There are 65 Power Five college basketball programs in the NCAA. Only one of them, however, has a JV basketball team. That one school is UNC.
The reason for the JV team still existing is former North Carolina men’s basketball coach Dean Smith. He believed that every student deserves a chance to try out for the basketball team, so he kept the JV team in tact after the majority of colleges disbanded theirs.
The North Carolina JV basketball team honored Smith on Thursday night with a 75-61 win over Fork Union Military Academy, in a tribute game at Carmichael Arena.
The Tar Heels struggled to score early on. They did not score their first point until the 16:28 mark in the first half, and that was only a free throw. The scoring would pick up, however, as UNC went into halftime tied with FUMA, 34-34.
North Carolina would take a two point lead early in the second half, and it extended that lead to 13 with an 11-0 run. The lead would be cut a little by Fork Union, but the Tar Heels grew their lead to 14 by the time the game ended.
Sophomore Devin Dukes led the Tar Heels in scoring. He recorded a career-high 25 points that was punctuated by a powerful dunk late in the game.
“I wasn’t expecting that,” Dukes said. “Coach just really gets on us about giving everything to the team. We’re really focused on team rather than self, so tonight was my night to score. But it could be anyone’s any night.”
Two other North Carolina players also scored double digit points. Sophomore Robbie O’Han put up 11 points, while junior Brooks Palmer added 13 points.