By R.L. Bynum

Coach Hubert Davis wanted a taller team and took a good step toward doing that with the first guard he snagged from the transfer portal.

Jonathan Powell, a former West Virginia 6–6, 191-pound guard, picked UNC over Ole Miss and Ohio State, according to multiple reports, including two that Powell retweeted.

As a freshman for the Mountaineers, he started 23 games, averaging 8.3 points and 3.1 rebounds. Powell shot 35.2% from 3-point range with the second-most 3-pointers among freshmen in the Big 12 (64) and made at least half of his 3-point attempts in 11 games. He also had 22 assists and 22 steals last season.

He scored at least three 3-pointers 10 times, at least four 3-pointers five times, and had five 3-pointers twice: in a 69–50 home win Jan. 4 over Oklahoma State and in a 72–65 home win March 8 over Central Florida.

The concerning numbers for Powell were that he only attempted 25 free throws all season, and made only 48%.

Powell is from Centerville, Ohio, where he was named the Division I Ohio High School Basketball Coaches Association Player of the Year in his senior year and was a three-star recruit. He signed with West Virginia after first committing to Xavier.

His season-high was 17 points when he scored four 3-pointers on Dec. 10 in a 79–45 home win over N.C. Central. He had nine rebounds in the Mountaineers’ 62–59 home win on Feb. 19 over Cincinnati and in a 74–71 overtime road loss on Feb. 15 against Baylor.

He is the second player to transfer from West Virginia to UNC in three offseasons. Forward James Okonkwo joined the program for the 2023-24 season, then transferred to Akron last summer.

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	6–6	205
	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

Thursday through May 28 — Kevin Thomas at USA Basketball U18 national team tryouts in Colorado Springs
May 27 (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
Dec. 21 — vs. The Citadel
November or December — vs. Butler

Photo via @WVUhoops