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Even though the transfer portal is packed with players, rosters are still shuffling and the makeup of teams is still uncertain, that hasn’t stopped many outlets from coming out with way-too-early Top 25 men’s basketball rankings. Carolina falls about where you would expect in many of those lists.
On the day Carolina announced it would play in Hawaii in November 2024, Justin McKoy announced he’d head there next season. McKoy, who played two seasons at UNC after transferring from Virginia, announced on social media on Tuesday evening that he is transferring to Hawaii for his fifth college season.
Dontrez Styles, who said Tuesday morning he decided to leave UNC because he wants to play, has narrowed his choices to N.C. State, East Carolina, Georgetown and South Carolina, and hopes to decide by Sunday. He made the comments during the “Tuesdays with Trez” segment on “The Bryan Hanks Show” on WRNS 960 AM in Kinston.
It’s another example of the transfer portal’s significant impact on college basketball to realize that there might be more former Tar Heels playing for other colleges next season than in the NBA. Potentially, 10 former UNC players could be playing for other colleges next season, and only eight are locks to make NBA rosters next season.
Coby White and Cameron Johnson had big weekend games as their teams make different sorts of playoff pushes heading into the season’s final week, while things continued to go poorly for Reggie Bullock, Theo Pinson and the Dallas Mavericks. While Johnson’s Brooklyn Nets are trying to avoid the Eastern Conference play-in tournament, White’s Chicago Bulls hope to slide into it. White had 11 points, five rebounds and seven assists in Friday’s 121–91 win at Charlotte, then collected 19 points, six rebounds and four assists in Sunday’s 128–107 victory over Memphis.
Tyler Nickel is going home to Virginia. The 6–7, 220-pound wing who got limited playing time in his freshman season at North Carolina, is transferring to Virginia Tech.
On a night when Harrison Barnes’ Sacramento Kings ended the longest playoff drought in NBA history without one of his best games, the Brooklyn Nets got a much-needed win in Cameron Johnson’s best game of the season. Johnson scored 31 points in 34 minutes, with five 3-pointers, seven rebounds and five assists.
Paxton Wojcik, the son of former UNC assistant coach Doug Wojcik, will transfer from Brown to North Carolina. Paxton Wojcik, who announced his plans on Twitter early Monday evening, will be a graduate transfer after averaging 14.9 points, 7.2 rebounds and 3.2 assists last season while shooting 46% from the floor and 38% from 3-point range. The news came on the same day that Caleb Love entered the transfer portal.
The Caleb Love Experience is shifting to another school. After three seasons at Carolina, Love announced on social media on Monday that he’s entering the transfer portal.
Without four regular Portland starters, Nassir Little came off the bench to play his most minutes in over a month and the third-most this season. He did all he could for the depleted Blazers with a season-high 28 points in 31 minutes as they kept it close before losing 118–112 at home Sunday night against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
As Harrison Barnes put Sacramento a win away from the franchise’s first playoff berth in 17 years, other former Carolina players put up big numbers in recent days, including a career-high 31 from Walker Kessler, 23 from Cameron Johnson and two 19-point nights from Coby White.
RJ Davis, as expected, announced on social media on Friday morning that he is returning for his senior season at North Carolina. “Tar Heel for life,” he wrote on Twitter in announcing his decision.
Armando Bacot is coming back to Carolina for a fifth season. “The primary reason I am coming back is because I don’t want to leave North Carolina this way. But I also know I need to improve and feel like this is the best place to do that,” Bacot told Goodman after the Tar Heels finished 20–13 and missed the NCAA tournament. “I’m using my last year of eligibility.” Bacot said. “I felt it was the right decision for my future.”
After battling injuries during most of his three seasons at Carolina, Puff Johnson is entering the transfer portal, according to On3.com. He is the fourth UNC player to enter the portal, joining Justin McKoy, Tyler Nickel and Dontrez Styles.
The Brooklyn Nets haven’t given Day’Ron Sharpe many chances to show what he can bring to the team in recent weeks. He took advantage of a chance Tuesday night. After playing only two of the previous nine games, Sharpe came off the bench to lead the Nets in scoring and was a game-high +27 in their 115–109 home loss Tuesday to the Cleveland Cavaliers, Brooklyn’s fourth consecutive loss.
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