Jay Williams praises UNC forward Harrison Ingram: 'I call him the 2024 Ron Artest of college basketball'
Following North Carolina’s round two win over Michigan State, ESPN college hoops analyst Jay Williams picked out one Tar Heel who has really helped this program flip the switch from last season to this one.
Of course, UNC missed the Big Dance last year after beginning the year No. 1 in the country. Then, Hubert Davis got a little bit older, returning key stars RJ Davis and Armando Bacot while adding veterans Cormac Ryan and Harrison Ingram with the transfer portal. You know both of those guys must be smart, too, since they previously attended Stanford. Ryan was there as a freshman way back in 2018-19 before spending four years at Notre Dame and now one at Carolina.
But Ingram was a former blue-chip recruit and spent two seasons with the Cardinal, which didn’t overlap with Ryan, before making the move east. And it’s his addition Williams pointed out as being the engine of a vastly different season in 2024 as compared to ’23 for North Carolina.
“So the difference between this year’s team and the team last year that didn’t make the tournament, I call him the 2024 Ron Artest of College Basketball, and that’s Harrison Ingram,” said Williams on SportsCener Sunday morning. “He’s a Swiss army knife, he’s built like Ron-Ron the way he can defend. I’m talking about Ron-Ron from Queensbridge, not Metta World Peace.”
Artest was a gritty and versatile defender in the NBA but was also capable of knocking down the occasional jumper. Now, Ingram’s made 3-point jumpers had been very occasional lately, but against MSU, he cashed in to give the Heels an extra weapon.
“Now look, over his last 10 games, he’s made 23% from the 3-point line, so how teams are playing him and starting point guard Elliot Cadeau, they put everybody in the paint, they play off those two guys. Last night, those dudes shot 71% from the 3-point line, made five 3s, 15 of his 17 points came from the 3-point line.”
If Ingram and Cadeau are even knocking down 3s, other teams might just be screwed.
“When he’s playing that way, with the way they play inside and out, that’s why they’re a national championship contender,” said Williams before finishing off by letting folks know that a Dookie can still shower some praise on the rival.
“See, I can be a Duke homer and still give UNC love. Both things can exist.”