“When I roll my ankle bad”: Former UNC star Armando Bacot looks back on his college freshman year that went “downhill”
Former UNC star Armando Bacot was a five-star forward in the 2019 recruiting class as per ESPN. He committed to play for North Carolina on Aug. 16, 2018, despite having offers from top schools like Duke, Villanova and Oklahoma State.
Bacot appeared on Tidal League's podcast "Run Your Race" on Monday, where he discussed his career in minute detail, from his high school days to becoming an NBA player for the Utah Jazz, with co-hosts Theo Pinson and AJ Richardson.
The 6-foot-11 forward also mentioned how an ankle injury ruined his freshman year with the Tar Heels:
(from 31:19 mark onwards)
"I started off my freshman year like amazing. I'm thinking damn I might not be in college for long. I remember I had 26 and like 12 with six blocks versus Oregon as a freshman, so I'm starting to get the buzz I'm like this college it's easy," Bacot said.
"But I got hurt versus Ohio State. That's when I roll my ankle bad and then they beat us about like 40 and then after that the season just went downhill for me," he added.
After a sensational start to his college career at UNC, Bacot suffered a left ankle injury in a game against the Ohio State Buckeyes in Dec. 2019. He ended his freshman year with averages of 9.6 points, 8.2 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game.
Armando Bacot's junior year at North Carolina changed his career
Following a decent sophomore year – averaging 12.3 ppg and 7.8 rpg while shooting 62.8% – Armando Bacot maintained that level of performance going into his junior year.
Bacot scored 29 points and 21 rebounds, his career-best, against Virginia in Jan. 2022. During the regular season, he had 23 double-doubles, matching the single-season record at UNC set by Brice Johnson.
Armando Bacot was crucial in the Tar Heels' win over the Duke Blue Devils in head coach Mike Krzyzewski's last game at Cameron Indoor Stadium:
"We went into that game motivated as hell like we going to go in here and shock the world but we had no expectations either," Bacot said. "Whatever happened we didn't care and I mean we just start off cooking. That's one of the best Duke teams like the last 20 years. So we go in there and we just like beating them."
Bacot led North Carolina to the 2022 national championship game, averaging 16.3 ppg, 13.1 rpg, 1.7 bpg and 1.5 apg, but they lost in the final to No. 1 ranked Kansas Jayhawks.
Last season, Bacot registered 14.5 ppg, 10.3 rpg, 1.5 apg and 1.5 bpg. He was subsequently picked up on an Exhibit 10 contract by the Utah Jazz after going undrafted in the 2024 NBA draft.