5 UNC basketball observations from Tar Heels’ Blue-White scrimmage at Smith Center

CHAPEL HILL — UNC basketball fans got their first look at the Tar Heels on Saturday afternoon at the Dean E. Smith Center.

The Tar Heels split into teams for the Blue-White scrimmage, with Blue earning a 63-53 victory after a pair of 12-minute halves. Fourth-year coach Hubert Davis sat at the scorer’s table while his assistant coaches led each squad.

The Blue and White teams appeared to be set up for an evenly matched scrimmage, with returning starters Elliot Cadeau and RJ Davis on separate teams.

Cadeau was joined by Seth Trimble, Cade Tyson, Ven-Allen Lubin and James Brown in the Blue team’s starting lineup. The White team’s starting lineup featured Davis, Ian Jackson, Drake Powell, Jae’Lyn Withers and Jalen Washington.

RJ Davis injury update

UNC has two exhibition games on the schedule before hosting Elon on Nov. 4 (9 p.m., ACC Network) in the season opener. The Tar Heels travel to Memphis on Tuesday (7 p.m., ESPNU) for a charity exhibition before returning to Chapel Hill to play Johnson C. Smith on Oct. 27 (2 p.m., ACC Network Extra).

Here are some observations from the Blue-White scrimmage:

Is RJ Davis OK after injury?

RJ Davis injured his back on the opening possession of the second half, but it doesn’t appear to be a serious setback for the reigning ACC Player of the Year. Davis, who had nine points before exiting the game for good, took a hard fall on a block attempt by Brown. Following the scrimmage, UNC announced Davis had a lower-back contusion.

Seth Trimble was MVP of UNC basketball’s Blue-White scrimmage

Junior guard Seth Trimble was the MVP of the Blue-White scrimmage. Trimble, who had a towering one-handed hammer over Ty Claude in the second half, finished with a game-high 19 points. He also added five rebounds and three assists. It’ll be hard for UNC to keep Trimble off the floor this season.

Jalen Washington was UNC’s leading rebounder

The Tar Heels’ post players will receive a lot of attention this season with Armando Bacot no longer on the roster. Jalen Washington, a junior, led UNC with seven rebounds in the scrimmage. Washington also had 11 points as the top scorer on the interior. Claude, Brown and Withers each had six rebounds. Lubin had 10 points and four rebounds.

Ian Jackson, Drake Powell look comfortable as UNC freshmen

Ian Jackson and Drake Powell, UNC’s highest-ranked freshmen recruits, appeared to be comfortable in their first action at the Smith Center. Jackson had 10 points, including two 3-pointers, and three assists. Powell lived up to his reputation as an active defender, finishing with eight points to go along with a block and steal. Both figure to be key contributors for the Heels.

UNC’s 3-point shooting and free throws

With Davis sidelined for most of the second half, the Tar Heels struggled to connect from long range. Belmont transfer Cade Tyson, who will likely be one of UNC’s top 3-point shooters, didn’t make a trey but he finished with 13 points. The Tar Heels missed 17 of their 25 attempts from beyond the arc, but Elliot Cadeau made his lone attempt from long range. Cadeau had 12 points and led UNC with four assists. The Heels made 16 of 23 free throws (69.5%).

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

This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: RJ Davis, UNC basketball scrimmage observations at Smith Center