Armando Bacot is staying in Chapel Hill.
The North Carolina big man will return to the Tar Heels for a fifth season in 2023-24, he told Stadium's Jeff Goodman.
"I'm using my last year of eligibility," Bacot said Wednesday. "I felt it was the right decision for my future."
Jeff Goodman @GoodmanHoopsArmando Bacot tweeting a photo of Perry Ellis - who some consider the second-longest tenured college hoops player of all-time after <a href="">@RobbieHummel</a> - is absolutely elite. <a href="">
Bacot has one year of eligibility remaining after the NCAA granted athletes an extra year because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
He is North Carolina's all-time leader in double-doubles and rebounds after passing Billy Cunningham and Tyler Hansbrough, respectively, for those titles during the 2022-23 campaign. Now that he's returning for a fifth season, he'll get the chance to make those records nearly untouchable.
The 23-year-old also passed Michael Jordan for No. 14 on the program's all-time scoring list with his 1,789th point on March 4 against the Duke Blue Devils.
Bacot played an integral role in helping the Tar Heels reach the NCAA tournament championship game during the 2021-22 season, averaging 16.3 points, 13.1 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.7 blocks in 39 games while shooting 56.9 percent from the floor.
Though North Carolina fell to Kansas in the national title game, the Tar Heels opened the 2022-23 campaign as the No. 1 team in the nation after returning several starters. However, things didn't go to plan for UNC as it finished 20-13 and 11-9 in ACC action.
Virginia eliminated North Carolina in the second round of the ACC tournament, and the Heels were not selected for the NCAA tournament.
Bacot's numbers also dipped this past season as he averaged 15.9 points, 10.4 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.0 block in 32 games while shooting 55.4 percent from the floor.
Now that he's returning, Bacot will get one last chance to lead the Tar Heels to a national title, though that could be tough as he's the only starter guaranteed to return.
Leaky Black and Pete Nance are out of NCAA eligibility, and Caleb Love and RJ Davis haven't announced their plans.
