UNC basketball transfer Paxson Wojcik willing to sacrifice blood for his new program
Just one game into the basketball season and North Carolina already has been bloodied.
Not beaten, just bloodied.
Paxson Wojcik was going through a team shootaround Monday before UNC’s season opener against Radford, excited about slipping on his uniform, running out of the tunnel and playing his first official game that night in the Smith Center when … wham.
“Oh, man, I feel bad,” UNC center Armando Bacot said after the No. 19 Tar Heels’ 86-70 victory. “I went to set a screen and …”
Bacot caught Wojcik with an elbow over Wojcik’s right eye. Down went Wojcik, who needed 10 stitches to close the gash from what he called a “freak accident.” Come time for the game, he was wearing a headband to help protect the wound.
To sum it up for Wojcik: First game at Carolina, first injury in a shootaround, first time wearing a headband in a game, first victory.
“I’m surprised he played,” Bacot said. “That’s a credit to his toughness, too.”
Wojcik not only played but started and had the first assist of the season on UNC’s first basket — a Bacot slam off a Wojcik lob pass. Wojcik excitedly stuck a fist into the air after the Bacot score.
Moments later, Wojcik knocked down the Heels’ first 3-pointer of the season.
Wojcik is a graduate transfer from Brown, one of five transfers who joined the program and have transformed UNC’s roster for this season. It has a better cast of shooters and perhaps a tougher look — Wojcik is a tenacious type at 6-5 and 195 pounds, much like Cormac Ryan, a transfer from Notre Dame who is similar in build, temperament and playing style.
Some of that intensity comes from Wojcik’s father, Doug Wojcik, an assistant coach at UNC in the early 2000s who is now on Tom Izzo’s staff at Michigan State. Paxson Wojcik, in leaving Brown, said he had several schools contact him but decided on UNC after his discussions with Heels coach Hubert Davis.
“Once I came here I knew this was the place for me,” Wojcik said last week. “Coach Davis’ passion stood out to me. This is home for him and you could tell how special it was hearing him talk about it.
“I thought I could bring experience and shooting and leadership and basketball IQ, and play-make and create for others. That was something Coach Davis agreed with, so we had aligned visions. It was a perfect match for me.”
Wojck began his college career at Loyola Chicago before transferring to Brown and playing two seasons. A second-team All-Ivy League pick last season, he finished fourth in the league in rebounds and assists, and fifth in scoring at 14.9 points a game.
Wojcik had a career-high 13 rebounds against Michigan State last season. In November 2021, he had 14 points and six rebounds for Brown in a 94-87 loss to the Heels at the Smith Center.
The Heels were after more reliable outside shooting — UNC was last in the ACC in three-point percentage last season — and Wojcik seemed like a guy who could bring that. The lefthander shot 38% on three-pointers in 2022-23, making 57 of 150, and finished his two seasons at Brown with 107 made three-pointers in 99 games.
Not that Wojcik expected to come to UNC and immediately become a starter who got X-amount of minutes each game and proved his value by making a bunch of 3s.
“I didn’t have any expectations,” he said. “I knew I could trust Coach Davis and what he told me. I came in looking to be a part of something bigger than myself … and willing to do what the coaching staff wanted me to do.”
Wojcik played 21 minutes in the opener, hitting both his shots and scoring five points to go with three assists and three rebounds.
The Heels play Lehigh on Sunday in their second game. Wojcik can only hope to make it through the shootaround injury free and again do whatever Davis and the staff wants at game time.
And about Wojcik’s jersey number: No. 8. The NCAA is allowing that single-digit number to be used this season and Wojcik certainly wanted it.
“I was born August 8, 2000,” he said, smiling. “In 2008 came a golden moment. I turned 8 on the eighth month and eighth day. I thought it was the coolest thing ever and I’ve always wanted to be No. 8.”
No. 19 North Carolina vs Lehigh
When: Sunday, 2 p.m.
Where: Smith Center, Chapel Hill.
TV: ACC Network.
Of note: Lehigh, which lost its season opener to Cornell 84-78, was set to play at Penn State on Friday. Tyler Whitney-Sidney, a 6-2 junior guard, had 23 points for Lehigh in the opener.
