By R.L. Bynum
North Carolina is No. 7 on a list ranking groups of men’s basketball newcomers, which includes freshmen, transfers and foreign signees.
That ranking of the Tar Heels by 247Sports includes nine commitments (five who are transfers) and is based on an average point total of 67.98.
UNC could go even higher because its the average player rating of 94.51 doesn’t include one for signee, Luka Bogavac (top photo), a 6–5, 200-pound Montenegrin wing who committed in late May.
Duke, ranked No. 1 on the list with 70.04 points for six commitments, also signed a foreign player, Italian shooting guard Dame Sarr. However, since that commitment came on May 22, he has a player rating listed of 98.0.
Five-star freshman forward Caleb Wilson (99) has the highest player rating, followed by Arizona center transfer Henri Veesaar (96), freshman combo guard Derek Dixon (94), freshman combo guard Isaiah Denis and Colorado point guard transfer Kyan Evans (93 each), West Virginia guard transfer Jonathan Powell and Alabama transfer forward Jarin Stevenson (92 each) and Virginia Tech transfer guard Jaydon Young (88).
Other ACC teams in the top 25 are No. 13 Louisville (average point total of 66.87), No. 14 N.C. State (66.51), No. 18 Syracuse (65.76), No. 19 Miami (65.55), No. 22 Notre Dame (65.07) and No. 23 SMU (65.02).
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 |
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 |
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. 7 — vs. Kansas (21–13; 24th; lost to Arkansas in first round of NCAA tournament; series tied at 6)
Nov. 11 — vs. Radford (20–13, 151st; UNC leads series 3–0)
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; 90th; Georgetown leads 5–4)
Likely Dec. 2 or 3 — at Kentucky in ACC/SEC Challenge game (24–12, 16th; UNC leads 25–18)
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)
One more nonconference game
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 courtesy of FIBA
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