By R.L. Bynum
Terrence Brown, Utah’s leading scorer and one of the transfer portal’s most sought-after guards, visited UNC on Monday as the Tar Heels continue to sort out a reshaped roster under Coach Michael Malone.
Brown is an especially compelling target because his production has followed him across levels, from the Northeast Conference to the Big 12, suggesting that he can carry an offense while still creating for others.
He posted photos from his visit on his Instagram account, including one showing him shooting on the Smith Center court, with Malone in the foreground.
As a junior in his only season at Utah, the 6–3, 174-pound guard averaged 19.9 points, 3.8 assists, 2.4 rebounds, and 1.4 steals while shooting 45.3% from the floor and making 32.7% of his 3-point attempts.
On3 ranks Brown as the 45th overall player in the portal.
A Minneapolis native who played at Columbia Heights High School and later spent a year at Golden State Prep, Brown began his college career at Fairleigh Dickinson, where he started 17 games as a freshman and averaged 7.8 points per game.
He made a huge jump in his sophomore season at FDU, averaging 20.6 points and 5.6 rebounds while also producing 3.2 assists and 2.2 steals, earning NEC Most Improved Player honors and first-team all-league recognition.
Moving on to the Big 12 last season, he became the centerpiece of the Utes’ offense during a rough 10–22 season. Brown’s individual numbers held up, and he earned All-Big 12 honorable mention recognition.
Brown became the first player in program history to collect 600 points and 100 assists in a season, an indicator of how much of Utah’s offense flowed through him.
Brown’s best game came early, when he scored a career-high 36 points on Nov. 8 in a 92–89 overtime home victory over Weber State.
In league play, he poured in 33 points on Jan. 20 in an 81–78 loss against Kansas State when he scored four 3-pointers. That wasn’t his best perimeter game, though. In Utah’s 85–77 home win on Nov. 28 over Purdue Fort Wayne, he scored 27 points and a career-high five 3-pointers.
When he entered the portal, he announced he would also explore his NBA draft stock.
Brown has been described as a proven high-volume guard who has already shown he can score efficiently while drawing contact, and he has done it in a major conference against nightly physicality.
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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 one 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 |
| Freshman | Alexandros Samodurov | C | 6–11 | 212 | |
| 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 | 6–5 | 196 | |
| 1 | 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 for the 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 |
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 — vs. Arkansas in ACC/SEC Challenge
Dec. 12 — at Georgetown
Dec. 19 — vs. Kentucky in CBS Sports Classic at Madison Square Garden, 2:30 p.m.
Dec. 21 — vs. The Citadel
November or December — vs. Butler
ACC games
Home and away: Duke, Louisville
Home only: California, Georgia Tech, Miami, N.C. State, SMU, Stanford, Virginia
Away only: Boston College, Florida State, Notre Dame, Pitt, Syracuse, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest
Photo via utahutes.com
