Black Friday Shopping – Hunting Bargains for Carolina Teams

There are few holiday traditions more American than Black Friday shopping. It used to be that families would hastily consume Thanksgiving dinner, bid farewell to the family, bundle up like an arctic explorer (depending on region), grab a hopefully comfortable chair and line up overnight in an attempt to save $5 on that gift of the year you never knew you needed. If a riot broke out in the process, even better. The COVID-19 pandemic and the popularity of Cyber Monday have greatly changed consumers’ shopping habits. That’s not to say that deals can’t be found in store and riots still occur, but Black Friday is not your aunt’s shopping experience.

But the concept of Black Friday allows for a fun thought experiment. Using an unlimited budget from the Draft Carolina corporate coffers, what could be purchased for teams in the Carolinas, and by extension, their fans, to make their future brighter? Sometimes it could be an actual living, breathing, body that could inject talent onto a roster. For other teams, it is a missing intangible. Hopefully, a full shopping cart of happy feelings and hope will go through the checkout line.

Carolina Panthers – A defensive stud. Bryce Young appears to have turned the corner and has laid claim to the starting quarterback job. Considering the natural disaster that the Chicago Bears have become, last year’s trade for the #1 pick doesn’t look like the cruel meme generator it was weeks ago. General Manager Dan Morgan has assembled a competent offensive line. The receivers, tight ends, and running backs are rounding into form. Morgan can use his $45 million in 2025 cap space to supplement those units. The defense? Yuck. If the Panthers are to quickly become a contender in the woeful NFC South, Defensive Coordinator Ejiro Evero needs a bona fide stud. Penn State Edge Abdul Carter, or either of Michigan’s CB Will Johnson or DL Mason Graham, would give the defense instant credibility and big play ability. If any of those three are available on draft day, the Panthers should turn in their draft card in record time.

Charlotte Hornets – Patience. The Hornets have a clear plan. It won’t be called The Process to avoid being confused with the Philadelphia 76ers’ ill-fated attempt to win a title. But General Manager Jeff Peterson has a vision, and it is a solid one. He has two stars in LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller. He has an intriguing, precocious, talent in Tidjane Salaun. There have been improvements this season, but they have been inconsistent. The Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers are the class of the Eastern Conference with Orlando Magic and New York Knicks as contenders. The rest of the conference is not impressive. A veteran added to the roster could put Charlotte in position to grab one of the final playoff spots. That would be a bad idea. Don’t chase short-term satisfaction at the cost of long-term success. Stay the course.

Carolina Hurricanes – Goaltending. Observers were unsure what type of team the Hurricanes might be this season. Were they still a Stanley Cup contender? Had the offseason defections closed their window? Was it time to turn the roster over to the prospects? A quarter of the way into the season and the Hurricanes sit on top of the Eastern Conference standings and Martin Necas is the NHL’s leading scorer (who saw that coming?). They are definitely contenders. The one warning flag has been the state of the goaltending. Goaltending has always been a cause for Hurricanes fans to hold their collective breath. Frederik Anderson recently underwent knee surgery and will be out 8-12 weeks. Pytor Kochetkov is out with a concussion. Goaltending is the one area of the Hurricanes’ prospect pool that is shallow. Poor goaltending can sink a season faster than any other factor. Whether General Manager Eric Tulsky goes outside the organization or just stays and prays, his decision batter be the correct one. Choosing poorly could end up breaking the players’ and fans’ hearts.

Clemson Football – Clarity. Clemson enjoyed the status as one of the powerhouse teams for a better part of the 21stCentury. There were five star recruits populating the roster. Tigers players were high NFL Draft picks. Fans bragged of national championships. The program is at a crossroads. Head Coach Dabo Swinney has frustrated boosters and fans with his refusal to embrace the transfer portal and NIL. The ACC is no longer top heavy with Clemson being the alpha program. Clemson will continue to be a pre-season favorite to reach the conference title game, but they struggle to remain a Top 25 program and in 2024, they are given little chance to advance in the College Football Playoff, should they even qualify. Clemson is still good. Clemson is not great. Is that enough for the fanbase? Is it enough for Swinney? The time is rapidly approaching when difficult conversations need to be had, and tough decisions need to be made.

North Carolina Football – A new hope. No, Luke Skywalker is not walking through that door. With the dismissal of legendary Head Coach Mack Brown, somebody is walking through that door. The next North Carolina head coach will have to deal with the loss of his most dynamic playmaker, Omarion Hampton, and an uncertain quarterback room. There is a chance recruits might sign elsewhere, further depleting team talent and depth. The ACC is the picture of parity. A young and energetic new face could quickly turn things around for the Tar Heels after a season in which so much went wrong. Chapel Hill is an appealing area for potential coaches and recruits alike. The success of the program is not that small in the rearview mirror. The right hire could have Kenan Memorial Stadium rocking in no time.

North Carolina Basketball – Meeting expectations. North Carolina basketball fans might consider the 2023-2024 season a disappointment. The Tar Heels won the regular season, but as they say, that $12.50 will get you a venti house blend at Starbucks. They lost the ACC Championship tournament to the surprising NC State Wolfpack and were kept out of the Final Four by the Alabama Crimson Tide. Even the NBA Draft, which is a source of pride for North Carolina partisans, proved to be disappointing as only guard Harrison Ingram was drafted, 48th overall, by the San Antonio Spurs. Fans will get antsy if the Tar Heels are not challenging for the regular season title, tournament title, and a trip to San Antonio for the Final Four. Head Coach Hubert Davis has a very nice balance of veteran leadership and high-end recruits. All they have to do is execute. And deal with those other guys in Durham.

Duke Basketball – Growing to potential. Speaking of the other guys. Duke enters the season with the presumptive #1 overall prospect for the NBA Draft in power forward Cooper Flagg. He could be joined in the first round by swingmen Isiah Evans and Kon Knueppel, and center Khaman Maluach. That’s significant pressure on four freshmen at an institution that treats participation in the Final Four as a divine right. Reasonable expectations are to wait until conference play begins before the potential of a team can be accurately assessed. Duke fans aren’t always reasonable. They are called Cameron Crazies for a reason. Given time for these young men to acclimate on the court, the classroom, and on campus, and the Blue Devils should see themselves rising to the top of the weekly rankings. By the postseason they should be mature enough to deal with the pressure of great expectations. And those other guys from Chapel Hill.

South Carolina Women’s Basketball – Health and Focus. What do you buy for the team that has everything? That is the quandary with Head Coach Dawn Staley’s juggernaut. Few college programs have been as dominant in their respective sports as the Gamecocks. They recently had their 43 game winning streak stopped by UCLA, the fifth ranked team in the country. There is nothing alarming to be gleaned from that loss. But for a team that treats the Women’s NCAA Basketball Tournament like a cat treats a ball of yarn, it reinforces that a night off could be disastrous. South Carolina is good enough to steamroll themselves once again to a title. However, an injury to a key player or complacency setting in could spoil another special season in Columbia.

Charlotte Knights – More prospects, more excitement. When the parent club sets a modern day record for losses at 121, it is a safe bet that the upper minor leagues is not teeming with talent. That was the case with the Knights in 2024. The roster was dotted with former major leaguers sent to AAA for a reason or journeymen plugging away for the love of the game. Even top prospects like Colson Montgomery appeared dragged down by the organizational funk. After such an abysmal season, things got cleaned out top to bottom. Prospects that were improving their skills in Birmingham and Winston-Salem should start appearing in the starting lineup for the Knights this summer. Montgomery rediscovered his offensive potential in the Arizona Fall League and is a strong candidate to begin the year in Charlotte. It is possible that the White Sox 2024 top draft pick, fire balling LHP Hagen Smith out of Arkansas, will join the Knight roster as their ace in the making. There will be other players at Truist Field this summer that will hopefully raise the White Sox from the baseball tomb. It should give Knights fans a sense of “I knew them when” if they become MLB all-stars.

Obviously, there is no way to actually purchase these things for anyone’s favorite team. It remains to be seen if these “gifts” bring happiness and joy, or if fans end up prefer playing with the box in which they arrived. The days leading up to Christmas are filled with anticipation that something special is about to be received. With luck, these Black Friday “purchases” are more happily received than the 65” television your father hip checked a random stranger out of the way to obtain.