UNC’s group of nine men’s basketball newcomers ranked No. 7

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.


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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).


No.ClassPlayerPos.HgtWgt
8FreshmanCaleb Wilson (5 star)46–10215
5FreshmanIsaiah Denis (4 star)CG6–4180
3FreshmanDerek Dixon (4 star)CG6–5200
40SophomoreIvan Matlekovic57–0255
11SophomoreJonathan PowellG6–6190
2SophomoreJames Brown 56–10240
1SophomoreZayden High46–10230
44JuniorLuca Bogavac
(BO-guh-VAHTS)
W6–6215
4JuniorJaydon Young26–4200
13RS juniorHenri Veesaar
(VEH-sar)
57–0225
0JuniorKyan Evans16–2175
15JuniorJarin Stevenson46–10215
7SeniorSeth Trimble26–3200
Walk-ons
25SophomoreJohn Holbrook46–8230
32JuniorEvan Smith26–1195
6RS seniorElijah Davis26–3205

Former UNC players who transferred

PlayerClass next seasonPos.HgtWgtNext school
Elliot CadeauJuniorPG6–1180Michigan
Jalen WashingtonSeniorC6–10235Vanderbilt
Ian JacksonSophomoreG6–4190St. John’s
Cade TysonSeniorF6–7200Minnesota
Ven-Allen LubinSeniorC6–8230N.C. State

DateMonth/dayTimeOpponent/event
(current ranks)
TV/
record
October
24FridayL, 78–76vs. BYU in SLCExhib.
29WednesdayW, 95–53vs. Winston-Salem St.Exhib.
November
3MondayW, 94–54vs. Central Arkansas1–0
7FridayW, 87–74vs. No. 14 Kansas2–0
11TuesdayW, 89–74vs. Radford3–0
14FridayW, 97–53vs. N.C. Central4–0
18TuesdayW, 73–61vs. Navy5–0
Fort Myers Tip-Off
25TuesdayW, 85–70vs. St. Bonaventure6–0
27ThursdayL, 74–58vs. No. 8 Michigan State6–1
DecemberACC/SEC
Men’s Challenge
2TuesdayW, 67–64at Kentucky7–1
—————————
7SundayW, 81–61vs. Georgetown8–1
13SaturdayW, 80–62vs. USC Upstate9–1
16TuesdayW, 77–58vs. ETSU10–1
CBS Sports Classic
in Atlanta
20SaturdayW, 71–70vs. Ohio State11–1
—————————
22MondayW, 99–51vs. East Carolina12–1
30TuesdayW, 79–66vs. Florida State13–1,
1–0 ACC
January
3SaturdayL, 97–83at SMU13–2, 1–1
10SaturdayW, 87–84vs. Wake Forest14–2, 2–1
14WednesdayL, 95–90at Stanford14–3, 2–2
17SaturdayL, 84–78at California14–4, 2–3
21WednesdayW, 91–69vs. Notre Dame15–4, 3–3
24SaturdayW, 85–80at No. 13 Virginia16–4, 4–3
31SaturdayW, 91–75at Georgia Tech17–4, 5–3
February
2MondayW, 87–77vs. Syracuse18–4, 6–3
7SaturdayW, 71–68vs. No.1 Duke19–4, 7–3
10TuesdayL, 75–66at No. 22 Miami19–5, 7–4
14SaturdayW, 79–65vs. Pittsburgh20–5, 8–4
17TuesdayL, 82–58at N.C. State20–6, 8–5
21SaturdayW, 77–64at Syracuse21–6, 9–5
23MondayW, 77–74vs. Louisville22–6, 10–5
28SaturdayW, 89–82vs. Virginia Tech23–6, 11–5
March
3TuesdayW, 67–63vs. Clemson24–6, 12–5
7SaturdayL, 76–61at No. 1 Duke24–7, 12–6
10–14Tues.-Sat.ACC
tournament
Spectrum Center,
Charlotte
12ThursdayL, 80–79Quarterfinals:
vs. Clemson
24–8

Photo courtesy of FIBA

3 Comments

  1. It would be interesting to know/understand the “points ratings” of the players that transferred away from Carolina and then compare that to the current players.

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