- Joined
- May 8, 2002
- Posts
- 1,256,331
- Reaction score
- 59
One of the most important traditions Hubert Davis established during his tenure as North Carolina’s head coach had little to do with basketball itself.
Each year, near the end of the summer and after the conclusion of Carolina Basketball School, the Tar Heels traveled to the Outer Banks for a team retreat. With Michael Malone now leading the program, there was no guarantee the tradition would continue.
Thankfully, Malone recognized its value.
UNC once again made the trip to the North Carolina coast, allowing a largely reconstructed roster to spend time together away from the Smith Center, the practice facility, dorm rooms and the daily responsibilities that come with being a collegiate student-athlete.
In the modern era of college basketball, opportunities like this are more important than ever.
The Transfer Portal, Name, Image and Likeness opportunities, and the increasing importance of international recruiting have made year-to-year roster continuity difficult to maintain. Rather than building programs around the same core group for multiple seasons, coaches are often tasked with creating an entirely new team each spring and summer.
UNC’s roster includes players from different states, countries, programs, and basketball backgrounds. Malone and his staff must find a way to transform those individuals into a connected team before the season begins.
Summer workouts and Carolina’s annual basketball camps help start that process. The players are able to practice together, compete in pickup games and begin learning about one another. However, all of that still happens on campus, where basketball and school remain at the center of everything.
The Outer Banks trip provides something different.
Getting away creates opportunities for players to share meals, cruise around on jet skis, relax by the pool, tell stories, and develop the inside jokes that eventually become part of a team’s identity. Those moments may seem insignificant from the outside, but they establish relationships that players can lean on when adversity arrives during the season.
That made Sayon Keita’s absence particularly noteworthy.
Keita has not yet arrived in the United States and was therefore unable to participate in the trip. That does not mean he cannot become fully integrated into the roster, but it does mean his teammates shared an important bonding experience without him.
UNC dealt with a similar situation last year when Luka Bogavac did not arrive in Chapel Hill until the middle of August. Bogavac missed the Outer Banks retreat and entered the program after many of his teammates had already begun forming relationships and learning how to function together.
Keita will now need to make up that ground quickly.
Returners such as Jarin Stevenson, Isaiah Denis, Jaydon Young, and returning walk-ons can help him transition, but this year’s roster does not have an obvious personality like Seth Trimble serving as the established returning leader of the trip. Malone and his players must therefore be intentional about bringing Keita into the group once he arrives.
For now, however, UNC fans should be encouraged that Malone chose to preserve the Outer Banks tradition.
Basketball programs are ultimately judged by what happens on the court, but successful teams are frequently built during the moments no one sees. By continuing this annual retreat, Malone gave his first Tar Heel roster an invaluable opportunity to begin becoming a family.
Continue reading...
Each year, near the end of the summer and after the conclusion of Carolina Basketball School, the Tar Heels traveled to the Outer Banks for a team retreat. With Michael Malone now leading the program, there was no guarantee the tradition would continue.
Thankfully, Malone recognized its value.
UNC once again made the trip to the North Carolina coast, allowing a largely reconstructed roster to spend time together away from the Smith Center, the practice facility, dorm rooms and the daily responsibilities that come with being a collegiate student-athlete.
In the modern era of college basketball, opportunities like this are more important than ever.
The Transfer Portal, Name, Image and Likeness opportunities, and the increasing importance of international recruiting have made year-to-year roster continuity difficult to maintain. Rather than building programs around the same core group for multiple seasons, coaches are often tasked with creating an entirely new team each spring and summer.
UNC’s roster includes players from different states, countries, programs, and basketball backgrounds. Malone and his staff must find a way to transform those individuals into a connected team before the season begins.
Summer workouts and Carolina’s annual basketball camps help start that process. The players are able to practice together, compete in pickup games and begin learning about one another. However, all of that still happens on campus, where basketball and school remain at the center of everything.
The Outer Banks trip provides something different.
Getting away creates opportunities for players to share meals, cruise around on jet skis, relax by the pool, tell stories, and develop the inside jokes that eventually become part of a team’s identity. Those moments may seem insignificant from the outside, but they establish relationships that players can lean on when adversity arrives during the season.
That made Sayon Keita’s absence particularly noteworthy.
Keita has not yet arrived in the United States and was therefore unable to participate in the trip. That does not mean he cannot become fully integrated into the roster, but it does mean his teammates shared an important bonding experience without him.
UNC dealt with a similar situation last year when Luka Bogavac did not arrive in Chapel Hill until the middle of August. Bogavac missed the Outer Banks retreat and entered the program after many of his teammates had already begun forming relationships and learning how to function together.
Keita will now need to make up that ground quickly.
Returners such as Jarin Stevenson, Isaiah Denis, Jaydon Young, and returning walk-ons can help him transition, but this year’s roster does not have an obvious personality like Seth Trimble serving as the established returning leader of the trip. Malone and his players must therefore be intentional about bringing Keita into the group once he arrives.
For now, however, UNC fans should be encouraged that Malone chose to preserve the Outer Banks tradition.
Basketball programs are ultimately judged by what happens on the court, but successful teams are frequently built during the moments no one sees. By continuing this annual retreat, Malone gave his first Tar Heel roster an invaluable opportunity to begin becoming a family.
Continue reading...
