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.
Potential UNC roster
(Next season’s classes listed)
| No. | Class | Player | Pos. | Hgt | Wgt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Freshman | Caleb Wilson (5 star) | 4 | 6–9 | 205 | |
| Freshman | Isaiah Denis (4 star) | CG | 6–5 | 175 | |
| Freshman | Derek Dixon (4 star) | CG | 6-3 | 190 | |
| Sophomore | Jonathan Powell | G | 6-6 | 191 | |
| 2 | Sophomore | James Brown | 5 | 6–8 | 225 |
| 11 | Sophomore | Ian Jackson | 2 | 6–5 | 185 |
| 9 | Sophomore | Drake Powell | 2 | 6–6 | 195 |
| 22 | Senior | Ven-Allen Lubin | 4 | 6–8 | 230 |
| 5 | Senior | Cade Tyson | 3 | 6–7 | 205 |
| 7 | Senior | Seth Trimble | 2 | 6–3 | 195 |
| Walk-ons | |||||
| 15 | Sophomore | John Holbrook | 4 | 6–8 | 23p |
| 14 | Junior | Russell Hawkins | 2 | 6–1 | 175 |
| 6 | RS Senior | Elijah Davis | 2 | 6–4 | 197 |
Photo via @WVUhoops
tarheeltribune.com 
From what I am seeing so far, Davis will be looking for another job after the 2025-2026 season. He is a good coach but a terrible recruiter. Every year now he goes portal hunting because all of the real stars are going to Duke. Nobody with real star power wants to play for Davis.
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