What we learned from UNC basketball’s season-opening win over Central Arkansas

The North Carolina Tar Heels didn’t just retool their roster this offseason, they overhauled it.

When UNC took the court against Central Arkansas on Monday night for its season-opening 94-54 win, it marked the first time UNC had played a regular season or postseason game without RJ Davis since March 11, 2020 — the same day the World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 outbreak a global pandemic.

But it’s not just Davis this team has lost. The Tar Heels lost 86% of their scoring, 86.2% of their rebounds, 92% of their assists and 91.6% of their three-pointers from last year. This level of turnover is rare territory for North Carolina — not just under Hubert Davis, but in the context of the past few decades.

For the first time since 2005-06, UNC took the court without a player who started at least half the team’s games the previous season. Seth Trimble, North Carolina’s lone returning rotation player, only started 18 games last year.

After splitting their two preseason exhibition games, the Tar Heels’ 40-point victory over Central Arkansas offered a real glimpse at how all of Davis’ 11 new pieces will fit together. Real in the sense that, firstly, this contest actually counts. And, second, that North Carolina had its full arsenal at the ready this time.

That’s because, less than an hour before the game tipped off, UNC announced Luka Bogavac was finally cleared by the university to play. Bogavac checked in during the game’s opening minutes to an enthusiastic crowd — many fans standing, and many more adding to a low, droning, “Luuuuuuuuka!” — and finished with 10 points and five assists.

Freshman phenom Caleb Wilson once again led the way for UNC with 22 points on an efficient 8-for-10 clip. Arizona transfer Henri Veesaar finished with 14 points and a team-high 10 rebounds — his first career double-double — after only recording one board in last week’s exhibition against Winston-Salem State.

Here’s what we learned from UNC’s season opener:

UNC learns from last week, pushes tempo early

Davis criticized the Tar Heels in their last outing — an eventual 95-53 exhibition win over Winston-Salem State — for what he saw as a “lack of energy, effort, attention to detail.”

“I think that’s why we played so well in the second half,” Davis said last week after the WSSU game. “The energy picked up, effort, specifically on the defensive end, finishing. I thought we were more disciplined defensively in the second half — we finished possessions with a rebound — and that allowed us to get out in transition.”

UNC took advantage of five turnovers committed by Central Arkansas in the first six minutes and pushed the pace — recording four dunks in that span. Three of those slams came from Wilson and three came off lobs. The final of the four dunks — a sweet one-handed slam from Trimble off a lob in transition from Bogavac — put UNC up by 13 and forced a timeout from Central Arkansas.

North Carolina continued to push the pace late into the game, finishing with 26 fastbreak points and 19 points off 17 Central Arkansas turnovers.

The team’s ball improvement as a whole looked markedly improved. The Tar Heels finished with 23 assists. UNC’s high last season was 24 at Virginia Tech.

And, as a result of that ball movement and aggressive approach, the Tar Heels generated more of the looks they wanted. Seven different players combined for 10 three-pointers, but UNC also recorded 46 points in the paint.

“We’re an incredible shooting team,” Trimble said. “I think everybody can knock it down this year. So why not shoot the looks that we get… but we want to generate them from getting inside, dominate points in the paint, getting to the free throw line and then allowing it to come from there.”

Wilson continues to impress (and dunk)

Another day at the Dean Dome and another poster for Wilson. Unfortunately for the Bears, there were at least two or three this time.

On Monday night, Wilson became the first frontcourt player to start his first game as a UNC freshman since Armando Bacot in 2019-20. Bacot recorded just seven points in a 76-65 win over Notre Dame for his debut.

Wilson’s official debut as a Tar Heel was far more emphatic. After starting the game with three dunks, Wilson added a tip-in. And then? Well, another dunk. And that was all in the opening period.

Early in the second half, Wilson attacked the rim and got to the line for a pair of free throws, during which one fan cut through the noise with an extra-loud, “We love you, Caleb!”

Wilson made one of those free throws. It is unclear at the time of publication whether or not he heard this cry of affection.

The five-star freshman soon followed up that trip to the line with a three-pointer to put UNC ahead by 35 points. And then, after momentarily displaying his range, he went back to doing what he loves best: dunking on people. This one, off an assist from Bogavac, came at the expense of another Central Arkansas player who decided to jump with Wilson, putting one arm up in defense. Wrong move.

Wilson finished with seven dunks on the game, although he missed a few as well. After the win, Davis compared Wilson’s bounce and dunking aptitude to former Tar Heel Brice Johnson.

“Brice’s bounce was real, and his second bounce was even better,” Davis said. “And for Caleb, it’s that way. I mean, whether it’s an offensive rebound, post, out of bounds, underneath, in transition — he’s looking to take the rim down. And he’s always been that way.”

Evans shows why he was brought here

Evans was limited to just 21 minutes and four points in UNC’s exhibition game against BYU after the Colorado State transfer picked up two fouls in the first four minutes. Evans still managed to lead the team in assists (5) but offered nowhere near a comprehensive look of what he can bring to this team. The Winston-Salem State game was more of the same: 18 minutes, six points. Not much to write home about.

But, on Monday, it was clear from the start why Davis — and so many other coaches — sought out Evans in the transfer portal.

“I definitely felt like I got going a little bit tonight,” Evans said after a 15-point outing. “That’s thanks to my teammates. They put me in a good position. But I definitely feel like I could have more performances like this.”

Evans was particularly efficient in the first half, entering halftime with 12 points on 4-of-5 shooting (including a 3-for-4 performance from deep), three assists and no turnovers.

The point guard also finished with six defensive rebounds. His ability on the boards will be particularly crucial for the Tar Heels, not only as they look to replace the bulk of their rebounding from last year, but also as they look for Evans to push the pace on offense.

“One of the things that he’s been consistent with is just, instinctively, he’s really good at pitching the ball ahead and in transition,” Davis said. “I thought he was really good at that, trying to give us early opportunities in transition. I thought he made really sound decisions. And obviously his ability to be able to shoot the ball is something that’s very valuable to us.”

This story was originally published November 3, 2025 at 9:13 PM.