Armando Bacot was born in Richmond Virginia on March 6th, 2000. He loved basketball
more than anything as a young boy. When he was little his dad gave him a ball, showed him
how to dribble, and then just sat back and watched. Bacot loved everything about basketball,
including the drills. While the other kids on his team complained about the drills, he put full
effort into them with no complaint.
Bacot spent his first three years of high school at Trinity Episcopal School, and
dominated, scoring over fifteen hundred points and seven hundred fifty rebounds during his
time there. He would then transfer to IMG Academy to finish his high school career. There
Bacot earned the coveted title of five-star recruit. Roy Williams took a liking to the big
man and recruited him hard out of high school. Bacot had many other schools recruiting him
but turned them down to come to UNC for the 2019-2020 season.
Bacot was a key part of a class that included fellow five-star recruit, Cole Anthony. While
UNC sputtered that year, Bacot started every game and showed that he could rebound
immediately, snagging 8.3 rebounds per game his freshman year. Bacot also proved to be a
solid secondary scoring option scoring 9.6 points per game. Really, he was the first option most nights as Cole Anthony was hurt multiple times over the course of the year.
In his sophomore year, Bacot was much better as he developed into the number one scoring
option down low, although he was not the only scoring option for the Tar Heels. UNC was
loaded in the post in the 2020-21 season as they had future NBA player Day'Ron Sharpe, preseason ACC player of the year Garrison Brooks, and Walker Kessler. Bacot emerged as the most consistent of the four, leading UNC in scoring with 12.6 points per game. The big guy continued to show good rebounding as well with 7.8 rebounds per game.
Bacot’s time at UNC may best be remembered for his record-breaking 2021-22 season.
He broke the ACC record held by Tim Duncan for double-doubles with 31 on the year and tied
the all-time record. He averaged 12.5 rebounds per game, leading the ACC by a wide margin. He was an X-factor all throughout the season, leading the Heels in scoring and, of course,
rebounding. He set new career highs in rebounding multiple times during the season, topping
out with 22 multiple times.
Armondo Bacot denied entering the NBA draft as he desires to give the Tar Heels a
National Championship this year. With him back, this is a very real possibility. Bacot will be
a redshirt junior this year and no doubt will give his fans and the Tar Heels all he's got!
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