North Carolina basketball star Armando Bacot had an emotional Tuesday as it was senior night celebrating all the final-year players in the last home game of the regular season. It was also a commanding win by the Tar Heels as they beat the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, 84-51, as Bacot scored 14 points and collected five rebounds.
Bacot had spent the last five seasons with UNC and was tearful right after. He said because he was focusing on the game itself, the feeling of that he will never play in Roy Williams court settled in according to R.L. Bynum of Tar Heel Tribune.
“Because it’s over,” Bacot said. “All day, I’ve really been just focusing on the game. Even when I first got out there, the first half really just felt weird because I’m thinking the whole time it’s over and it really took me a minute to settle into it. I just couldn’t really believe it.”
Bacot reflects on the five years spent with the Tar Heels
There is no doubt that Bacot will go down as one of the best players in North Carolina basketball history as he's the all-time leader in rebounds and double-doubles. The fifth-year player reflected on his collegiate career, calling his time “amazing.”
“To get to this point, just even thinking about where I was my freshman year,” Bacot said, “it’s just amazing. I can just remember as a freshman that summer meeting with Coach [Roy] Williams and him just being honest, telling me I had to get better.”
“I feel like a lot of kids in my situation would have transferred, quit,” Bacot continued. “But it just pushed me to go harder.”
Tar Heels with more to play beyond final home game
While it's the final home game for Bacot, the job is not over yet as the Tar Heels are ranked seventh in the nation and have championship goals whether it be in the AAC or in the national tournament. He acknowledged that he's “thankful to get this extra year,” though “we've got so much more to play for.”
“Everybody just stuck with me, and I’m just so thankful to get this extra year,” Bacot said. “It’s all over now, but we’ve got so much more to play for this year and that’s the most encouraging part of it.”
“Now, we’re a pretty good team,” Bacot continued. “I think that’s obviously the biggest difference. Obviously, I was a lot smaller. Probably could jump a little bit higher. Just crazy to think.”
North Carolina basketball head coach Hubert Davis commented on senior night for the program as being “emotional.” Besides Bacot, other senior in RJ Davis also celebrated their final home game.
“It was just a really emotional night seeing them before the game with their parents on the floor,” Davis said. “And you know just thinking about so many memories, so many moments that you spent with each other. “It was nice to be able to enjoy the moment of them being celebrated for what they’ve done for this year’s team, for what they’ve done for this program, this university and this community.”
Up next for the Tar Heels is the final contest of the regular season on the road against the No. 9 ranked Duke Blue Devils on Saturday.
Follow Us
Subscribe