By R.L. Bynum
Now that construction of Coach Michael Malone’s first North Carolina roster is evidently complete, the question becomes how he’ll use that group.
Malone’s first rotation is starting to come into focus, built around the likely starting five on opening night: guards Terrence Brown Jr., Neoklis Avdalas and Matt Able (top photo); forward Jarin Stevenson; and center Cameron Fens.
Brown arrives from Utah as the most proven scorer on the roster, having averaged 19.9 points and 3.8 assists per game last season in the Big 12 after a 20-point campaign at Fairleigh Dickinson two years earlier.
His 15.4 shot attempts per game at Utah topped every teammate he had, and comfortably outpaced Caleb Wilson’s team-high 12.3 shots per game for UNC last season. Brown’s combination of shot creation and scoring volume makes him the presumptive focal point of Malone’s offense.
On the “Tar Heel Tribune Podcast,” former UNC player and assistant coach Dave Hanners said that Brown’s skill set reminds him of NBA legend Allen Iverson, whom Hanners coached as a member of the Philadelphia 76ers staff.
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At 6–9, Avdalas is listed as a guard, an unusual profile that lets him operate as something closer to a point forward. He averaged 12.1 points, 3.1 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game at Virginia Tech, with that assist number ranking eighth in the ACC. He opened his college career with a 33-point, five-rebound, six-assist outburst in an overtime win over Providence. His size and playmaking give Malone a way to generate offense from a position that most rosters can’t.
Able made the rare in-state jump directly from N.C. State to UNC, the first such move in decades. He didn’t start a game for the Wolfpack as a freshman but was productive off the bench anyway, averaging 8.8 points and making 35.5% of his 3-point attempts in 21.8 minutes per game. His best game came against the Tar Heels, when he scored 19 points and grabbed six rebounds in 31 minutes. That shooting profile slots him next to Brown as a floor spacer who has already shown he can produce against ACC-level competition.
Stevenson offers a rare bit of continuity on this roster. A Chapel Hill native who returned home to UNC after two seasons at Alabama, he chose to stay for his senior year rather than test the portal again, and Malone made retaining him a priority immediately after his introductory press conference. Stevenson started 25 of 33 games last season, averaging career highs of 8.1 points and 4.4 rebounds, and closed the season averaging 10.5 points and 7.8 rebounds over his final four games.
Former teammate Seth Trimble described him as someone who is “able to put the ball on the floor” and can “defend one through five.” Stevenson arguably was UNC’s best defender late last season.
At 6–10, that versatility and his familiarity make him a lock in the starting five.
Fens committed to UNC less than two weeks before the start of classes after a court ruling granted him an extra year of eligibility. He spent two seasons at South Dakota, where he was named first-team All-Summit League and first-team All-Defense as a senior while averaging a double-double in conference play. He gives Malone a proven interior anchor, though an NCAA appeal of the eligibility ruling could still complicate his availability.
Fens is the physical center that Malone lacked, and figures to be in the starting lineup when the season starts. How the other frontcourt newcomers progress will determine if that changes as the Tar Heels enter ACC play.
Center Sayon Keita, only 18 but already with a season of professional experience with FC Barcelona, and Alexandros Samodurov, a EuroLeague champion with Panathinaikos who earned All-Star honors at the 2025 FIBA U-20 Eurobasket, give Malone two frontcourt options with international experience.
Keita has not yet arrived in Chapel Hill and is going through a similar process to the one that Luka Bogavac went through a year ago.
Cade Bennerman, a former five-star recruit in Tennessee’s 2025 class who redshirted at Northwestern, rounds out the frontcourt depth. Some have said that he’s looked better than expected since arriving in Chapel Hill.
In the backcourt, Angelo Brizzi, who has played for four schools in four seasons, averaged 14.5 points per game and shot 37.3% from 3-point range last season at Buffalo, and gives the Heels a veteran presence and an instant-offense option off the bench.
Two returnees, senior Jaydon Young and sophomore Isaiah Denis, give UNC plenty of backcourt depth to create competition to crack the backcourt rotation once ACC play starts.
Freshman Malloy Smith, the son of former UNC All-American Kenny Smith, gives Malone a true point guard option to develop behind Brown, but isn’t likely to be a big factor in the rotation.
Kevin Thomas, a four-star wing who backed out of a signed LSU commitment after the Tigers fired Matt McMahon, adds another perimeter scorer to the 2026 class.
Maximo Adams, a four-star freshman forward from Northridge, Calif., who averaged more than 20 points and 11 rebounds per game on the Nike EYBL circuit, was described by 247Sports scouting director Adam Finkelstein as a “mismatch problem who can play multiple positions,” and he should push for frontcourt minutes early.
None of this is settled. Malone has never coached a college practice, let alone made college depth chart decisions with a transfer portal and NIL economics attached to them. Preseason competition will still shake out how minutes will be allocated early on.
But the players who make up the roster suggest a team built around Stevenson’s continuity and versatility up front, Brown’s shot creation, and enough shooting and size on the perimeter through Avdalas and Able to space the floor around them.
It is a roster assembled the way an NBA front office builds a depth chart, which makes sense for a coach who won a championship in the NBA.
| 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 — U | C | 7–0 | 205 | |
| Sophomore | Neoklis Avdalas — W | G | 6–9 | 215 | |
| Sophomore | Isaiah Denis | G | 6–4 | 180 | |
| Sophomore | Matt Able — X | G | 6–5 | 196 | |
| 1 | Senior | Terrence Brown — Y | G | 6–3 | 174 |
| 4 | Senior | Jaydon Young | G | 6–4 | 200 |
| 15 | Senior | Jarin Stevenson | F | 6–10 | 215 |
| Graduate | Angelo Brizzi — Z | G | 6–3 | 193 | |
| Graduate | Cameron Fens — V | C | 7–0 | 255 | |
| Walk-ons | |||||
| 25 | Junior | John Holbrook — SA | F | 6–8 | 230 |
| 32 | Senior | Evan Smith | G | 6–1 | 195 |
V — South Dakota transfer; U — Northwestern transfer; W — Virginia Tech transfer; X — N.C. State transfer; Y — Utah transfer; Z — Buffalo transfer; SA — Holbrook is a designated student-athlete, so he doesn’t count against UNC’s 15-player limit.
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 revealed so far
| Date | Month/day | Opponent/event (final ranks) |
|---|---|---|
| October | ||
| 18 | Sunday | vs. Indiana in Indianapolis (exhibition) |
| November | ||
| 2 | Monday | vs. Western Carolina |
| 6 | Friday | vs. Wofford |
| 10 | Tuesday | vs. Wyoming |
| 13 | Friday | vs. Georgia |
| 20 | Friday | vs. Marshall |
| 27 | Friday | vs. West Virginia in Charlotte |
| December | ||
| 1 | Tuesday | ACC/SEC Challenge vs. No. 13 Arkansas |
| 6 | Sunday | vs. Butler |
| 12 | Saturday | at Georgetown |
| 15 | Tuesday (date tentative) | vs. N.C. State in Greensboro |
| 19 | 2:30 Saturday | CBS Sports Classic vs. Kentucky in New York |
| 21 | Monday | vs. The Citadel |
| January | ||
| 30 | Saturday | vs. No. 5 Illinois in Nashville, Tenn. |
ACC games
Home and away: Duke and Louisville
Home only: California, Georgia Tech, Miami, N.C. State, SMU, Stanford and Virginia
Away only: Boston College, Florida State, Notre Dame, Pitt, Syracuse, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest
Photo via @UNC_Basketball
