UNC-Radford Preview: Tar Heels Face ACC Transfers, First-Time Head Coach

No. 18 North Carolina (2-0) vs. Radford (2-0)
Chapel Hill, N.C. — Smith Center
Tuesday, Nov. 11 — 7 p.m.
ACC Network (Wes Durham, Dennis Scott)

Quotables

“So sad for Seth. He’s such a great kid and teammate and has worked so hard for his senior year. He loves being a Tar Heel, and we love him. The good news is he will be back at some point this year, and I know he will continue to be a great leader for us until he can get back in the lineup.” — UNC coach Hubert Davis on the injury to senior guard and team captain Seth Trimble.

“I feel like our passing ability and reading the court, seeing that low guy coming in. I feel like in the first half, we were kind of struggling with that. Their low guy was messing us up because they were switching. But in the second half, we hit some 3s, and they kind of had to come up there, so it makes the pass easier.” — UNC big man Henri Veesaar breaking down the big-to-big passing with Caleb Wilson that helped fuel Carolina’s 87-74 victory against Kansas.

Pregame Notes

Super Start for UNC Freshman Phenom: Carolina’s Caleb Wilson shared ACC Player and Rookie of the Week honors on Monday with Virginia Tech’s Neoklis Avdalas. The freshman forward connected on 17-for-21 from the field (80.9-percent shooting), and averaged 23 points per game last week in the Tar Heels’ defeats of Central Arkansas and Kansas to open the new season.

Wilson has become the first UNC freshman ever to score more than 20 points in his first two college games. He delivered 24 points to go along with seven rebounds, four assists and four steals on Friday night’s spotlighted stage against Kansas. That performance made Wilson just the second UNC freshman (joining White against Virginia Tech in 2018-19) and the fourth Tar Heel regardless of class (along with Walter Davis and Mike O’Koren) to have at least 24 points, seven rebounds, four assists and four steals in a game.

UNC Team Captain Breaks Arm: Carolina announced Sunday night that senior guard and team leader Seth Trimble suffered a broken bone in his left arm. It’s an injury that required surgery on Monday, and now sidelines the Tar Heels’ veteran defensive stopper on the perimeter and engine in transition. 

The right-handed Trimble ranked second in scoring (14.5 points per game) and rebounding (5.0), and third in total assists (seven) for UNC here in the early season. It’s the third injury setback for Trimble in as many seasons. He suffered concussions in practices in each of the last two seasons.

UNC’s schedule does allow some grace during Trimble’s absence. Tuesday night begins a stretch of three straight buy-games against mid-major opponents, contests in which Carolina figures to be heavily favored. And the Tar Heels are projected as favorites in 19 of their next 20 games, according to Ken Pomeroy’s college basketball database. The lone expectation there is UNC’s trip to No. 9 Kentucky in early December, as part of the annual ACC-SEC Challenge. Following that tough road test, Carolina currently isn’t a projected underdog until Feb. 7, when the first rivalry matchup against Duke arrives.

Looking at Radford: The Highlanders are off to a 2-0 start on the new season, after defeating Western Illinois (80-75) and blasting West Virginia Wesleyan (99-61) at home. Radford’s victory against Western Illinois marked the program’s first season-opening win over a Division I opponent since 2015. The Highlanders were picked fourth out of nine teams in the Big South Conference’s preseason predicted order of finish.

The Highlanders completely overhauled their roster across the course of the offseason. Radford welcomed 14 new additions, in the form of nine D-I transfers, four freshmen and one D-II transfer. Guard Zion Walker is Radford’s only returner from last season. He played a reserve role, providing 5.9 points and 1.1 rebounds per game off the bench.

Radford is under the direction of first-time head coach Zach Chu. The 33-year-old Chu previously has held various administrative roles, including as a basketball analytics liaison for the Dallas Mavericks (2019-21), manager of game strategy for the Indiana Pacers (2021-24), and chief strategist for SMU (2024-25). He replaced Darris Nichols, who left Radford to take the head job at La Salle. Chu’s only other on-court coaching experience on the college level came as an assistant at Texas (2016-19).

ACC Transplants Lead in Scoring: Del Jones and Dennis Parker Jr. lead the way in scoring for Radford, supplying 15 points and 14.5 points per game, respectively, thus far this season. Both are in their first seasons with the Highlanders. Jones joined Radford after spending his freshman season at Clemson. He appeared in 32 games last season for the Tigers, chipping in 3.8 points and 1.5 rebounds per game.

Parker is a familiar face for the Tar Heels, as he transferred to Radford after spending two seasons at NC State. He started 12 games as a freshman, averaging 4.7 points and 3.2 rebounds. But Parker saw his role shrink last season as a sophomore, and averaged less than 3 points per game last season in a reserve role off the NC State bench. Across the four times Parker has matched up against UNC teams, he has logged 15.8 minutes per game and provided 3.3 points per contest.

Radford guard Jaylon Johnson ranks third on the team in scoring at 12 points per game. He has hit a team-high six successful 3-pointers this season. Johnson transferred to Radford after playing last season at Tennessee Tech. He was the Golden Eagles’ leading scorer and knocked down 75 made 3-pointers on 35.5 percent shooting. Johnson earned preseason first-team All-Big South recognition.

Last Meeting: Carolina pulled away from Radford 86-70 at the Smith Center to open the 2023-24 season. The Highlanders were within one point at the 14:56 mark of the second half, before UNC closed strong to secure the victory. Armando Bacot provided a team-high 25 points and 13 rebounds that night.

Series History: The Tar Heels lead the all-time series 3-0. The first-ever matchup between these teams occurred in the first round of the 2009 NCAA Tournament, when top-seeded UNC raced past No. 16-seed Radford 101-58 at the Greensboro Coliseum. UNC great Tyler Hansbrough surpassed Duke’s J.J. Redick as the ACC’s all-time leading scorer that day. The Tar Heels went on to claim their fifth NCAA championship weeks later, as Wayne Ellington earned Final Four Most Outstanding Player honors.

Projected UNC Starters
0 Kyan Evans (Jr., 6-2, 175) — 13.5 ppg, 4 apg, 4 rpg, 3 spg
8 Caleb Wilson (Fr., 6-10, 215) — 23 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 3.5 apg, 2.5 spg
13 Henri Veesaar (Jr., 7-0, 225) — 17 ppg, 7 rpg, 2.5 apg
15 Jarin Stevenson (Jr., 6-10, 215) — 4 ppg, 3.5 rpg
44 Luka Bogavac (Jr., 6-6, 215) — 7.5 ppg, 3 rpg, 3 apg

Projected Radford Starters
3 Jaylon Johnson (Sr., 6-0, 170) — 12 ppg, 4 apg, 2 rpg, 2 spg
5 Mari Jordan (So., 6-5, 190) — 7.5 ppg, 3.5 rpg
10 Del Jones (So., 6-3, 187) — 15 ppg, 5.5 apg, 1.5 rpg
11 Dennis Parker Jr. (Jr., 6-6, 205) — 14.5 ppg, 5 rpg, 1.5 spg
21 Tyson Brown (Sr., 6-9, 225) — 10.5 ppg, 6 rpg

UNC Info
Schedule/Results
Roster & Bios
Stats

Radford Info
Schedule/Results
Roster & Bios
Stats