Did You Know There Are College Junior Varsity Basketball Teams? North Carolina Has One

The junior varsity team plays nearly all of its games in the Dean Smith Center, attracting maybe a few hundred fans about three hours before the varsity team packs the nearly 22,000-seat arena.

“You got great seats, everybody’s at center floor,” said O’Han’s father, Rob O’Han Sr. “You can hear everything.”

The team plays a mix of teams from community colleges and other junior varsity programs, and prep schools filled with players who are just out of high school and looking to focus their development in the sport.

Under current head coach Brad Frederick, an assistant coach for Williams, the North Carolina junior varsity team is 7-4, with a game scheduled Saturday against Central Carolina Community College before the varsity team plays Virginia.

“We play the prep schools and we try to keep it close but we usually get beat,” O’Han said after watching a recent game that was part of a three-game losing streak to prep schools. “But those are always the most fun games because we get to compete at a higher level.”

Lee Martin, the coach at Hargrave Military Academy in Chatham, Va., said his team plays the North Carolina junior varsity squad every season (their game is scheduled for Feb. 25). “It’s one of my favorites games of the year,” Martin said. “It gives our guys an invaluable experience.”

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/15/sports/ncaabasketball/north-carolina-junior-varsity.html?emc=rss&partner=rss