North Carolina coach Roy Williams believes in the adage that the biggest improvement most players make comes between their first and second seasons. If that holds true for sophomore Armando Bacot, it will likely mean he improved in the smallest of spaces.
Bacot averaged 9.6 points and 8.2 rebounds as a freshman and both numbers make him second to only Garrison Brooks among UNC's returning players. Bacot's troubles came in the paint whenever he had to outmaneuver a defender to score.
"When you go from freshman to sophomore, a lot of times that's a big-time jump and we need Armando to do that," Williams said. " ... He's got to finish plays around the goal and he's doing that much better this year."
The 6-foot-10 forward from Richmond, Va., shot just 46.9% from the field last season. That was the lowest field-goal percentage for a starting big at North Carolina since James Michael McAdoo shot 46.6% in 2013-14. It's been a point of emphasis for Bacot since UNC's season came to an end in March.
"That's what I've been working on most this offseason, being more physical around the rim and just finishing through contact," Bacot said. "But also (I'm) extending my jump shot out making a little mid-range too."
Bacot's uneven performances screamed that of a typical freshman. He'd shown glimpses of his potential in games like his 23-point, 12-rebound outing against Oregon. Then he'd prove how frustrating it could be to watch him just three games later when he shot 2 of 14 from the floor in a loss to Wofford, despite having a size advantage.
He led the team with 36 blocked shots, but also led with 4.2 fouls committed per 40 minutes, according to Kenpom.com, and tied Brandon Robinson in fouling out of three games.
Bacot admittedly took playing for granted at times last season because he didn't always correlate his effort with results. It's something he said he's now found himself warning the freshmen about.
"Don't take any day for granted," Bacot said. "You always just want to go into the gym and just give your best because you never know when it can be taken away."
Bacot said he got some help at different points in the offseason from former Tar Heel forwards Ed Davis, Tyler Hansbrough and Tyler Zeller. In training with Davis, Bacot watched how under control he was when he got the ball in the post and the balance he maintained in positioning his feet.
"That's something I learned from him," Bacot said. "Just getting into a jump stop to get into the jump hook versus just running people over and possibly getting charges and things like that."
As one would expect from Hansbrough, Bacot understood where he needed to elevate his game on a physical level.
"Y'all know how Psycho T is, he's just so physical," Bacot said. "He always tried to go through your chest every play so it was like, you've just got to be prepared. Try not to get a tooth knocked out."
Bacot has to fight harder than he did last season to secure a spot in the starting lineup. He was the only player last season to start every game he appeared in for North Carolina. But the Heels didn't have the depth in the frontcourt to foster much internal competition. He started 32 games even though he may not have necessarily been playing at his best.
Freshmen forward Day'Ron Sharpe and 7-footer Kessler Walker will change that dynamic this season. Williams will have a rotation of bigs he hasn't had since Kennedy Meeks, Isaiah Hicks and Tony Bradley formed the frontcourt of the 2017 national championship team.
"With (Bacot) and Garrison and Day'Ron and Walker Kessler and Walker Miller there's some competition going on in practice every day," Williams said. "I think he's (Bacot) better and he needs to be better."
