The updated 247Sports rankings for the 2022 basketball recruiting class were released Wednesday. All of UNC's commitments made a significant shift. Point guard commit Seth Trimble jumped from 41 to 28 in the rankings. Center Jalen Washington fell from 22 to 49. Center Will Shaver fell from 103 to 141. And forward Tyler Nickel moved from No. 75 to No. 79. (Inside Carolina)
One of the fiercest rivalries is with Durham's Duke University. Located only eight miles from each other, the schools regularly compete in both athletics and academics. The Carolina-Duke rivalry is most intense, however, in basketball.[181] With a combined eleven national championships in men's basketball, both teams have been frequent contenders for the national championship for the past thirty years. The rivalry has been the focus of several books, including Will Blythe's To Hate Like This Is to Be Happy Forever and was the focus of the HBO documentary Battle for Tobacco Road: Duke vs Carolina.[182] Duke was Carolina's biggest rival from the 1930s until the early 1960s, when Duke's declining athletic program shifted Carolina's rival focus to North Carolina State.
In 2003, Chancellor James Moeser announced the Carolina Covenant, wherein UNC offers a debt free education to low-income students who are accepted to the university. The program was the first of its kind at a public university and the second overall in the nation (following Princeton University). About 80 other universities have since followed suit.[161]
The Residence Hall Association, the school's third-largest student-run organization, is dedicated to enhancing the experience of students living in residence halls. This includes putting on social, educational, and philanthropic programs for residents; recognizing outstanding residents and members; and helping residents develop into successful leaders. The organization is run by 8 student executive officers; 16 student governors that represent each residence hall community; and numerous community government members. RHA is the campus organization of NACURH, the largest student organization in the world. In 2010 the organization won the national RHA Building Block Award, which is awarded to the school with the most improved RHA organization.
The October 22, 2014 release of the Wainstein Report[174] alleged institutionalized academic fraud that involved over 3,100 students and student athletes, over an 18-year period from 1993 to 2011 that began during the final years of the Dean Smith era, challenged "The Carolina Way" image.[175] The report alleged that at least 54 players during the Dean Smith era were enrolled in what came to be known as "paper classes." The report noted that the questionable classes began in the spring of 1993, the year of Smith's final championship, so those grades would not have been entered until after the championship game was played.[176] In response to the allegations of the Wainstein report, the NCAA launched their own investigation and on June 5, 2015[177] the NCAA accused the institution of five major violations including: “two instances of unethical conduct and failure to cooperate“ as well as “unethical conduct and extra benefits related to student-athletes' access to and assistance in the paper courses; unethical conduct by the instructor/counselor for providing impermissible academic assistance to student-athletes; and a failure to monitor and lack of institutional control".[178] In October, 2017, the NCAA issued its findings and concluded "that the only violations in this case are the department chair's and the secretary's failure to cooperate."[178]
The ACC office did the Tar Heels no favors with three Saturday-Monday turnarounds in a five-week span at the tail end of the schedule. UNC will host N.C. State on Saturday, Jan. 29 before heading to Louisville to play the Cardinals on Monday, Jan. 31. Three weeks later, the Tar Heels will play at Virginia Tech on Saturday, Feb. 19 before hosting Louisville on Monday, Feb. 21. The following week, UNC will travel to Raleigh to face the Wolfpack on Saturday, Feb. 26 before welcoming Syracuse on Monday, Feb. 28.
Justin McKoy grew up like a lot of kids in the state of North Carolina. He wanted to be a Tar Heel. "I'd always mimic playing basketball in the house with my brother," McKoy said. "It would be like Justin from Carolina playing against his brother from Duke." Entering his junior season, McKoy is finally getting the chance to live out his childhood fantasy. (WRAL Sports Fan)
