BleedGopher
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per the NYT:
Though rare in college basketball, the junior varsity team has been something of a pipeline for North Carolina. O’Han is one of two former junior varsity players on the current roster, along with Caleb Ellis, a graduate student who played in 19 games last season for the school’s primary team.
The N.C.A.A. does not keep track of junior varsity teams nationally, and North Carolina is the only school in the Atlantic Coast Conference with one. Only a handful of Division I universities have a J.V. team.
The junior varsity team at North Carolina began as a freshman team, at a time when scholarship freshmen were not allowed to play during their first year in college under N.C.A.A. rules. That changed in 1972, but North Carolina coach Dean Smith kept the junior varsity team in place to give regular students a chance to be around North Carolina basketball while also letting potential walk-ons learn the varsity system. The current coach of the Tar Heels, Roy Williams, coached North Carolina’s junior varsity team for eight seasons.
When the rules changed, most other universities across the nation disbanded their freshman teams. Kansas once had a junior varsity team, and its previous coaches included current Kentucky Coach John Calipari and Maryland Coach Mark Turgeon.
“More teams used to have J.V.s,” said Tom Konchalski, a longtime New York City basketball historian and recruiting expert. “But there really aren’t that many that have it any longer.”
O’Han said most of the J.V. players stopped playing after two years. He said that Davis, the J.V. coach the previous three seasons, “made exceptions for guys that he believed had a chance at making varsity.”
The junior varsity team plays nearly all of its games in the Dean Smith Center, attracting maybe a few hundred fans about three hours before the varsity team packs the nearly 22,000-seat arena.
“You got great seats, everybody’s at center floor,” said O’Han’s father, Rob O’Han Sr. “You can hear everything.”
The team plays a mix of teams from community colleges and other junior varsity programs, and prep schools filled with players who are just out of high school and looking to focus their development in the sport.
Under current head coach Brad Frederick, an assistant coach for Williams, the North Carolina junior varsity team is 7-4, with a game scheduled Saturday against Central Carolina Community College before the varsity team plays Virginia.
“We play the prep schools and we try to keep it close but we usually get beat,” O’Han said after watching a recent game that was part of a three-game losing streak to prep schools. “But those are always the most fun games because we get to compete at a higher level.”
Lee Martin, the coach at Hargrave Military Academy in Chatham, Va., said his team plays the North Carolina junior varsity squad every season (their game is scheduled for Feb. 25). “It’s one of my favorites games of the year,” Martin said. “It gives our guys an invaluable experience.”
www.nytimes.com
Go Gophers!!
Though rare in college basketball, the junior varsity team has been something of a pipeline for North Carolina. O’Han is one of two former junior varsity players on the current roster, along with Caleb Ellis, a graduate student who played in 19 games last season for the school’s primary team.
The N.C.A.A. does not keep track of junior varsity teams nationally, and North Carolina is the only school in the Atlantic Coast Conference with one. Only a handful of Division I universities have a J.V. team.
The junior varsity team at North Carolina began as a freshman team, at a time when scholarship freshmen were not allowed to play during their first year in college under N.C.A.A. rules. That changed in 1972, but North Carolina coach Dean Smith kept the junior varsity team in place to give regular students a chance to be around North Carolina basketball while also letting potential walk-ons learn the varsity system. The current coach of the Tar Heels, Roy Williams, coached North Carolina’s junior varsity team for eight seasons.
When the rules changed, most other universities across the nation disbanded their freshman teams. Kansas once had a junior varsity team, and its previous coaches included current Kentucky Coach John Calipari and Maryland Coach Mark Turgeon.
“More teams used to have J.V.s,” said Tom Konchalski, a longtime New York City basketball historian and recruiting expert. “But there really aren’t that many that have it any longer.”
O’Han said most of the J.V. players stopped playing after two years. He said that Davis, the J.V. coach the previous three seasons, “made exceptions for guys that he believed had a chance at making varsity.”
The junior varsity team plays nearly all of its games in the Dean Smith Center, attracting maybe a few hundred fans about three hours before the varsity team packs the nearly 22,000-seat arena.
“You got great seats, everybody’s at center floor,” said O’Han’s father, Rob O’Han Sr. “You can hear everything.”
The team plays a mix of teams from community colleges and other junior varsity programs, and prep schools filled with players who are just out of high school and looking to focus their development in the sport.
Under current head coach Brad Frederick, an assistant coach for Williams, the North Carolina junior varsity team is 7-4, with a game scheduled Saturday against Central Carolina Community College before the varsity team plays Virginia.
“We play the prep schools and we try to keep it close but we usually get beat,” O’Han said after watching a recent game that was part of a three-game losing streak to prep schools. “But those are always the most fun games because we get to compete at a higher level.”
Lee Martin, the coach at Hargrave Military Academy in Chatham, Va., said his team plays the North Carolina junior varsity squad every season (their game is scheduled for Feb. 25). “It’s one of my favorites games of the year,” Martin said. “It gives our guys an invaluable experience.”
Did You Know There Are College Junior Varsity Basketball Teams? North Carolina Has One (Published 2020)
Most college basketball programs don’t have them anymore, but the Tar Heels and a handful of other universities still keep them around as a pipeline for reserve players.
Go Gophers!!