By R.L. Bynum
North Carolina added its fifth player out of the transfer portal Friday when former Virginia Tech guard Jaydon Young committed to the Tar Heels.
The 6–4 guard, who has two years of remaining eligibility and originally committed to High Point on March 31, made the announcement in an Instagram post.
Young, a Goldsboro native who attended Greensboro Day School and was a four-star recruit out of high school, started 10 of 32 games for the Hokies last season, averaging 16.3 points over the last six games, finishing the season averaging 8.1 points while shooting 29.6% from 3-point range with 54 rebounds, 33 assists and 14 steals.
Young, whose father played at Mount Olive, chose the Hokies over Clemson, Virginia, Pittsburgh, and N.C. State and N.C. A&T. He entered the transfer portal during the last offseason but opted to return to Blacksburg.
Young scored in double figures in the last six games last season and had two big late games: pouring in 27 points and five 3-pointers, both career-highs, in the Hokies’ 81–68 victory at Miami on Feb. 22 and 26 points and two 3-pointers in Virginia Tech’s 101–95 home overtime win on March 1 over Syracuse.
He has 18 career games with multiple 3-pointers, five with three 3-pointers, and two with at least four 3-pointers. He led the Hokies in 3-pointers in eight games.
Three times during his high school career, Young earned conference player of the year and all-state honors, leading Greensboro Day to a state NCISAA title as a senior.
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 in 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
Through Sunday — NBA Draft Combine in Chicago
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 hokiesports.coml
