UNC BasketballThree takeaways from UNC’s dominant win over Central ArkansasHubert Davis has a squad this season, and it showed last night against the Bears.by Brandon AndersonNov 4, 2025, 2:00 PM UTCFacebookLinkThe North Carolina Tar Heels were able to easily take care of business against Central Arkansas 94-54, giving them their first win of the season. Fans were treated to a surprise before the game when Luka Bogavac was cleared to play, which means the Heels officially have their full roster available for the regular season.
At the time of writing, we do not have the full details about what went into getting him cleared, but ultimately it doesn’t matter. What is important is that all of the pieces are in place for this team to try to win the ACC, and hopefully more.There were a handful of positives from last night’s game that are worth highlighting, and thankfully very few low points.
Let’s go ahead and dive into some takeaways from the Heels’ win over the Bears.Early impressions of Luka BogavacThe one Tar Heel we haven’t gotten to see in action yet so far is Bogavac, who finished his night with 10 points and five assists. He only knocked down three of his nine shots from the field, but most of his misses were from three-point range — Bogavac only managed to make one of his five attempts from behind the arc.
His three-ball should go in more often over time, but overall Bogavac’s performance was solid against the Bears. He was able to show off some of his skills offensively, and defensively he looked impressive off the ball, but defending ball-handlers didn’t go quite as well.
Hopefully that part of his game develops more over time.Hubert Davis now has some decisions to make moving forward, because last night Bogavac was not in the starting lineup. He could probably get away with keeping the starting lineup as it is, but it also could be that he is good enough to replace Jarin Stevenson at the three.
We also could see Davis change the starting lineup on a game-to-game basis depending on how much size he needs on the floor at once. It’s a good problem to have, so we’ll see what group he rolls out against Kansas this Friday.Caleb Wilson’s dunk festFreshman forward Caleb Wilson did everything he could during the two exhibition games to prove that he belongs in the conversation for best freshmen in the country, and last night he doubled down on that.
He was everywhere on both offense and defense, and he finished his night with six dunks. Central Arkansas didn’t do a great job of contesting him or even cutting him off at the point of attack, so his teammates kept finding him in the paint.
He finished his night with 22 points, four rebounds, three assists, a block, and a steal.This will be said repeatedly throughout the season, but the energy that Wilson plays with is what sets him apart from a lot of players in college basketball. All night Wilson was in attack mode, whether that was hunting for an alley-oop, driving to the rim himself, making sure the ball keeps moving to find the right play on offense, or driving opponents crazy with this defense.
Wilson is going to be a special player for the Tar Heels this season, and the Jayhawks will have their hands full trying to keep him from hanging 20+ points on the board like he has done in every contest so far.Kyan Evans is the real dealFollowing the exit of former Tar Heel Elliot Cadeau, fans were wondering who was going to be able to take over at the point guard position. Hubert Davis went into the transfer portal and found Kyan Evans, and it seemed like one of those commits that could potentially work out well, but it also felt like we had heard the pitch before.
While it isn’t Evans’ fault, Davis recruiting players that shoot crazy numbers from deep have largely been disappointing. Brady Manek and Cormac Ryan turned out fine, but Cade Tyson, Paxson Wojcik, and to a lesser degree Pete Nance did not pan out well.
Thankfully Evans showed us all what made him so dangerous last year in last night’s game — he finished with 15 points, and knocked down four of his seven three-point attempts.It’s also worth noting that Evans has also looked good as a floor general. He isn’t going to wow anybody with his passing, but he’s a smart player that doesn’t make many mistakes.
He found Caleb Wilson repeatedly at the rim for the alley-oop, kept the ball moving in offensive sets, and pushed the ball down the court with the kind of pace that Hubert Davis is looking for. He was also finished his night with a team-high four steals, which speaks to how aggressive he’s been on defense.
Evans may not be as flashy as Cadeau was, but he has been impressive in his own way for the Tar Heels. Overall Hubert Davis has an impressive roster this season, but they will be put to the test quickly this Friday against the Jayhawks.See More: UNC BasketballMost PopularHow to Watch: UNC Men’s Basketball vs Central ArkansasThree things to watch in the UNC men’s basketball season openerCaleb Wilson as advertised as UNC beats Central ArkansasUNC basketball looks to open the year with a win over Central ArkansasCaleb Wilson makes his college debut against Central ArkansasAdvertiser Content FromThis is the title for the native ad
Source: Yahoo Sports
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