Kofi bids JV teammates farewell as Tar Heels top Pitt County Community College

At approximately 4:02 p.m. on Dec. 11, senior center Richard Kofi was introduced to the modest crowd at the Smith Center for the last time. As his going away gift, Kofi contributed six points, six rebounds and six blocks to the North Carolina JV basketball team’s 86-66 win against Pitt County Community College.

Although the Tar Heels have seven remaining games left to be played, Kofi will not be suiting up for the second half of the season. Instead, he will return to his native Netherlands at the end of the semester.

“This was Richard’s last game,” UNC coach C.B. McGrath said. “He got to start and then played really well second half. He blocked a lot of shots and we really started to feed of his energy.”

Freshmen forwards James Manor and Denzel Robinson both described the game as especially memorable because it was the final game for their teammate and friend.

“It was fun seeing him play his last game and his best game,” Robinson said. “I’m probably going to cry when he leaves. I love Richard.”

Kofi was not the only player to fill the stats sheet, as Robinson garnered a double-double with 14 points and 13 rebounds, two of which he grabbed off the offensive glass.

Although Robinson had a strong individual rebounding performance, the Bulldogs often fought with more resilience under the basket, enabling them to take multiple second-chance shots.

“We tend to box out, but not chase the rebound. We’ve got to do both,” McGrath said. “I don’t mind us boxing out, but then we expect someone else to go get the rebound. We’ve got to go get it.”

Manor battled on the inside for rebounds and noticed that the PCCC players went after the ball with intense effort every time.

“At some points they just wanted the ball more than we did,” Manor said. “We just need to focus more and go after the rebounds stronger and hold onto the ball.”

However, despite their rebounding difficulties, the Tar Heels managed to withstand runs by a pesky PCCC team that cut their first half lead from 25-11 with under six minutes left to 31-29 at halftime.

“It was a game of runs,” said McGrath. “We started with a quick run because we got shots…you don’t have to try to get on ESPN’s top ten plays, just pass to the open man.”

UNC led Pitt County Community College by as much as fourteen points in the first half until baskets from Tyrelle Jackson and Darrien Ince cut the lead to two by halftime.

In the second half, the Bulldogs never closed the two-point deficit. Instead, the Tar Heels continued to put points on the board, led by sophomore guard Patrick McPhail’s 17 points and Phillip Healy’s 10 points.

The win over PCCC marks the beginning of a nearly three-week hiatus for the JV team during the holiday break.

“It’s going to be interesting to see what happens over the next month,” Robinson said. “The first thing I want to do once school is over is not do anything, but I’ll probably be in here every day since I live in Chapel Hill.”