UNC releases 2012-13 basketball schedule

CHAPEL HILL — And at long last, we have a North Carolina basketball schedule. UNC moment ago released its 2012-13 schedule.

Here it is:

Fri. Oct. 26 vs. Shaw (exhibition), 7:30 p.m., GoHeels.com

Fri. Nov. 9 vs. Gardner-Webb, TBA, TBA

EA Sports Maui Invitational Hosted by Chaminade University
Sun. Nov. 11 vs. Florida Atlantic, 2:30 p.m., ESPNU
Fri. Nov. 16 at Long Beach State, 11 p.m., ESPNU

EA Sports Maui Invitational Hosted by Chaminade University, Lahaina Civic Center, Maui, Hawaii
Mon. Nov. 19 vs. Mississippi State, Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii, 6 p.m., ESPN2
Tue. Nov. 20 vs. Butler or Marquette, Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii, 2:30 or 8 p.m., TBA
Wed. Nov. 21 vs. Chaminade, Illinois, Southern California  or Texas, Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii, TBA, TBA

ACC/Big Ten Challenge
Tue. Nov. 27 at Indiana, 9:30 p.m., ESPN

Sat. Dec. 1 vs. UAB, 6 p.m., ESPNU
Sat. Dec. 8 vs. East Tennessee State, TBA, TBA
Sat. Dec. 15 vs. East Carolina, Noon, ESPNU
Wed. Dec. 19 at Texas, 9 p.m., ESPN2
Sat. Dec. 22 vs. McNeese State, 1 p.m., ESPNU
Sat. Dec. 29 vs. UNLV, 2 p.m., ESPN2

Sun. Jan. 6 at Virginia, 8 p.m., ESPNU
Thu. Jan. 10 vs. Miami, 7 p.m. ESPN or ESPN2
Sat. Jan. 12 at Florida State, 2 p.m., ESPN
Sat. Jan. 19 vs. Maryland, Noon, ESPN
Wed. Jan. 23 vs. Georgia Tech, 9 p.m., ESPN
Sat. Jan. 26 at N.C. State, 7 p.m., ESPN
Tue. Jan. 29 at Boston College, 9 p.m., ESPNU

Sat. Feb. 2 vs. Virginia Tech, Noon, ACC Network
Tue. Feb. 5 vs. Wake Forest, 7 p.m., ESPNU
Sat. Feb. 9 at Miami, 2 p.m., ESPN or ESPN2
Wed. Feb. 13 at Duke, 9 p.m., ESPN/ACC Network
Sat. Feb. 16 vs. Virginia, Noon, ACC Network
Tue. Feb. 19 at Georgia Tech, 9 p.m., ACC Network
Sat. Feb. 23 vs. N.C. State, 4 p.m. ESPN or ESPN2
Thu. Feb. 28 at Clemson, 7 p.m., ESPN or ESPN2

Sun. March 3 vs. Florida State, 2 p.m., CBS
Wed. March 6 at Maryland, 7 p.m. ESPN or ESPN2
Sat. March 9 vs. Duke, 9 p.m., ESPN

So there you have it. Stay tuned for some initial thoughts on the schedule.

-Andrew Carter

Davidson basketball chooses captains

Basketball coach Bob McKillop said seniors Nik Cochran, Jake Cohen, JP Kuhlman and Clint Mann were named team captains for the 2012-13 season.

They were selected in a vote by the team and coaching staff.

- Observer News Services

Former Duke guard Jon Scheyer to play in Spain

Former Duke guard Jon Scheyer will play the 2012-2013 season with CB Gran Canaria, a club located in Spain's Canary Islands, according to a release from the team.

CB Gran Canaria plays in la Liga Endesa, Spain's first-tier leagues, which includes FC Barcelona and Real Madrid.

Scheyer, who is Jewish, played sparingly last season in Israel for Maccabi Tel Aviv. He left the team in March, telling the New York Times that his time overseas had been "frustrating."

Scheyer appeared in three games this summer for the Philadelphia 76ers in the NBA summer league, averaging 3.1 points and 1.2 rebounds.

-- Laura Keeley

N.C. State exhibition in Canary Islands called at half

In Gran Canaria, Canary Islands, concern for player safety led to N.C. State's exhibition against Gran Canaria Select being called at halftime because of a slippery playing surface with the Wolfpack leading 55-41.

Scott Wood led N.C. State with 21 points, including 5-of-7 3-pointers. T.J Warren added 16 and Tyler Lewis had 10.

N.C. State's final exhibition will be Monday against CB Gran Canaria U20 at 2 p.m. EDT.

- News Services

T.J. Warren leads N.C. State to 85-70 win in Canary Islands

T.J. Warren is making the most of his chances on N.C. State's preseason trip to Spain. Warren, a freshman from Durham, led the Wolfpack with 26 points in its 85-70 win over CB Gran Canaria on Friday at the Grand Canary Islands.

Warren, a McDonald's All-American, is expected to help State with perimeter scoring and as a post defender. He has been an explosive scorer in the first three games, getting extra minutes on the perimeter with guard Rodney Purvis back in Raleigh still waiting for clearance from the NCAA. Warren had 20 in the Pack's win on Tuesday over CB Torrejon.

“T.J. did a really good job for us today scoring a lot of points,” coach Mark Gottfried said in a statement released by the team.

Warren did more than score on Friday with 13 rebounds, four assists and two steals. Warren made 13 of his 16 shots.

Senior guard Scott Wood added 23 points, with seven 3-pointers, for the Wolfpack, which improved to 3-0 on its European trip.

Junior guard Lorenzo Brown continued his strong play, showing no ill effects from recent knee surgery, with 13 points and eight assists.

Junior forward C.J. Leslie added 10 points and 11 rebounds.

-- News Services

UNC - N.C. State, Duke- UNC slated for ESPN's GameDay

UNC will appear twice on ESPN's College GameDay during the 2012-13 college basketball season, the school announced Friday.

The Tar Heels' game at N.C. State on Jan. 26 (7 p.m., ESPN) will be preceded by a 6 p.m. College GameDay broadcast from Raleigh. Also, GameDay will be in Chapel Hill on March 9 for the regular-season finale between UNC and Duke (9 p.m., ESPN).

UNC will be appearing at a GameDay site for the ninth and 10th times in school history. By the end of this season, no team will have played in more GameDay games than the Tar Heels.

By the way, Hubert Davis' replacement on GameDay will be Jalen Rose. Davis, of course, joined coach Roy Williams’ staff at UNC after Jerod Haase became the head coach at UAB.

-- Andrew Carter

Wolfpack wins 1st game in Spain

N.C. State beat CB Torrejon 83-76 on Tuesday to win the first of its five games in Spain.

The Wolfpack led by six at the half, and by as many as 15 in the fourth quarter, before the Spanish pro club cut the score to 80-74 in the final minute.

Statistics from the game are not yet available. Second-year coach Mark Gottfried talked about the game on the team's radio broadcast after win.

"It was a good game for our guys," Gottfried said. "I thought early in the game, we weren't moving our feet real well and got ourselves into trouble defensively."

Gottfried said a zone defense helped the Pack take control of the game after trailing 23-21 at the end of the first quarter.

"I liked our defense a little bit more in the second and third quarters," Gottfried said. "That was probably the key to us tonight."

Gottfried praised the play of freshmen Tyler Lewis and T.J. Warren, who both started -- along with Scott Wood, Thomas de Thaey and Jordan Vandenberg. A surprise for the Pack was the return of junior point guard Lorenzo Brown, who had minor knee surgery on June 26.

Gottfried also commented on the absence of freshman guard Rodney Purvis, who has not been cleared academically by the NCAA.

"I hate that he's not here, I just feel terrible for him because he's a young guy that I think has worked really hard," Gottfried said. "Academically, he has done everything that he has been asked to do."

Purvis' high school, the Upper Room Christian Academy in Raleigh, is under an extended review by the NCAA. Gottfried said the decision was in the hands of the NCAA.

"Our staff at N.C. State has done a great job, I think the high school is doing a great job," Gottfried said. "I think now, you're just at a point where they have to sort through everything and make a determination."

UNC, UAB to play 3-year basketball series beginning with 2012 season

North Carolina and UAB have agreed to play a three-year basketball series, beginning with a game this season at the Smith Center in Chapel Hill.

Larry Gallo, UNC's senior associate athletic director who handles the men's basketball schedule, said on Tuesday that dates have not been finalized and that the two schools are still completing contractual details of the series.

Jerod Haase, who spent nine years on Roy Williams' staff at UNC, left the school in March to become the head coach at UAB. The Blazers will meet the Tar Heels in Chapel Hill during the 2012-13 season. The Tar Heels will travel to Birmingham, Ala., during the 2013-14 season.

The teams will return to Chapel Hill in the 2014-15 season. Gallo said he expects UNC's full 2012-13 schedule to be released in early August.

- Andrew Carter

Kendall Marshall, nearly recovered from broken wrist, also suffered elbow fracture

Former North Carolina point guard Kendall Marshall is training for the NBA draft at the IMG Basketball Academy in Florida, and he has some good news: He has nearly fully recovered from the broken wrist he suffered during the Tar Heels’ victory against Creighton in the NCAA tournament.
In an interview posted on the academy’s website earlier today, Marshall said, “My wrist is almost 100 percent.”

And then came this revelation: “What people didn’t know is that I also fractured my elbow. That’s been the toughest thing for me to deal with, still not being able to go full contact. Hopefully, I’ll be ready to go by the [NBA scouting] combine.”

You can read the full interview right here on the IMG site.

Among other things of interest, Marshall said he began to think about his professional career when people started asking him at the end of his freshman season whether he was considering leaving. The thought of leaving early for the NBA had never occurred to Marshall before then, he said.
Marshall, who has a large following on Twitter (@kbutter5), also spoke of some of the social-media hate that he sometimes receives.

He said:

“In season, I get anywhere from 15-25 Tweets per day of just pure recklessness. Keeping it PG, it’s stuff like, ‘You suck,’ and, ‘You can’t shoot.’ Now, it’s, ‘You’re overrated,’ and, ‘You’re not going to get drafted high.’ Even some Carolina fans come at me sideways now because I left school early. Maybe one every couple days I’ll give them a sarcastic response.

“You have to be able to laugh because these people don’t understand that you’re human and not on a pedestal.”

LSU guard Ralston Turner to transfer to N.C. State

LSU guard Ralston Turner will transfer to N.C. State, he said Monday. Turner, a 6-6 shooting guard, averaged 10.5 points per game in two seasons at LSU.

Under NCAA rules, he will have to sit out the 2012-13 season but will have two seasons of eligibility remaining. N.C. State coach Mark Gottfried recruited Turner out of Muscle Shoals, Ala. when he was the coach at Alabama.

"I felt like I knew coach Gottfried and I was comfortable with him," Turner said.

Turner gives the Wolfpack some experience and outside shooting for the 2013-14 season. He started 59 games in two seasons with LSU and made 99 of 286 of his 3-pointers. With four available scholarships, and seniors Richard Howell and Scott Wood leaving the program after this season, Gottfried needed to get to work on the '13-14 roster. After taking a visit this past weekend, Turner realized the opportunity to make an impact.

"I saw where I could fit in," Turner said. "I want to come in and help the team any way that I can, that's what me and coach talked about."

Turner said Gottfried's success in his first season with the Wolfpack, 24 wins and a trip to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA tournament, also helped his decision.

Turner said Gottfried orginally recruited him to Alabama, when Turner was a junior in high school. Turner ended up choosing LSU over Alabama and Notre Dame. He averaged 12.3 points per game for coach Trent Johnson in 2010-11 and 9.1 last season. Johnson left LSU for Texas Christian after the season, which left Turner exploring his options.

LSU hired Johnny Jones, a one-time assistant of Gottfried's at Alabama, to replace Johnson. Turner said the coaching change wasn't the reason he left the SEC school.

"It wasn't the coaching change that ran me off," Turner said. "I just had a change of heart about LSU."

- J.P. Giglio