From Roy Williams’ dance to a scrimmage: Highlights from UNC’s ‘Late Night with Roy’
North Carolina kicked off its 2019-20 regular season with its annual Late Night with Roy event on Friday night, which included some nifty dance moves from UNC coach Roy Williams.
The players participated in shooting and skills competitions and danced, but the fans were there to watch them scrimmage.
The newcomers (plus junior Brandon Huffman) made up the blue team, while the veterans made up the white team.
It’s hard to put too much into what happens in a scrimmage. For instance, Coby White didn’t play well in UNC’s scrimmage last season, yet he was one of the Tar Heels’ best players.
Here are some highlights from the event:
▪ UNC freshman guard Cole Anthony knocked down his first two 3’s of the scrimmage. He played well, and its easy to see he’ll be a huge factor for the Tar Heels this year.
▪ UNC freshman forward Armando Bacot came up with a chase-down block against UNC senior Brandon Robinson. But later in the scrimmage, he fell down and appeared to hurt his hamstring. He came off the floor with about five minutes left in the scrimmage and did not return.
▪ Robinson came off the floor with three minutes left after being hit in the face. He immediately walked to the locker room. But he was fine after the game.
▪ UNC grad transfer Christian Keeling is small for a two-guard, but he can score.
▪ Garrison Brooks played well on the offensive end. He knocked down a few open shots.
▪ Williams, who was wearing a pink blazer, stole the show when he and the coaching staff started doing the electric slide.
“He learned it around 11 o’clock yesterday,” Robinson said. “The girls on the dance team taught him. He got way better than yesterday though. He was rough yesterday.”
▪ Coby White and Kenny Williams returned to the Smith Center Friday night. Kenny Williams, who plays for the San Antonio Spurs organization, served as one of the referees for the scrimmage. When White walked in, he received a standing ovation from the crowd.
▪ UNC freshmen Anthony Harris and Jeremiah Francis sat out of Friday’s scrimmage for precautionary reasons. Both players suffered injuries in high school. Both practiced on Thursday.
▪ UNC juniors Andrew Platek and Sterling Manley also missed Friday’s scrimmage. Platek has a sprained ankle, but is expected to return next week.
Manley is dealing with recurring soreness in his knee. He dealt with the injury throughout the 2018-19 season and missed 18 games. He is expected to be re-evaluated by doctors.
▪ UNC honored its longtime soccer coach Anson Dorrance, who recently had the school’s soccer field named after him.
▪ A number of recruits were in attendance, including five-star 2020 recruits Cade Cunningham, Ziaire Williams, Day’Ron Sharpe, Greg Brown and 2021 recruit Paolo Banchero. Sharpe is the only one of those recruits to commit to the Tar Heels so far.
▪ Fans lined up outside the Smith Center about seven hours before the event. It was the first chance for fans to check out this year’s team, which has six new players on its roster.
▪ The event was hosted by U.S. Women’s soccer star Ashlyn Harris and CNN’s Brooke Baldwin.
This story was originally published September 27, 2019 at 10:04 PM with the headline "From Roy Williams’ dance to a scrimmage: Highlights from UNC’s ‘Late Night with Roy’."
