Tar Heel fans have quite the trilogy of games coming up this weekend.
Carolina men’s basketball opens the season Friday night — albeit an exhibition against nationally ranked Southern Cal in Greensboro — marking Michael Malone’s debut as new head coach and almost a completely new lineup of players. Malone is the first UNC men’s hoops coach in more than 70 years who did not go to school here but yet owns a rich connection with three Hall of Famers and plenty of Tar Heel players from the NBA.
The football Heels try to climb back over .500 after respectable losses at Clemson and at home against Notre Dame. They visit undefeated and nationally-ranked Pitt, but catch a break by facing the Panthers’ second-string quarterback, who replaced their injured starter in the last week’s win over Virginia Tech. What had been a touchdown spread has been narrowed to four points now that backup Holden Geriner is under center.
And Drake Maye tries to stay in the win column after in leading the Patriots to their second win with their dramatic upset of the Bills in Buffalo. Maye is coming off three touchdown passes against the resurgent Raiders in Gillette Stadium and all of New England is hoping against hope that the former Tar Heel star regains the form that made him the NFL runner-up as MVP last season.
All three games will be on TV: Friday night at 7 p.m. in the Greensboro Coliseum and Saturday at noon are both on the ACC Network, while the Sunday afternoon game in Foxborough is on CBS.
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Although two more exhibition games follow Friday’s before the regular season opener against Western Carolina on November 2, much interest has mounted from Malone taking the reins of Carolina basketball. The former NBA championship coach with the Denver Nuggets will be a on-court contrast to Hubert Davis, despite how popular Davis was as a coach and former Tar Heel. Malone has the reputation of being a stern disciplinarian as well as a good tactician, and those players who get the first chance to be in the new starting lineup will have to prove their mettle.
Right now, the projected starting lineup has guards Terrence Brown from Utah and Matt Able from N.C. State, who are projected as draft choices in the NBA. The one returning (part-time) starter is 6-foot-11 senior Jarin Stevenson; Neo Avdalas played at Virginia Tech and is more of a wing guard than a big man despite his 6-foot-9 size. The most anticipated big man is freshman center Sayon Keita, a 7-footer who weighs barely 200 pounds — so, how he does in the post against Power 4 competition will be anticipated. Another key big, transfer center Cameron Fens, will not play Friday as he is still awaiting eligibility from the NCAA.
To the gridiron, where Carolina has a different coaching situation: Bill Belichick has only been in Chapel Hill for two years, but is in hot water for not building the kind of winning program he promised when he took the job. The turbulence has not subsided even with two wins against TCU and East Tennessee State in the first two weeks of the season. A disappointing loss at Clemson after leading 17-6 in the first half set up a doomsday scenario against No. 3 Notre Dame last week. But the Heels stayed in the 11-point loss for much of the second-half. QB Billy Edwards Jr. has been inconsistent but he has more experience than Pitt’s Geriner, a journeyman in his own right.
If UNC can pull off an upset at Pitt, it would provide more hope for the Heels to win three more games and notch a bowl bid that would enhance Belichick’s chances of staying for a third season. Nothing is guaranteed, of course, as behind-the-scenes publicity still dogs the program covering controversies like player suspensions and the resignations of general manager Mike Lombardi and defensive coordinator Steve Belichick, the head coach’s son. Social media continues to regard the “Hoodie” as a lame duck because he just doesn’t seem to be a good fit for elevating a team at the college level.
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Maye has been the biggest story around the NFL largely because he’s had a slow start after leading his team to the Super bowl in 2025. Talking heads have called derogatory a “college quarterback” and needs to play with the patience he displayed against the Bills and his match up with Josh Allen, who is always billed one of the best quarterbacks in the league.
The Raiders drafted Indiana Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza, although he has yet to play in the regular season behind veteran Kurt Cousins; the team also traded for veteran Kenny Pickett who starred for Pitt. At least he won’t be playing for the Panthers again after beating the Tar Heels twice in overtime and passing for more than 700 yards and four touchdowns in two games with UNC.
I’ll be watching all three games this weekend with lots of anticipation.
Featured photo a compilation via the Associated Press and Atlantic Coast Conference.
Art Chansky is a veteran journalist who has written ten books, including best-sellers “Game Changers,” “Blue Bloods,” and “The Dean’s List.” He has contributed to WCHL for decades, having made his first appearance as a student in 1971. His “Sports Notebook” commentary airs on 97.9 The Hill WCHL and his “Art’s Angle” opinion column runs weekly on Chapelboro during football and basketball seasons.Chapelboro.com does not charge subscription fees, and you can directly support our efforts in local journalism here. Want more of what you see on Chapelboro? Let us bring free local news and community information to you by signing up for our newsletter.
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