Armando Linwood Bacot Jr. /ˈbeɪkɒt/ (born March 6, 2000) is an American college basketball player for the North Carolina Tar Heels of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) and actor.
![]() Bacot with North Carolina in 2021 | ||||||||||||||
No. 5 – North Carolina Tar Heels | ||||||||||||||
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Position | Power forward / Center | |||||||||||||
League | Atlantic Coast Conference | |||||||||||||
Personal information | ||||||||||||||
Born | (2000-03-06) March 6, 2000 (age 22) Richmond, Virginia | |||||||||||||
Nationality | American | |||||||||||||
Listed height | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) | |||||||||||||
Listed weight | 240 lb (109 kg) | |||||||||||||
Career information | ||||||||||||||
High school |
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College | North Carolina (2019–present) | |||||||||||||
Career highlights and awards | ||||||||||||||
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Medals
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Bacot attended Trinity Episcopal School for three years before transferring to IMG Academy for his senior year.
Bacot was considered a five-star recruit by ESPN and Rivals, and a four-star recruit by 247Sports. On August 16, 2018, Bacot committed to playing college basketball for North Carolina over offers from Duke, Kansas, Oklahoma State, Villanova, and VCU.[1][2]
Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date | |
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Armando Bacot C |
Richmond, VA | IMG Academy (FL) | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) | 230 lb (100 kg) | Aug 16, 2018 | |
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals:![]() ![]() ![]() | ||||||
Overall recruiting rankings: Rivals: 27 247Sports: 34 ESPN: 18 | ||||||
Sources:
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On November 20, 2019, Bacot had 22 points and 14 rebounds in a 75–61 win over Elon.[6] He had 23 points, 12 rebounds and a season-high six blocks in a 78–74 win over Oregon on November 29.[7] In a 74–49 loss to Ohio State on December 4, Bacot suffered a left ankle injury and was expected to miss some time.[8] However, he returned for the following game, a 56–47 loss to Virginia, and scored 11 points.[9] He sat out North Carolina's home victory against Wake Forest on March 3, 2020. As a freshman, Bacot averaged 9.6 points and 8.3 rebounds per game, shooting 46.9 percent from the floor.[10] Armando also had 11 double-doubles, the second most by a Tar Heel freshman.[11]
As a sophomore, he averaged 12.3 points and 7.8 rebounds per game, shooting 62.8 percent from the floor. He was named to the Third Team All-Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC).[12] On April 6, 2021, he declared for the 2021 NBA draft while maintaining his college eligibility.[13] He withdrew his name from the draft pool in order to return to Chapel Hill for his junior season.
On November 5, 2021, new UNC head coach Hubert Davis named Bacot as team captain alongside sophomores R. J. Davis and Caleb Love.[14] On January 8, 2022, Bacot posted career-highs of 29 points and 21 rebounds in a 78–54 win against Virginia.[15] Bacot picked up 23 double-doubles in the regular season, tying the UNC single-season record previously held by Brice Johnson.[16] Bacot was a key performer in the Tar Heels' 94–81 upset over Duke in Mike Krzyzewski's final game in Cameron Indoor Stadium, scoring 23 points along with 7 rebounds. Four out of the five Tar Heel starters scored twenty-plus points in the game.[17] Following the conclusion of the regular season, he was named First Team All-ACC, and finished runner-up the voting for ACC Player of the Year, behind Wake Forest's Alondes Williams.[18] On March 10, 2022, Bacot recorded his 24th double-double of the season, breaking the school record of 23 that had been set by Brice Johnson in 2016.[19] On March 27, 2022, Bacot tied Tim Duncan's ACC single-season record with his 29th double-double and also passed Duncan (457) for the most rebounds in a single season in ACC history (since 1985–86). Entering the 2022 Final Four, Bacot has 475 rebounds in the 2021–22 season, which is 4th in NCAA history for a single-season (since 1985–86).[citation needed] North Carolina lost in the national championship game to Kansas. Bacot recorded 15 points and 15 rebounds, becoming the first to have a double-double in all six tournament games.[20]
Following the Final Four run for the Tar Heels in 2022, speculation grew as to whether Bacot would once again enter the NBA draft process, or stay at Carolina for his senior year. On April 13, 2022, he put the speculation to rest, announcing his intent to return for his senior year in a social media post.[21] Sitting at 1001 rebounds and 49 career double-doubles as a Tar Heel, Bacot needs 219 rebounds and only 11 more double doubles in his senior season to eclipse the Tar Heel career records of Tyler Hansbrough and Billy Cunningham respectively.
Bacot played for the United States under-18 basketball team at the 2018 FIBA Under-18 Americas Championship. He averaged 7.8 points and five rebounds,[22] helping his team win the gold medal.[23]
GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
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2019–20 | North Carolina | 32 | 32 | 24.5 | .469 | – | .645 | 8.3 | 1.2 | .5 | 1.1 | 9.6 |
2020–21 | North Carolina | 29 | 28 | 22.7 | .628 | .000 | .661 | 7.8 | .8 | .7 | .9 | 12.3 |
2021–22 | North Carolina | 39 | 39 | 31.6 | .569 | .125 | .670 | 13.1 | 1.5 | .8 | 1.7 | 16.3 |
Career | 100 | 99 | 26.7 | .556 | .111 | .661 | 10.0 | 1.2 | .7 | 1.3 | 13.0 |
Armando's first role was in the popular Netflix series Outer Banks.