CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — North Carolina power forward Armando Bacot needed but two words to clarify his plans for next basketball season.
“I’m back,” he said Wednesday in a statement from the Tar Heels, with the release adding his decision was made after careful consideration and a great deal of introspection on the subject of his future.
Bacot will be a senior next season and is coming off one of the most prolific seasons in college basketball history. He led the North Carolina team in scoring (16.3 points per game), rebounding (13.1 per game), field goal percentage (56.9 percent) and blocked shots (65), on the team’s run to the Final Four and NCAA championship game.
He became the first player ever to supply six double-doubles across the course of one NCAA Tournament, and tied the all-time NCAA single-season record with 31 double-doubles, matching former Navy star David Robinson from the 1985-86 season.
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“Armando is the perfect example of what a Carolina player strives to be,” Hubert Davis said Wednesday in a statement. “He has excelled at the highest level as a player, in the classroom and in the community. I loved hearing the news yesterday that he made the Academic All-ACC team after the season he had, which wasn’t just good, and not just great, it was historic. I felt he was the best player in ACC and the best big man in the country.
“He’s coming back for his senior season for several reasons. One, he loves this place. Two, he has the desire to win a national championship. Getting to the final game and getting so close lit a fire inside of him to achieve that goal more than ever. He feels he can still get better and improve on parts of his game to put himself in a position to have a long and successful NBA career. And he feels this is the best place for him to do that. He loves his teammates, this university and his community, and we love him.”
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Bacot earned the most votes on the All-Atlantic Coast Conference first team and finished second in the ACC Player of the Year voting to Alondes Williams of Wake Forest.
Bacot suffered an ankle injury late against rival Duke in the national semifinals and was hobbled throughout the Kansas loss, finishing with 15 points and 15 rebounds.
“On the court we got so close this year. I know there are no guarantees,” Bacot said on Instagram, adding, “My Carolina story isn’t finished just yet. Next season starts right now.”
Contributing: Associated Press
This article originally appeared on Times-News: Armando Bacot, UNC top scorer, returning for senior season
