By R.L. Bynum
Michael Malone hasn’t coached a game at North Carolina, but the NBA is already circling several names on his first roster.
Four Tar Heels appeared in the June mock drafts from ESPN and The Athletic and one released Tuesday by Bleacher Report, a sign that Malone’s roster has more pro potential than the 24–9 team that lost to VCU in March and produced two draft picks.
The headliner is Matt Able, a 6–5 guard who transferred in after a freshman season at N.C. State.
ESPN’s Jeremy Woo slotted Able at No. 16 overall in his first 2027 board, just outside the lottery, while The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie placed him a bit lower, at No. 26, and Bleacher Report’s Jonathan Wasserman at No. 45.
Able came off the bench for the Wolfpack last season, averaging 8.8 points, 3.4 rebounds and nearly one assist in 21.8 minutes across 34 games. He shot 41.6% from the field, 35.5% on 3-point attempts and 79.6% at the free-throw line.
Those numbers hinted at a 3-and-D role player before he tested the draft process and impressed during NBA Draft Combine scrimmages. Rather than stay in the draft, he withdrew and stuck with his commitment to UNC.
Vecenie sees more room for Able to grow as a shot-creator than as a pure scorer right now.
“He needs to find answers as a scorer,” Vecenie wrote of Able’s game, even while praising his feel with the ball and his ability to make plays for others.
Behind Able sits Sayon Keita, an 18-year-old center from Bamako, Mali, who reclassified from the 2027 class to join UNC after spending time in FC Barcelona’s youth program.
At 7–0 with a 7–7 wingspan, Keita is the kind of defensive tool teams covet, and Woo ranked him at No. 25 in ESPN’s mock draft. Vecenie, who listed him as a “name to watch” and didn’t put him in his top 30, was more cautious, noting that Keita still needs to add strength to match his length and mobility. Wasserman puts him at No. 46.
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Neoklis Avdalas, a 6–9 guard who transferred from Virginia Tech after four seasons of high-level competition in Greece, rounded out ESPN’s group at No. 53.
Vecenie didn’t rank Avdalas but listed him among names to watch, alongside Alexandros Samodurov, an international forward who spent last season with Panathinaikos and averaged 5.1 points and 1.7 rebounds in 29 combined games there.
Wasserman, who has Avdalas at No. 53, echoes the concerns Vecenie raised, noting that he will “need to improve his finishing and 3-point percentage to win scouts over,” while his view on Keita centers on upside tempered by inexperience, calling him a “pogo-stick big” who may still look too raw for serious NBA interest after just one year in Chapel Hill.
UNC sent two players into the 2026 draft, with Caleb Wilson going fourth overall to the Chicago Bulls (the program’s highest pick since Marvin Williams went second in 2005) and Henri Veesaar landing in the second round with Atlanta.
That the Tar Heels already have four names surfacing across three separate 2027 projections, on a roster with 11 newcomers and only five returnees, suggests Malone’s first group won’t lack for NBA eyes even as it rebuilds around its transformed roster from a season ago.
Malone spent 25 years in the NBA, including a championship season with the Denver Nuggets, and the early mock draft attention fits the profile scouts expected when UNC hired him.
But for a program trying to reestablish itself as an NBA pipeline, four names on early draft boards are a good sign.
| No. | Class | Player | Pos. | Hgt | Wgt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25 | Freshman | Maximo Adams | SF | 6–7 | 205 |
| 30 | Freshman | Malloy Smith | CG | 6–5 | 190 |
| 21 | Freshman | Sayon Keita | C | 7–0 | 215 |
| 5 | Freshman | Kevin Thomas | W | 6–7 | 190 |
| 35 | Sophomore | Cade Bennerman — U | C | 7–0 | 205 |
| 17 | Sophomore | Neoklis Avdalas — W | G | 6–9 | 215 |
| 2 | Sophomore | Isaiah Denis | G | 6–4 | 180 |
| 3 | Sophomore | Matt Able — X | G | 6–5 | 196 |
| 22 | Junior | Alexandros Samodurov | C | 6–11 | 212 |
| 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 |
| 14 | Graduate | Angelo Brizzi — Z | G | 6–3 | 193 |
| 54 | Graduate | Cameron Fens — V | C | 7–0 | 255 |
| Walk-ons | |||||
| 99 | 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, Jorge Sanz, and Pat Sullivan; Deon Thompson will be a graduate assistant, and Brandon Robinson will reportedly have a support staff position.
Players who entered 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 | Pacific |
Non-conference schedule
| Date | Month/day | Opponent/event (final ranks) |
|---|---|---|
| October | Exhibitions | |
| 9 | 7 p.m. Friday | vs. USC in Greensboro |
| 18 | 5 p.m. Sunday | vs. Indiana in Indianapolis |
| 27 | Tuesday | vs. Charlotte |
| November | Regular season | |
| 2 | Monday | vs. Western Carolina |
| 6 | Friday | vs. Wofford |
| 10 | Tuesday | vs. Wyoming |
| 13 | Friday | vs. Georgia |
| 20 | Friday | vs. Marshall |
| 23 | Monday | vs. Monmouth |
| 27 | Friday | Dick Vitale Invitational 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 | Tobacco Road Classic vs. N.C. State in Greensboro |
| 19 | 2:30 Saturday, CBS | CBS Sports Classic vs. Kentucky in New York |
| 21 | Monday | vs. The Citadel |
| January | ||
| 30 | Saturday | Nashville Hoops Showdown vs. No. 5 Illinois in Nashville, Tenn. |
ACC opponents
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
Don’t play: Clemson
Photo via @UNC_Basketball
