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One day after saying he was going “back and forth” about whether to play at UNC next season or stay in the NBA draft, Matt Able had another impressive showing at the NBA Draft Combine. Able scored 17 points in just under 22 minutes on Thursday in his Carpenter team’s 100–76 loss to Tyler Nickel’s Rivers team in a scrimmage at Chicago’s Wintrust Arena.
North Carolina will play West Virginia in men’s basketball next season in Charlotte, according to a report from Rocco Miller of Field of 68. The Tar Heels and Mountaineers will meet in the second annual Dick Vitale Invitational at the Spectrum Center on Friday, Nov. 27, the night before the regular-season football finale against N.C. State at Kenan Stadium.
Matt Able looked comfortable and confident during an NBA Draft Combine scrimmage in Chicago on Wednesday. The former N.C. State guard, who has committed to play next season at Carolina, scored 15 points and hit 3 of 5 3-point attempts as his Carpenter team pulled away for a 95–83 victory over the Adams team.
Former LSU commitment Kevin Thomas, a four-star wing, has committed to North Carolina. The 6–7 Thomas, who visited Chapel Hill on Tuesday, was the high school teammate during the 2024–25 season at Sagemont Prep in Weston, Fla., with UNC transfer commitment Matt Able. They won the Florida Class 1A state title that season.
North Carolina is adding Bryan Tibaldi as an assistant coach on Michael Malone’s first Tar Heels staff, bringing to Chapel Hill a longtime video and player-development specialist whose résumé spans the NBA, the G League and multiple Division I programs.
Caleb Wilson said going through the injuries that ended his Carolina career early were rough, but added on Tuesday at the NBA Draft Combine in Chicago that he’s learned from it.
North Carolina’s push to reinforce its frontcourt includes yet another European center who has a connection to one of the Tar Heels’ newcomers.
Alexandros Samodurov (pronounced “sa-muh-DJOOR-ahv”) is a 6–11, 212-pound Greek center who has already played in the EuroLeague. Multiple reports in the past week link UNC to Samodurov as he evaluates his college options while also going through the NBA draft process.
North Carolina’s search for more frontcourt help has mostly focused on overseas talent, but the Tar Heels are one of a few programs targeting an elite shot-blocker in the transfer portal. Former Florida Atlantic center Devin Williams is 6–10, 210 pounds, and averaged 2.6 blocks per game last season as a redshirt sophomore. He visited Arizona this week and, in addition to UNC, has heard from Virginia Tech and Oklahoma.
North Carolina’s search for a center continues to include players overseas, and the latest target is a 19-year-old Italian center. Luigi Suigo, a 7–3, 241-pound big man from Milan who played this season for Mega Basket in Serbia, entered the NBA Draft and was invited to the NBA Draft Combine, which starts Sunday in Chicago.
North Carolina had three former players and one player it hopes will play for the Tar Heels next season among the 74 invited on Friday to the NBA Draft Combine.
North Carolina’s frontcourt makeover has leaned hard into height and upside, but lacks a big, physical and experienced center who can mix it up inside with the best big men in the country. One answer could be 6–11, 247-pound Brice Dessert (pronounced “Breess deh-ZAHR”), a 23-year-old French center who has been mentioned as a possible target for the Tar Heels.
North Carolina’s search for more frontcourt talent could include shot-blocking phenom Mouhamed “Momo” Faye. At 6–10 and 223 pounds, the Senegalese center plays for the Paris Basketball team in France’s LNB Élite and the EuroLeague, and is one reported target for Coach Michael Malone. Faye just turned 21 in February, making him older than UNC frontcourt newcomers Maximo Adams (18), Sayon Keita (18), Cade Bennerman (19) and Maxim Logue (20).
Joaquim Boumtje-Boumtje has grown up around basketball long enough to understand the weight of expectations, even before his game began drawing the interest of college programs, including Carolina and Duke. His distinctive last name should be familiar. His dad is Reuben Boumtje-Boumtje (pronounced “BOOM-shay-BOOM-shay”), the former Georgetown center from Cameroon who later played in the NBA and across several European leagues.
Sayon Keita, a 7–0, 215-pound center from Mali committed to North Carolina on Tuesday, according to multiple reports.
The pledge by the center, who has been part of the FC Barcelona system since 2023 comes one day after the Tar Heels got a commitment from former Northwestern center Cade Bennerman.
Former Northwestern center Cade Bennerman has committed to North Carolina. The 7–0, 205-pound center, who has a 7–5 wingspan, will be more of a developmental addition after redshirting during his first season at Northwestern.
