After tough NCAA Tournament loss to Ole Miss, UNC tries to put season into perspective

Miami Herald

23-03-2025

R.J. Davis slowly pulled off his North Carolina jersey, No. 4, for the last time Friday.
Across a solemn locker room sat the Tar Heels' Ven-Allen Lubin, who was trying to put the season in perspective, a season that came to a hard-to-accept conclusion in the NCAA Tournament.
The Tar Heels had just been beaten by Mississippi at Fiserv Forum, taking a 71-64 loss to the Rebels after nearly pulling one of those last-gasp comebacks that makes the tournament, that makes March, so special.
The Heels fell short in the end. It was a two-point game after a clutch drive and 3-point play by Davis with 1:09 left in regulation, but the Rebels closed it out on a 3-pointer by Sean Pedulla and then two free throws by Pedulla, the combative transfer guard from Virginia Tech.
So ended a season that began with the Tar Heels ranked No. 9. It was one filled with some nice wins and some bad losses and finally a strong finishing kick that earned them a spot in the NCAA field, albeit one that was widely questioned until silenced with a First Four rout of San Diego State.
'It was definitely a learning experience, a learning year for us as a team,' Lubin said. 'It was us trying to figure ourselves out and trying to figure out an identity for this team. It took us a bit but once we finally figured it out we had it rolling.
'But it was a learning experience. We had a very diverse group, with shot blockers and shot creators and shot makers. It was about combining all that together and putting it into a team.'
The Heels did not avoid a tough non-conference schedule. They went to Maui and played Auburn and Michigan State. They played Florida. They played Alabama as part of the ACC/SEC Challenge.
They took losses. They questioned themselves at times.
But their coach, Hubert Davis, kept saying he believed in this team, in the potential of the team. The coaching staff also made some changes, finally settling on a starting lineup that had Davis, Elliot Cadeau, Drake Powell, Jae'Lyn Withers and Lubin, with Seth Trimble, Ian Jackson and Jalen Washington coming off the bench in the rotation.
Until Friday, only top-ranked Duke had beaten UNC over the final 11 games — the second time in the ACC Tournament semifinals.
'The beginning of the year was a struggle,' junior guard Seth Trimble said. 'If you look back at this group, two, three, four months ago, and you asked if this group was a team, the answer probably is no. The way that we've persevered, our personal struggles, we came together as a team and just enjoyed each other the past couple of months. That will make the season unforgettable.'
As for next season, Hubert Davis said the loss was too fresh, too painful, to reflect on how the roster might be built, about the additions the Heels could have — or the players they might lose.
'My anticipation was for us to play extremely well today and win,' Davis said.
Powell and Ian Jackson both were freshmen and each had an impact, Powell with his overall game and Jackson a point producer. Both said after Friday's game that they had made no decision about their plans for next season.
Powell, from Pittsboro, comes from a UNC family and always wanted to play for the Heels. Jackson is native of the Bronx, with New York roots.
Forward Cade Tyson transferred to UNC from Belmont after last season expecting to fill an important role as a reliable 3-point shooter. His minutes were sparse. Might he look to transfer again?
UNC's recruiting class was a good one: Five-star power forward Caleb Wilson of Georgia, along with a pair of four-star shooting guards, Derek Dixon and Isaiah Denis. But the portal offers the opportunity to bring in older players with college experience, and UNC has added a basketball general manager in Jim Tanner to handle the details.
Trimble briefly entered the portal after last season, only to return to UNC.
'I didn't want this season to end this early. I was dreading this day,' he said.
With that, the Tar Heels began to start packing up. But Hubert Davis had the final word on the 2024-25 season.
'I am extremely proud of this team that all season long, they have fought back,' he said. 'Whether it's been in a half, after a game, this team all season, when knocked down, has gotten back up and taken a step forward.
'Every time. There hasn't been one time where they have stayed down. And so that's something that I'm very proud of with this team.'