THBTHD #008
Hey there. Before we get to football, one piece of news that’s got us excited for hoops next year.
🔥 Caleb Wilson went 13-14 at the Jordan Brand Classic last week, posting 28 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 block. Beast.
Now to the other news…
1. The lead-off: A chaotic week in Chapel Bill
Reed: Where to even begin? It was a jarring few days with what sure seemed like an abnormal amount of turnover — just before the portal closes for good on April 25. To recap:
DL Lavon Johnson agreed to jump from Maryland to Carolina…before ultimately moving on to Texas — all in a single day.
QB Ryan Browne, in the mix for the starting job, transferred back to Purdue, which made room for…
QB Gio Lopez, who spent the past two seasons at South Alabama.
DE Beau Atkinson, in a big shocker, left the program.
Andy: I get that this is where we are with college sports, but it’s bordering on ridiculous. With the whole Ryan Browne situation, are we going to get to the point where we just call Spring Practice “try-outs?” Because that’s basically what happened. Browne out, Lopez in.
Reed: Sure seems like Belichick just wasn’t satisfied with the options at QB. None was particularly impressive at the open practice last week.
Maybe Lopez is the guy. He’s definitely an offensive machine. He runs and throws and averaged 274.7 yards of offense last season.
Andy: The Beau Atkinson departure definitely stings. He was likely a breakout star for the Heels next year and arguably our best player on defense.
It’s going to hurt watching him blow up for Georgia or Ohio State next year.
Reed: I’m sure he had his reasons…and maybe those reasons will come out. And maybe those reasons only have to do with dollar signs.
Whatever the case, him leaving makes me lose a little confidence in Belichick and the supposed allure of the revamped program. Hope I’m wrong.
Andy: I’m going to pretend like it’s the pre-internet days where you had no idea who was on the roster until the Blue-White game.
Trying to keep up with the comings and goings is making my head spin. I glanced through the football roster the other day and recognized about 5 names.
Reed: Sounds like a plan. For our sanity, let’s just sit tight and see what happens on opening day. It’s all about the play on the field anyway.
2. Welcome home, Jarin Stevenson
Andy: The Jarin Stevenson transfer story is a good reminder that we shouldn’t fret too much about missing on high school recruits if they choose to go somewhere else initially.
Reed: Yeah. He was born in Chapel Hill and his mom played for Carolina. He probably took his first steps at the Dean Dome. We were on his short list out of high school, but he ultimately chose Alabama.
Now he’s back, in part, because he says he wants to be closer to family.
Andy: Harrison Ingram chose Stanford over Carolina coming out of high school so there is a bit of a pattern here.
Reed: It’s helpful to the program I’m sure, as well, because guys like that are more of a known quantity. Stevenson is a rising junior, and Hubert has to be reasonably confident in what he’s getting.
And what he’s getting is pretty darn good.
Andy: From a basketball standpoint, he brings even more size (6’11”!!) to the roster and a decent percentage from three.
Defense is where he really shines. If Drake Powell comes back, putting him, Stevenson and Trimble on the floor at the same time is a lock-down lineup.
3. This week’s reason why Duke sucks
When we used to do the podcast, we’d end every episode with that week’s reason why Duke sucked. The tradition continues here.
Bill Maher poked a little fun at Cooper Flagg on Friday’s episode of “Real Time.” During his New Rules segment, he threw up a photo of the Duke forward with the joke:
“Athletes have to work on maintaining a difference between their ‘let’s go’ face and their ‘I just got kicked in the nuts’ face. I can’t tell if you’re overjoyed or you’re in agony.”
⭐️ Bonus reason: Speaking of agony, did you catch that in a recent weekend baseball series with the Tar Heels, pitcher Owen Proksch of Duke recorded a whopping six players hit by pitch, including hitting Tar Heel Kane Kepley three times?
This is either a level of incompetence not seen since Mitch “Wild Thing” Williams plunked the backstop with a heater, or the Carolina pitchers owe some payback. We vote for the latter.
👋 That’s all for this edition. Get outside and grab a milkshake at Sutton’s, or wherever you happen to be.
And remember: Hit us up. Send your comments and questions to thbthd@gmail.com.
Go Heels!