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
	Freshman	Luca Bogavac	W	6-5	201
	Sophomore	Jonathan Powell	G	6-6	191
2	Sophomore	James Brown	5	6–8	225
1	Sophomore	Zayden High	4	6–9	225
	Junior	Luca Bogavac	W	6-5	201
	Junior	Jaydon Young	2	6–4	205
	RS junior	Henri Veesaar	5	7–0	235
	Junior	Kyan Evans	1	6–2	175
	Junior	Jarin Stevenson	4	6–11	215
7	Senior	Seth Trimble	2	6–3	195
		Walk-ons
15	Sophomore	John Holbrook	4	6–8	230
14	Junior	Russell Hawkins	2	6–1	175
6	RS Senior	Elijah Davis	2	6–4	197

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UNC players entering portal

Player	Class next season	Pos.	Hgt	Wgt	Next school
Elliot Cadeau	Junior	PG	6–1	180	Michigan
Jalen Washington	Senior	C	6–10	235	Vanderbilt
Ian Jackson	Sophomore	G	6–4	190	St. John’s
Cade Tyson	Senior	F	6–7	200	Minnesota
Ven-Allen Lubin	Senior	C	6–8	230	N.C. State

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UNC schedule

Late October, date TBA — Exhibition vs. BYU at Delta Center in Salt Lake City
Nov. 3 — vs. Central Arkansas (finished 9–24, 349th in KenPom; first meeting)
Nov. 11 — vs. Radford (20–13, 151st; UNC leads series 3–0)
Nov. 14 — vs. Kansas (21–13; 24th; lost to Arkansas in first round of NCAA tournament; series tied at 6)
Nov. 17 or 18 — vs. Navy (15–19, 276th; Navy leads 14–6)
Nov. 25 — vs. St. Bonaventure (21–11; 97th; lost to Kent State in first round of the NIT; UNC leads 1–0) in Fort Myers Tip-Off
Nov. 27 — vs. Michigan State (30–7; 7th; lost to Auburn in Elite Eight; UNC leads 13–4) in Fort Myers Tip-Off
Likely December (TBA) — vs. Georgetown (18–16; Georgetown leads 5–4)
Likely Dec. 2 or 3 — ACC/SEC Challenge game (opponent TBA; likely a road game)
Dec. 13 — USC Upstate (6–26, 340th; first meeting)
Dec. 20 — CBS Sports Classic in Atlanta against Ohio State (17–15; 37th; UNC leads 13–3)
Dec. 22 — vs. East Carolina (19–14; 176th; UNC leads 4–0)
Date TBA — vs. N.C. Central (10–19; 319th; UNC leads 3–0)
Two other nonconference games
Likely Feb. 1 or Feb. 8 — vs. Duke (35–4; 1st; UNC leads 145–120)
Likely March 7 — at Duke
ACC games
Home and home vs. Duke and Syracuse
Other home games against Clemson, Florida State, Louisville, Notre Dame, Pitt, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest
Other road games against California, Georgia Tech, Miami, N.C. State, SMU, Stanford and Virginia

Photo via @WVUhoops