After the game, a tearful Bacot exclaimed, “I’m just so thankful.” “I might not have been the greatest player to have ever played here, I might not have blocked more shots, I might not have scored the most points, but in terms of players? I may be proud that I have liked this school more than anyone else has.
Though it may sound a little exaggerated, Bacot’s legacy is unlikely to be equaled in Chapel Hill. Really. Consider what he has witnessed and experienced. Bacot was a rookie on Roy Williams’ worst team prior to the epidemic.
then witnessed the sudden retirement of his Hall of Fame coach, Williams, following his second season (on April Fools’ Day, no less). Stubbled as a junior, he played a key role in UNC’s double victory over Duke in Mike Krzyzewski’s final season, including Coach K’s final home game and the team’s first-ever NCAA Tournament encounter. participated in the national championship game despite having essentially one bad ankle. Then, he represented the Tar Heels, who were perhaps the most disappointing team of the modern era, as they became the first preseason #1 team to miss the tournament outright since the field expanded in 1985. And this is it now. A tale that is far from over.
“It’s just a very sentimental evening,” Hubert Davis remarked. “He is more to this team than just his significance. It is his meaning for this community, this university, and this program.
And that’s what distinguishes Bacot. (Until his playing days are done, let’s stay out of the past tense.) This was a five-star prospect who had several offseason flirtations with both the NBA and the transfer portal. but who was there all the time. Longer than anyone could have ever imagined—including him. Harrison Ingram, a junior, claims that as he grew older, he “became almost like the GM of our team.” Bacot was the first to directly engage Ingram when the former Stanford winger initially used the site last summer, even before Davis made official contact. He’s
