the Heels left on the two-game California trip that Bogavac encountered Stephen Iannotta, the associate athletic director for the Smith Center complex. Iannotta is responsible for scheduling everything that happens in and around the Smith Center and every detail of everything that happens inside one of college basketball's biggest arenas.
For the last year, Iannotta has had a mustache.
Bogavac, however, had other ideas. "What is this?" he asked Iannotta, gesturing to his lip. "This is not working for you."
In Montenegro, they do not believe in subtlety.
At the time, Bogavac had scored just eight points in his last three games. He'd fallen out of the starting lineup and watched his minutes dwindle to a season-low nine in the home win over Wake Forest.
The pair came to an agreement. "I'll tell you what," Iannotta said. "If you score in double figures on the California trip, I'll shave it off."
Bogavac promptly went out and scored 13 points against Stanford.
"Maybe he motivated me to do better," Bogavac said with a shrug on Monday night on the Tar Heel Sports Network.
When the team reassembled at the Smith Center after the California trip, Bogavac looked disapprovingly at Iannotta, who still had a mustache. "You," Bogavac said simply, "are not a man of your word."
Head coach Hubert Davis also happened to be nearby, which increased the pressure on Iannotta. Soon, he was clean-shaven.
And since that day, Bogavac is averaging 12.3 points per game and shooting 16-32 (50.0 percent) from the field and 8-for-19 (42.1 percent) from three.
His percentages when the mustache still thrived? Glad you asked. He was hitting 39.6 percent from the field and 31.3 percent from three-point range.
Sure, it's entirely possible that there have been other factors involved in Bogavac's resurgence.
"I have gotten more comfortable with the guys," he said. "We are basically a new team. Our chemistry will get better on the court. Knowing the good sides of each player will help us to be better."
When he arrived, Bogavac was known primarily as a three-point shooter. But he took five two-point shots on Monday night (making three), tied for the most he's attempted in ACC play. He's shown a developing willingness to drive to the basket when it's available, and since he's currently Carolina's second-best free throw shooter at 76.4% (a mark that skies to a team-high 88.2 percent in ACC games), you don't mind him occasionally drawing some contact around the rim.
A consistent Bogavac knocking down some of the open shots created by the defensive attention paid to Wilson and Veesaar, and creating some slashing lanes for Trimble, would be a dynamic weapon for this year's team. He's also a smart, capable defender when he's engaged, an area where Carolina still needs improvement.
So he's a very important player as the Tar Heels began a much more difficult back half of the conference schedule. The combined league winning percentage of the first nine opponents UNC faced in ACC play was .383. The combined league winning percentage of the remaining nine opponents is .671. That's easily the highest remaining opposing winning percentage of any team in the top half of the league.
They'll need Wilson and Veesaar, of course. They'll need Trimble. They'll also need even more from Bogavac. And if he provides it, it's the good-humored Iannotta—whose 2024 Halloween costume when he imitated Eric Hoots remains an all-time classic—who will share in the credit.
"And you know what?" Bogavac said. "He is more handsome without the mustache for sure."
When the story of the 2025-26 University of North Carolina basketball season is written, it will of course include a healthy dose of Caleb Wilson highlights. There will be a large amount of Henri Veesaar praise. Seth Trimble will play an integral role.
And if all goes extremely well over the next six weeks, there will be a prominent mention of a very important mustache.
By now, with Carolina sitting 18-4 after Monday's unusual 87-77 win over Syracuse, we are well aware of the value of Wilson (22 points and nine rebounds), Veesaar (17 points and 11 rebounds) and Trimble (nine points and five rebounds with clutch free throws at the end to seal what had suddenly become an uncomfortable game).
That trio alone is good enough to get the Tar Heels to approximately where they are right now: in the top third of the Atlantic Coast Conference standings, a national top-20 squad, and a threat to compete with anyone.
To be more than that, though, Carolina will need more than just those three players. They will certainly need to close games better than they did on Monday, when they built a 32-point lead but then allowed Syracuse to go on a 37-11 run. But they will also need the production of Luka Bogavac, which has perhaps been unlocked by the elimination of some very particular facial hair.
It was just before the Heels left on the two-game California trip that Bogavac encountered Stephen Iannotta, the associate athletic director for the Smith Center complex. Iannotta is responsible for scheduling everything that happens in and around the Smith Center and every detail of everything that happens inside one of college basketball's biggest arenas.
For the last year, Iannotta has had a mustache.
Bogavac, however, had other ideas. "What is this?" he asked Iannotta, gesturing to his lip. "This is not working for you."
In Montenegro, they do not believe in subtlety.
At the time, Bogavac had scored just eight points in his last three games. He'd fallen out of the starting lineup and watched his minutes dwindle to a season-low nine in the home win over Wake Forest.
The pair came to an agreement. "I'll tell you what," Iannotta said. "If you score in double figures on the California trip, I'll shave it off."
Bogavac promptly went out and scored 13 points against Stanford.
"Maybe he motivated me to do better," Bogavac said with a shrug on Monday night on the Tar Heel Sports Network.
When the team reassembled at the Smith Center after the California trip, Bogavac looked disapprovingly at Iannotta, who still had a mustache. "You," Bogavac said simply, "are not a man of your word."
Head coach Hubert Davis also happened to be nearby, which increased the pressure on Iannotta. Soon, he was clean-shaven.
And since that day, Bogavac is averaging 12.3 points per game and shooting 16-32 (50.0 percent) from the field and 8-for-19 (42.1 percent) from three.
His percentages when the mustache still thrived? Glad you asked. He was hitting 39.6 percent from the field and 31.3 percent from three-point range.
Sure, it's entirely possible that there have been other factors involved in Bogavac's resurgence.
"I have gotten more comfortable with the guys," he said. "We are basically a new team. Our chemistry will get better on the court. Knowing the good sides of each player will help us to be better."
When he arrived, Bogavac was known primarily as a three-point shooter. But he took five two-point shots on Monday night (making three), tied for the most he's attempted in ACC play. He's shown a developing willingness to drive to the basket when it's available, and since he's currently Carolina's second-best free throw shooter at 76.4% (a mark that skies to a team-high 88.2 percent in ACC games), you don't mind him occasionally drawing some contact around the rim.
A consistent Bogavac knocking down some of the open shots created by the defensive attention paid to Wilson and Veesaar, and creating some slashing lanes for Trimble, would be a dynamic weapon for this year's team. He's also a smart, capable defender when he's engaged, an area where Carolina still needs improvement.
So he's a very important player as the Tar Heels began a much more difficult back half of the conference schedule. The combined league winning percentage of the first nine opponents UNC faced in ACC play was .383. The combined league winning percentage of the remaining nine opponents is .671. That's easily the highest remaining opposing winning percentage of any team in the top half of the league.
They'll need Wilson and Veesaar, of course. They'll need Trimble. They'll also need even more from Bogavac. And if he provides it, it's the good-humored Iannotta—whose 2024 Halloween costume when he imitated Eric Hoots remains an all-time classic—who will share in the credit.
"And you know what?" Bogavac said. "He is more handsome without the mustache for sure."
Players Mentioned
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/ Men's BasketballPost-NC State Press Conference - Feb. 2, 2026
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