With no Henri Veesaar and Caleb Wilson on Saturday afternoon, the UNC basketball team faced an uphill climb, even against a lowly Pitt team with just two ACC wins.
Making matters worse for North Carolina, reserve big men James Brown and Ivan Matlekovic remained out with injuries.
There's one Tar Heel center who, after patiently waiting two seasons, finally got his starting opportunity in the 79-65 win.
Zayden High, who played sparingly in his freshman season and was away from the team last year, delivered with 15 points and seven rebounds in 32 minutes against the Panthers (9-17, 2-11 ACC) – all career-highs.
After the victory, High delved into his breakout performance, highlighting how much it means to wear a UNC (20-5, 8-4 ACC) uniform.
"I mean it's everything," High said. "You obviously know how big Henri and Caleb are. Going into the game, I was just trying to match their energy that they bring every game. It was everything. It's a dream come true to start at North Carolina. I'm just thankful for my teammates and coaches for believing in me."
"Playing hard on defense," High continued. "Coach always preaches defense. If we get stops, then we can run in transition. I feel like we got a lot of stops today, we were able to get out in transition and run the break. That's what worked for us today."
High made seven of his 11 field goals attempts, consistently winning his battles against Pitt defenders. Whether a turnaround hook shot in the post, collecting himself before a layup or trying a close-range jumper, High played like a seasoned veteran when the Tar Heels needed him most.
Wilson will be out indefinitely , though recent reports point to him being back for ACC Tournament play. Veesaar may very well return Tuesday at NC State, which lost a heartbreaker to Miami (FL) Saturday in the final seconds.
In the greatest moment of his 2-year collegiate career, High delivered an extremely memorable moment. Hubert Davis now has another reliable post option , one who will help UNC chase a seventh NCAA Championship in March.
Follow us @TarHeelsWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of North Carolina Tar Heels news, notes and opinions.
This article originally appeared on Tar Heels Wire: UNC center Zayden High details his career performance in first start
