How a promise to Dean Smith brought former basketball player Vasco Evtimov back to UNC

Posted Feb 18, 2019
In the summer of 1999, Vasco Evtimov had just forfeited his last two years of college eligibility to sign with a Greek professional team over returning to UNC. Before the 6-foot-10 Evtimov left Chapel Hill, though, he spoke with Dean Smith, who recruited Evtimov and coached him as a freshman. “I promised Coach Smith...I would come back and get my degree. And here I am." (Daily Tar Heel)

Related: Basketball, Basketball Recruiting

Record-Setting Barrage of Attempted Threes Proves Costly For Tar Heels
Pro-analytics or not, no calculation promotes taking a record-setting 38 3-point attempts and making 23.7 percent of them, which is what UNC did in its...
Sat Nov 14, 2026

Terrence Brown, Isaiah Denis defend UNC's record-setting number of 3-point attempts
North Carolina kept finding opportunities beyond the arc Friday. Finding the bottom of the net was another matter. The Tar Heels attempted a school-record 38...
Sat Nov 14, 2026

Video: Locked On Tar Heels - Rebounding, Shooting, Long Drought Doom UNC Basketball In Loss To UGa.
UNC Basketball suffers its first loss of the Michael Malone era, falling 78-70 to Georgia on Friday. The Tar Heels couldn't overcome another rough rebounding...
Sat Nov 14, 2026

Neo Avdalas’ aggressive second half comes with turnover, shooting issues
Neo Avdalas gave UNC more aggressive guard play Friday, but Michael Malone wants better decisions. The sophomore who many see as having a high ceiling...
Sat Nov 14, 2026