North Carolina will be without Cameron Fens on Friday night.
UNC coach Michael Malone said Wednesday morning at the ACC Tipoff in Charlotte that Fens will not be available when the Tar Heels meet Southern Cal in an exhibition game in Greensboro.
“Cameron will not play on Friday night. He's technically ineligible at the moment,” Malone said at the Uptown Hilton.
Fens, a 7-foot, 255-pound center, is still working through the eligibility process with several other high school class of 2022 graduates. He was initially ruled eligible in a Tennessee lawsuit, but that changed in late August when the Tennessee Court of Appeals stayed the injunction that had granted Fens and other athletes that status.
Since then, he has remained ineligible. Even so, Malone said Fens has stayed involved in practice as the situation unfolds.
“(He's) been practicing every day and (is) a big part of what we've been doing,” Malone said. “And we're going to let this process play out. My only hope is that we find a way, and Cameron is not the only player (nationally) in that situation, is that we get some clarity, get some closure as soon as possible so everybody can move forward.”
Fens arrives with a strong college résumé. Across four years, he has 747 points, 491 rebounds and 106 blocked shots.
His 2025-26 season was the one that really put him on the map. He started all 32 games for South Dakota, which finished 16-16, and averaged 14.4 points, 8.7 rebounds and 1.5 blocks.
Every one of his 311 shot attempts came from two-point range, and he converted 57.9% of them. In conference play, his production jumped to 17.8 points and 10.3 rebounds, and he was the only player in the league to clear 100 rebounds.
That season earned him First-Team All-Summit League honors and a spot on the All-Defensive Team.
He scored in double figures 24 times and produced 11 double-doubles. In February, he put together a five-game run in which he averaged 21.2 points and 11.8 rebounds.
His best night came against Kansas City, when he posted 31 points and 15 rebounds, both season highs. Earlier in the year, against two high-major opponents before his numbers really took off, he had nine points and five rebounds in 20 minutes against Missouri and six points and seven rebounds in 22 minutes versus Creighton.
“Cam's an outstanding player. Great young man, love him and his family, and obviously hoping we get good news.”
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