By R.L. Bynum
With North Carolina’s first exhibition game just two months away, Coach Hubert Davis has completed a major offseason roster overhaul. The final piece came with the addition of Montenegrin wing Luka Bogavac, who officially joined the Tar Heels on Aug. 14.
The rebuild follows the departure of three starters: Drake Powell left for the NBA, Elliot Cadeau transferred to Michigan and RJ Davis exhausted his eligibility. In response, Coach Davis assembled a roster that includes six transfers, a highly regarded four-player freshman class and a couple of returning contributors.
The roster gives the Tar Heels a mix of experience, size and scoring options. The likely starting five combines a proven transfer point guard, an experienced returning guard, international talent on the wing, a top-tier freshman forward and a veteran post player. The bench provides additional shooting, size and developmental depth.
How all of those pieces will fit together and mesh will be a significant source of debate between now and the Oct. 24 exhibition game in Salt Lake City that will feature a pair of the nation’s top freshman five-star recruits in UNC’s 6–10 Caleb Wilson (top photo) and BYU’s 6–9 A.J. Dybantsa.
Davis undoubtedly will offer some insights when he meets with the media for his summer press conference next week, the day after the TCU football game, but don’t expect him to project a starting lineup.
While there are no guarantees, here’s how playing time might play out:
Projected starters
Point guard — Junior Colorado State transfer Kyan Evans
Evans is expected to take over as UNC’s primary point guard. He brings strong shooting ability and floor leadership to a backcourt that lost both Cadeau and RJ Davis in the offseason.
Shooting guard — Senior Seth Trimble
Trimble is the only projected starter who played for the Tar Heels last season. Entering his final college season, he provides leadership, experience, perimeter defense and athleticism. His role will expand significantly after starting 18 games last season.
Wing — freshman Bogavac
Bogavac, who turns 22 next month, comes to Chapel Hill after playing professionally in Europe. Known as a versatile wing and reliable perimeter shooter, he is expected to fill a scoring role on the wing and provide size in the backcourt.
Power forward — Wilson
At 6–9, he offers length, rebounding and offensive versatility. He is projected to play a significant role immediately in the frontcourt. Read more about Wilson from this story after he poured in 28 points at the Jordan Brand Classic.
Center — Redshirt junior Arizona transfer Henri Veesaar
The 7-footer is expected to anchor the post. He adds shot-blocking, rebounding and interior scoring to a roster that lacked all of those elements last season.
Rotation players
Davis hasn’t often played a big rotation, but he’ll have the talent off the bench to play many more players than he did during his first four seasons. That should reduce the minutes for the starters after Davis has routinely given them heavy minutes. Will he use that depth?
West Virginia transfer sophomore guard Jonathan Powell
Perimeter shooter who provides additional scoring from the wing.
Alabama transfer junior forward Jarin Stevenson
Brings size and versatility to the frontcourt, likely rotating at power forward and center.
Sophomore forwards Zayden High and James Brown
High is back after sitting out last season following his school suspension, and is a bit of a wild card, while Brown’s impact is unknown since he got limited time last season.
Virginia Tech transfer sophomore guard Jaydon Young
He adds athleticism and secondary scoring in the backcourt.
Freshmen combo guards Derek Dixon and Isaiah Denis
These young players are expected to develop throughout the season and should get opportunities in early nonconference games.
Players who aren’t expected to be in the rotation are 7–0 High Point transfer sophomore center Ivan Matlekovic, a project who gives UNC a big guy to battle Veesaar in practice, and walk-ons Elijah Davis (a redshirt senior and Coach Davis’ son), John Holbrook and Evan Smith.
While developing team chemistry will be an important factor in the early part of the season, the overall talent level positions UNC to find the consistency that was missing last season.
| No. | Class | Player | Pos. | Hgt | Wgt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | Freshman | Caleb Wilson (5 star) | 4 | 6–10 | 215 |
| 5 | Freshman | Isaiah Denis (4 star) | CG | 6–4 | 180 |
| 3 | Freshman | Derek Dixon (4 star) | CG | 6–5 | 200 |
| 40 | Sophomore | Ivan Matlekovic | 5 | 7–0 | 255 |
| 11 | Sophomore | Jonathan Powell | G | 6–6 | 190 |
| 2 | Sophomore | James Brown | 5 | 6–10 | 240 |
| 1 | Sophomore | Zayden High | 4 | 6–10 | 230 |
| 44 | Junior | Luca Bogavac (BO-guh-VAHTS) | W | 6–6 | 215 |
| 4 | Junior | Jaydon Young | 2 | 6–4 | 200 |
| 13 | RS junior | Henri Veesaar (VEH-sar) | 5 | 7–0 | 225 |
| 0 | Junior | Kyan Evans | 1 | 6–2 | 175 |
| 15 | Junior | Jarin Stevenson | 4 | 6–10 | 215 |
| 7 | Senior | Seth Trimble | 2 | 6–3 | 200 |
| Walk-ons | |||||
| 25 | Sophomore | John Holbrook | 4 | 6–8 | 230 |
| 32 | Junior | Evan Smith | 2 | 6–1 | 195 |
| 6 | RS senior | Elijah Davis | 2 | 6–3 | 205 |
Former UNC players who transferred
| 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 |
| Date | Month/day | Time | Opponent/event (current ranks) | TV/ record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October | ||||
| 24 | Friday | L, 78–76 | vs. No. 10 BYU in SLC | Exhib. |
| 29 | Wednesday | W, 95–53 | vs. Winston-Salem St. | Exhib. |
| November | ||||
| 3 | Monday | W, 94–54 | vs. Central Arkansas | 1–0 |
| 7 | Friday | W, 87–74 | vs. No. 17 Kansas | 2–0 |
| 11 | Tuesday | W, 89–74 | vs. Radford | 3–0 |
| 14 | Friday | W, 97–53 | vs. N.C. Central | 4–0 |
| 18 | Tuesday | W, 73–61 | vs. Navy | 5–0 |
| Fort Myers Tip-Off | ||||
| 25 | Tuesday | W, 85–70 | vs. St. Bonaventure | 6–0 |
| 27 | Thursday | L, 74–58 | vs. No. 9 Michigan State | 6–1 |
| December | ACC/SEC Men’s Challenge | |||
| 2 | Tuesday | W, 67–64 | at Kentucky | 7–1 |
| ————————— | ||||
| 7 | Sunday | W, 81–61 | vs. Georgetown | 8–1 |
| 13 | Saturday | W, 80–62 | vs. USC Upstate | 9–1 |
| 16 | Tuesday | W, 77–58 | vs. East Tennessee State | 10–1 |
| CBS Sports Classic in Atlanta | ||||
| 20 | Saturday | 3 p.m. | vs. Ohio State | CBS |
| ————————— | ||||
| 22 | Monday | 8 p.m. | vs. East Carolina | ACCN |
| 30 | Tuesday | 7 p.m. | vs. Florida State | ESPN2 |
| January | ||||
| 3 | Saturday | 2:15 | at SMU | The CW |
| 10 | Saturday | 6 p.m. | vs. Wake Forest | ACCN |
| 14 | Wednesday | 9 p.m. | at Stanford | ACCN |
| 17 | Saturday | 4 p.m. | at California | ACCN |
| 21 | Wednesday | 7 p.m. | vs. Notre Dame | ESPN2 |
| 24 | Saturday | 2 or 2:30 | at No. 23 Virginia | ESPN or ESPNU |
| 31 | Saturday | 2 p.m. | at Georgia Tech | ACCN |
| February | ||||
| 2 | Monday | 7 p.m. | vs. Syracuse | ESPN |
| 7 | Saturday | 6:30 | vs. No. 3 Duke | ESPN |
| 10 | Tuesday | 7 p.m. | at Miami | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 14 | Saturday | 2 p.m. | vs. Pittsburgh | ESPN |
| 17 | Tuesday | 7 p.m. | at N.C. State | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 21 | Saturday | 1 p.m. | at Syracuse | ABC |
| 23 | Monday | 7 p.m. | vs. No. 11 Louisville | ESPN |
| 28 | Saturday | 6:30 or 8:30 | vs. Virginia Tech | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| March | ||||
| 3 | Tuesday | 7 p.m. | vs. Clemson | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 7 | Saturday | 6:30 | at No. 3 Duke | ESPN |
| 10–14 | Tues.-Sat. | ACC tournament | Spectrum Center, Charlotte |
Photo via @UNC_Basketball
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