By WRAL

The North Carolina men’s basketball team will hold its intra-team scrimmage Oct. 12 at the Smith Center in Chapel Hill after the school’s football game, the school announced Friday.

The Blue-White scrimmage was originally scheduled for Oct. 13 at Harrah’s Resort in Cherokee. But the team and event organizers opted to move the event due to the devastating impacts of Hurricane Helene on western North Carolina.

Hurricane Helene caused death and destruction across much of the western part of the state with 25 states and Eastern Band of Cherokee Indian territory qualifying for a major disaster declaration.

“We had some discussions about keeping the date to help restore some normalcy but there is nothing normal about the tragic circumstances people in the area are facing every day,” UNC head coach Hubert Davis said in a statement. “We plan to bring our team to Harrah’s and Cherokee another time when the conditions are right.”

Davis said Friday that he liked the idea of taking UNC basketball to other parts of the state, equating it to “barnstorming” events when he was a player.

“The reason why we would do it is not everybody had an opportunity to come to the Smith Center,” he said. “Why not do that in the preseason? It gives us an opportunity to travel around the state, and for North Carolina fans to be able to see that can’t make it all the way down here.”

He said it is something that the program will try to do again in the future.

The Tar Heels football game against Georgia Tech begins at noon on Oct. 12. The basketball event will begin 45 minutes after the conclusion of the football game.

All tickets for the scrimmage are $10 and all proceeds will go to hurricane relief efforts. Tickets can be purchased beginning at 10 a.m. on Oct. 8 at GoHeels.com/tickets. If you’ve already purchased a ticket to the scrimmage in Cherokee, bring a copy of the receipt to receive free admission.

UNC students will be admitted with a UNC One Card for no charge. The men’s basketball program will pay the cost of student tickets with the proceeds donated to the relief effort.

Football parking passes will be honored all day.

The basketball team will play an exhibition game at Memphis on Oct. 15 at 7 p.m. (ESPNU). The Tar Heels open their season on Nov. 4 against Elon at the Smith Center at 9 p.m. (ACC Network).

Source: wralsportsfan.com