By R.L. Bynum
Roster continuity is a challenge in the transfer portal era, both for the programs and their fans, who are used to following players for multiple seasons. The jarring amount of transition in Carolina’s men’s basketball program is the most significant in 20 years.
It’s possible that no one who started the last 10 games of last season will be on the roster, and that only two scholarship players will return. That number goes up by one if Ven-Allen Lubin, who entered the transfer portal this week, returns, as he said is his intention. It’s also possible that Drake Powell could pull his name from the NBA draft by the June 15 deadline, but he sounded like he intends to stay in.
If Powell and Lubin aren’t back, they’d join three players who have no remaining eligibility (RJ Davis, Jae’Lyn Withers and Ty Claude) and four others who entered the transfer portal (Elliot Cadeau, transferring to Michigan; Jalen Washington, Vanderbilt; Ian Jackson, St. John’s; and Cade Tyson) lost from last season’s team.
While Duke has lost three players from last season’s Final Four team to the NBA (Cooper Flagg, Kon Kneuppel and Tyrese Proctor) so far, the Blue Devils are one of at least three programs (along with Tennessee and Boston University) that didn’t lose any players to the transfer portal.
The only Carolina scholarship returnees are one player who started 18 games last season (senior guard Seth Trimble) and another who only played 18 games last season (sophomore forward James Brown). Even if Lubin returns after starting 20 games last season, he is expected to come off the bench with the addition of 7–0 former Arizona redshirt junior Henri Veesaar.
This will be the first time since the 2005–06 season that UNC won’t return a player who started more than 20 games. That came after the program lost NCAA tournament MOP Sean May, Rashad McCants, Jawad Williams, Raymond Felton and Jackie Manuel, and reserve Marvin Williams off the 2005 national championship team.
Since then, there’s been steady continuity, from Tyler Hansbrough (2005–09), John Henson (2009–12), Marcus Paige (2012–16) and Joel Berry II (2014–18) — three of those playing four seasons — to Leaky Black (2018–23), Armando Bacot (2019–24) and RJ Davis (2020–25) each playing five.
The days of watching stars with NBA pedigrees such as Michael Jordan and James Worthy in Carolina blue for three seasons have been over for decades. Fans are lucky to see that level of player for two seasons. But now it’s going to be less common to see players who aren’t at that level for more than one or two seasons because of the ability to transfer to improve playing time and/or earnings.
Trimble, who will play his fourth consecutive season at UNC, will be the only player on next season’s roster who has played more than one season in the program.
At least four starters will be newcomers, and the rotation will include Veesaar, freshman five-star forward Caleb Wilson, junior Colorado State transfer point guard Kyan Evans, junior Alabama transfer forward Jarin Stevenson, sophomore West Virginia transfer guard Jonathan Powell and junior former Virginia Tech guard Jaydon Young.
The good news for that group is that the non-conference schedule won’t be as brutally challenging as last season — other than games against Kansas, Michigan State, Ohio State and an ACC/SEC Challenge opponent — giving the group time to build chemistry.
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 |
| 1 | Sophomore | Zayden High | 4 | 6–9 | 225 |
| 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 | |
| 22 | Senior | Ven-Allen Lubin | 4 | 6–8 | 230 |
| 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 |
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 | Uncommitted |
| Ven-Allen Lubin | Senior | C | 6–8 | 230 | Likely to return |
UNC schedule so far
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 Dec. 2 or 3 — ACC/SEC Challenge game (opponent TBA; likely a road game)
Dec. 13 — USC Upstate (6–26, 340th; first meeting)
Likely Dec. 20 — Likely CBS Sports Classic matchup with 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)
Photo via @UNC_Basketball
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