UNC Basketball: Breaking down Tar Heels 2019 recruiting class

Armando Bacot — Bradenton, FL

C | 6-foot-10 | 240 lbs | No. 26 overall 

When discussing the pros and cons of some prospects, “winning” is a subject — as vague and indeterminate as it is — that pops up every now and then, particularly used as a positive characterization of a player’s impact on a program if charming accolades follow their every step — and used as a damning remark if this player’s career is absent of team success.

It’s often something applied callously, as both Ben Simmons and Markelle Fultz, a pair of former No. 1 picks, were nitpicked during the pre-draft process, with some evaluators using their programs’ lack of winning — Simmons with the 19-14 LSU Tigers (2015-16) and Fultz with the 9-22 Washington Huskies (2016-17) — as reasons to dislike the players’ potential impacts on NBA teams. Of course, such “concerns” were overblown, as both are noted hard workers, and a lack of prior success — be it in high school or college — shouldn’t be held against single players.

But that isn’t to say that wins and losses are meaningless. Contributing to winning basketball is inherently valuable, and if anyone can be described as a “winning player,” it’s incoming five-star center Armando Bacot, a 6-foot-10 post player whose team-friendly style on both ends of the floor led to success throughout his senior season of high school.

In the last year alone, Bacot spearheaded Team Takeover’s dominant 23-1 run through Nike EYBL’s 17U circuit that ended with a Peach Jam championship, won a gold medal at FIBA U18 Americas as Team USA’s backup center, and was the starting center for IMG Academy’s illustrious 31-1 campaign that ended with a GEICO Nationals title.

That is, quite clearly, a lot of winning.

And Bacot played a significant role in that, dominating the glass with his large frame, scoring with impeccable footwork and soft hands in the paint, setting up his teammates as an underrated low/high post passer, and helping defend the paint with flashes of crisp defensive rotations and weak-side rim protection.

He’s not overly bouncy nor long, which may limit his eventual NBA aspirations (unless he adds a perimeter jumper to compensate), but he’s in the best shape of his life after benefitting from access to IMG’s professional training staff, and will look to continue to get into peak physical condition as a Tar Heel.

He is unquestionably the perfect Carolina big man with his combination of post scoring, passing, and rebounding, and has extremely high odds of stepping into the UNC rotation as the Heels’ starting center, with skill and health giving him the edge over rising junior Sterling Manley.