Now that we’re halfway through June, I figured I should probably share the books I read in May with y’all! Seriously, this month has gotten away from me in every single way! In May I read five books and they…

Photo by Jamie Schwaberow/NCAA Photos via Getty Images Jill Shippee’s third place finish in the women’s hammer throw highlight the Tar Heels week at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. Baseball’s elimination last weekend ended the team sport’s year at UNC, but there was still one last athletic event on the calendar. Over the last week, the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships took place in Eugene, OR. North Carolina Tar Heels didn’t put enough athletes in to compete for the overall team championship, but seven Tar Heels competed in various individual events over the past couple days. The standout performance belonged to Jill Shippee who took third place in the country in the women’s hammer throw. The ACC champion and school record holder broke her own personal best mark and UNC record with a throw of 69.42 meters in the highest finish by any Tar Heel athlete in the competition. The distance was also good enough to set the ACC record, which Shippee herself has also set earlier this season. It was quite the year for the senior. The other Tar Heel to set a school record at the NCAAs was Thomas Ratcliffe in the men’s 5000 meters. He finished 11th overall, but his time of 13:20.88 broke a school record that had stood since 1977. His teammate Conor Lundy also competed in the 5000, finishing 18th but also setting his own personal best time. Former ACC champion and UNC record holder Madison Wiltrout finished 16th in the women’s javelin in her second career appearance at NCAAs. Yet another Carolina record holder and former ACC champion, Daniel McArthur, finished 18th in the country in the men’s shot put. Two other Tar Heels, Jesse Hunt and Brandon Tubby, competed in the 1500 meters. They finished 18th and 21st respectively in the semifinals, which was not enough to qualify for the finals of the event. Shippee, Wiltrout, McArthur have also all qualified for the US Olympic Trials, which will begin this Friday back in Eugene where they competed this week. Good luck to them! And with that, the 2020-21 UNC athletic year has come to an end. For many reasons, it’s been a weird one, but like every year, we got some fun UNC wins and some heart-breaking losses.

IndyStar-USA TODAY Sports There will be high expectations for the rising junior big man. After breaking down versatile and athletic guard Anthony Harris last week, it’s time for the next installment of our UNC Basketball summer preview series. Although he hasn’t officially made the decision to come back to school, it seems all but certain that Armando Bacot will be suiting up in Carolina blue next season. Thus, let’s take a deeper look at Bacot and what he brings for the Heels in 2021-22. Past preview links: May 30th: Leaky Black June 6th: Anthony Harris Bacot averaged 12.3 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 0.9 blocks as a sophomore last season while shooting 62.8% from the field and 66.4% from the free throw line. He was far and away Carolina’s most consistent player from start to finish. Despite the arrival of two stud freshman bigs in Day’Ron Sharpe and Walker Kessler as well as the presence of veteran Garrison Brooks to potentially siphon production, Bacot managed to improve on his freshman year numbers while also greatly increasing his efficiency (46.9% to 62.8%). At 6’10, 240 pounds, Bacot is a load to handle in the paint. This past season, he evolved into a legitimate back-to-the-basket scorer. His footwork improved, he was more decisive with the ball, and he even developed a little turnaround flick that’s somewhat reminiscent of Brice Johnson. Although the Heels struggled at times to get the ball to their bigs down low, Bacot was the guy who, if he got the opportunity, you felt confident he was going to make the right play. Bacot’s impact offensively goes far beyond just his individual scoring ability, though. With guys like Sharpe drawing so much attention from opposing defenses, Bacot was often the beneficiary. The Heels’ big-to-big passing, as per usual, was their saving grace. As a result, Bacot helped create lots of easy baskets, whether for himself or for teammates. Moreover, his relentless tenacity on the glass created many second, third, and even fourth opportunities for a team, that...well...needed them. For as impressive as Bacot was offensively, you could make the argument that he made even more improvements on the defensive side of the ball. As a freshman, Bacot had a hard time keeping up. Physically, he wasn’t quite at the level of ACC big men. He still held his own pretty well, but he would get bullied when going up against, say, a Gonzaga frontcourt. When getting switched onto smaller guards, he had trouble staying in front of the ball. However, we saw marked improvements in Bacot’s defense as a sophomore. He got much better at moving his feet laterally and staying with his man, and his defensive awareness was on another level. Some of that is getting used to the system, just knowing where you’re supposed to be on any given play. A lot of it, though, can be attributed to Bacot’s hard work and dedication to getting better on that side of the ball. He didn’t get to showcase it regularly due to the abundance of length on the Heels’ roster, but Bacot has the chance to be a true rim protector this upcoming season. Speaking of the roster makeup, things will look vastly different next season, at least from Bacot’s perspective. He is the only big man from last year’s team that’s expected to return. Granted, Hubert Davis did go out and get two stretch fours in Brady Manek and Justin McKoy, but between the coaching change and the departures of so many Carolina bigs, it’s safe to say that this squad will be different than the Tar Heel teams we’re used to seeing. But is that such a bad thing? Coach Davis has been vocal about his desire to put more of an emphasis on spacing. He aims to maintain the same foundation that Carolina has had for so many years, just with a slightly more modern-day/NBA approach. Bacot could very well be the main beneficiary of these stylistic changes, which is exactly why Davis believes Bacot could be ACC player of the year next season. Although Bacot certainly took advantage of playing alongside other talented bigs, there’s no reason to think he can’t anchor the post himself. Another area that Davis has stressed profusely is shooting, and he’s even mentioned that Bacot is looking to extend his game beyond the three-point line. At this point, about every other aspect of his game is polished, at least to a degree. While I don’t believe Bacot hitting threes is imperative to the team’s success, if he does, the rest of the country better watch out.