Armando Bacot reflects on UNC basketball career in Tar Heels’ tribute video

Armando Bacot, Tar Heel legend.

That was the caption on a tribute post by UNC basketball’s official social media accounts Monday evening. The post features a four-minute video of Bacot reflecting on his time with the Tar Heels.

Over the course of his five seasons at UNC, Bacot became the Tar Heels’ all-time leader in rebounds (1,715) and double-doubles (87). He scored 2,347 points, second most by a UNC player behind Tyler Hansbrough, and played the most games in ACC history (169).

An All-ACC and All-American player, Bacot helped the Tar Heels advance to the 2022 national championship as a junior and led the program to the 2023-24 ACC regular-season championship in his final season.

“My five years here was an era of Carolina basketball. I feel like when you’re just telling the story of Carolina basketball, you can’t skip over the Armando 2019-2024 era, because there was so many changes,” Bacot said in the video.

“So many different things happened: NIL (name, image and likeness), COVID, Coach (Roy) Williams leaving to Coach (Hubert) Davis (arriving). It was just so many different things with Carolina just shifting to a new generation of it. I feel like I was at the forefront of it.”

Over the course of his career, Bacot became a fan favorite in Chapel Hill. He graduated in May 2023, receiving a degree in exercise and sport science, with a minor in business administration.

Following UNC’s loss to Alabama in the NCAA Tournament, Bacot said he plans to pursue a professional basketball career. He is currently projected to be a second-round pick in the 2024 NBA Draft or an undrafted free agent.

“I think my legacy at North Carolina stretches even farther than just my play. I feel like I’ve done so much in the community, so much with the students, the fans. I think it’s really bigger than that,” Bacot said.

“I think my legacy will be somewhere in the conversations of Eric Hoots and Coach Williams and Dean Smith and Mack Brown — people that really just love the school and everything about it. Not just specifically what they do, but all the other stuff that comes with the school in interacting with people and being a vessel for everyone in the Carolina family.”

Staff writer Rodd Baxley can be reached at rbaxley@fayobserver.com or @RoddBaxley on X/Twitter.

This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Armando Bacot reflects on UNC basketball career in Tar Heels’ video