By R.L. Bynum
Transfer portal season isn’t set up for the fans who want to know now how North Carolina’s rosters will look next season.
Many fans want to sprint, but the process is more like a marathon that requires patience. It may be weeks (or months) before we know what the final rosters might look like for next season. This makes the way-too-early top 25 lists that came out this week even more ridiculous than they would have been a few years ago.
Remember that James Okonkwo didn’t commit to Carolina until July.
You may wonder why Coach Hubert Davis or Coach Courtney Banghart haven’t yet secured commitments from certain players in the portal, but constructing the best possible roster takes time.
According to Jeff Goodman, the portal had 1,425 Division I men’s players as of Wednesday morning, 23 days after it opened. According to Talia Goodman, there were 1,136 women’s players in the portal Wednesday evening.
Banghart, who has lost six players — Deja Kelly, Paulina Paris (who is headed to Arizona), Ali Zelaya, Anya Poole, Teonni Key and RyLee Grays — to the portal, brought in graduate transfer guard Grace Townsend from Richmond this week, but plenty of other good players are still out there. Davis has lost two players — Seth Trimble and Okonkwo — to the portal but hasn’t yet secured a commitment from a transfer.
Alyssa Ustby, RJ Davis and Jae’Lyn Withers, all of whom could play a fifth college season, still haven’t announced their plans. Harrison Ingram, who is projected as a second-round pick in the NBA draft if he decides to turn pro, also hasn’t announced his plans.
Given the backcourt injuries that piled up last season, UNC’s women could use as many guards as possible.
The marquee name out there is former Louisville and LSU guard Hailey Van Lith, who would be a graduate transfer. But one of the best in the portal is Princeton’s Kaitlyn Chen, a two-time All-Ivy League selection and the 2023 Ivy League Player of the Year, who would be a graduate transfer. Three offseasons ago, Banghart, who came to UNC from Princeton in 2019, brought in former Princeton guard Carlie Littlefield.
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There is good reason for Davis and Banghart to be patient since players have until May 31 to enter the transfer portal. Numerous players are entering the portal every day, and they want to have available scholarships.
This is particularly true for Davis, considering some of the best portal talent is also assessing their NBA stock. Many will attend either the G League Elite Camp on May 11–12 or the NBA Combine on May 12–19, both in Chicago.
Players have until April 27 (at 11:59 p.m. ET) to submit their name for the NBA draft and those who do have until May 29 (at 11:59 p.m. ET) to pull their name and retain NCAA eligibility.
One example of a player in the portal and the draft is Aaron Bradshaw, a 7–1 former Kentucky forward.
But understand that players have until May 31 to enter the transfer portal, so coaches don’t yet know the full pool of portal players. It’s a balancing act, though, because if coaches see a player who is a good fit for their system, should they try to get a commitment from them now or wait for another player later who could be an even better fit?
With Armando Bacot’s eligibility over, Davis needs a dominant center to join Jalen Washington (assuming he returns).
A player who would be a good fit is 6–10 graduate transfer Oumar Ballo out of Arizona (12.9 points and 10.1 rebounds).
Three other possibilities are 6–11 graduate transfer Clifford Omoruyi out of Rutgers (10.4 points and 8.3 rebounds), 7–0 rising junior Danny Wolf out of Yale (14.1 points, 9.7 rebounds) and 7–1 rising senior Vladislav Goldin out of Florida Atlantic (15.7 points, 6.9 rebounds). On Thursday, Adam Zagoria reported that UNC had been in contact with Omoruyi.
In the middle of all this, women’s coaches have an evaluation period where they can scout high school players from April 19–21. For men’s coaches, that period is from May 17–19 at events such as EYBL (Nike Elite Youth Basketball) in Indianapolis.
Sit back and relax. This offseason ride will be a long one.
Key events, dates
April 19–21 — Women’s basketball evaluation period for high school players at NCAA-certified events
April 27 (at 11:59 p.m. ET) — Deadline for players to submit their names to the NBA draft
May 1 — Transfer portal closes
May 11–12 — NBA G League Elite Camp in Chicago
May 12–19 — NBA Combine in Chicago
May 17–19 — Men’s basketball evaluation for high school players at NCAA-certified events (EYBL in Indianapolis is on those days)
May 29 (at 11:59 p.m. ET) — Deadline for players to pull their names from the NBA draft list and retain NCAA eligibility
Roster assuming all players with eligibility other than Caleb Wilson, Henri Veesaar and the seven players who entered the transfer portal return, which would put UNC two under the 15-player limit. The class for next season is listed.
| No./ Stars | Class | Player | Pos. | Hgt | Wgt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 star | Freshman | Maximo Adams | SF | 6–7 | 205 |
| 3 star | Freshman | Malloy Smith | CG | 6–5 | 190 |
| 5 star | Freshman | Sayon Keita | C | 7–0 | 215 |
| 4 star | Freshman | Kevin Thomas | W | 6–7 | 190 |
| RS freshman | Cade Bennerman — W | C | 7–0 | 205 | |
| Sophomore | Neoklis Avdalas — X | G | 6–9 | 215 | |
| Sophomore | Isaiah Denis | G | 6–4 | 180 | |
| Sophomore | Matt Able — Y | G | 6–5 | 196 | |
| Senior | Terrence Brown — Z | G | 6–3 | 174 | |
| 4 | Senior | Jaydon Young | G | 6–4 | 200 |
| 15 | Senior | Jarin Stevenson | 4 | 6–10 | 215 |
| Walk-ons | |||||
| 25 | Junior | John Holbrook | 4 | 6–8 | 230 |
| 32 | Senior | Evan Smith | 2 | 6–1 | 195 |
W — Northwestern transfer. X — Virginia Tech transfer; Y — N.C. State transfer; Z — Utah transfer
Michael Malone’s coaching staff: Chuck Martin, Bryan Tibaldi, Sean May and Pat Sullivan; Deon Thompson will be a graduate assistant, and Brandon Robinson will reportedly have a support staff position.
Players who left for the transfer portal
| Player | Class next season | Pos. | Hgt | Wgt | Next school |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Luka Bogavac | Senior | W | 6–6 | 215 | Oklahoma State |
| James Brown | Senior | C | 6–10 | 240 | Howard |
| Derek Dixon | Sophomore | G | 6–5 | 200 | Arizona |
| Kyan Evans | Senior | G | 6–2 | 175 | Minnesota |
| Zayden High | Junior | C | 6–10 | 230 | South Florida |
| Jonathan Powell | Junior | G | 6–6 | 190 | Pittsburgh |
| Ivan Matlekovic | Junior | C | 7–0 | 255 |
Key offseason dates
Wednesday (11:59 p.m.) — NCAA early-entry withdrawal deadline
June 13 — Deadline for international players to withdraw from NBA draft and maintain college eligibility
June 23–24 — NBA draft at Barclays Center in Brooklyn
Nonconference schedule so far
(Other than the ACC/SEC Challenge, games without links revealed from reporting by Alex Rosinski or Rocco Miller)
(11 of 14 games)
Nov. 2 — vs. Western Carolina
Nov. 6 — vs. Wofford
Nov. 10 — vs. Wyoming
Nov. 13 — vs. Georgia
Nov. 20 — vs. Marshall
Nov. 27 — vs. West Virginia at the Dick Vitale Invitational at Charlotte’s Spectrum Center
Dec. 1 or 2 — vs. SEC team in ACC/SEC Challenge (announced last year on June 12)
Dec. 12 — at Georgetown
Dec. 19 — vs. Kentucky in CBS Sports Classic at Madison Square Garden, 2:30 p.m.
Dec. 21 — vs. The Citadel
November or December — vs. Butler
Projected roster if all players with eligibility other than Elina Aarnisalo, Lanie Grant,, Taliyah Henderson and Liza Ashtakhova and Liza Ashtakhova return, with years listed for next season (UNC is one below the 15-player limit)
| Year | No./ Stars | Players | Pos. | Height | |
| Freshman | 5 star | Kate Harpring | PG | 5–10 | |
| Freshman | 52/4 star | Noelle Bofia | F | 6–4 | |
| Sophomore | 3 | Gabby White — W | G | 5–10 | |
| Sophomore | 7 | Nyla Brooks | W | 6–1 | |
| Sophomore | 26 | Taissa Queiroz | G | 6–1 | |
| Junior | 34 | Blanca Thomas | C | 6–5 | |
| Junior | 1 | Jordan Zubich | G | 5–11 | |
| RS junior | 21 | Ciera Toomey | F | 6–4 | |
| RS junior | 4 | Laila Hull | W | 6–1 | |
| Senior | Sophie Burrows — X | G | 6–2 | ||
| Senior | 11 | Achol Akot — Y | F | 6–1 | |
| Senior | 10 | Reniya Kelly | G | 5–7 | |
| Senior | 15 | Sydney Barker | G | 5–6 | |
| Graduate | 13 | Chloe Clardy — Z | G | 5–9 |
W — Virginia transfer; X — Syracuse transfer; Y — Oklahoma State transfer; Z — Stanford transfer
Former players who entered transfer portal
| Player | Class next season | Pos. | Hgt | Next school |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elina Aarnisalo | Junior | G | 5–10 | UCLA |
| Lanie Grant | Junior | G | 5–9 | TCU |
| Taliyah Henderson | Sophomore | W | 6–1 | Clemson |
| Liza Astakhova | Sophomore | G | 6–2 | BYU |
Photo via @UNC_Basketball
