North Carolina’s push on the recruiting trail has already been aggressive, and now the Tar Heels are in the mix for one of the top big men in the 2027 class.
Earlier this week, 4-star center Darius Wabbington trimmed his list to six schools: North Carolina, Arizona, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisville, and Texas. Wabbington also laid out the kind of program he wants to join as his decision process moves forward.
ESPN lists Wabbington as the No. 15 overall prospect in 2027 and the No. 2 center in the class. At 6-foot-11, he brings a rare blend of size and skill, and that versatility lines up with the type of player North Carolina has been targeting.
Wabbington can operate in the post, create for others as a playmaker, and stretch the floor with consistent three-point shooting. In his junior season, he averaged 17.2 points, 9.4 rebounds, 2.6 assists, and 1.3 blocks while shooting 52.3 percent from the field.
For North Carolina, the appeal is obvious. The Tar Heels’ center situation for next season remains unsettled after losing Caleb Wilson and Henri Veesaar to the 2026 NBA Draft.
Michael Malone answered that by bringing in Sayon Keita, Alexandros Samodurov, and Cade Bennerman, three frontcourt additions with plenty of upside. Keita and Samodurov, in particular, have already built strong reputations overseas, but none of the three has played a minute of college basketball yet.
That makes Wabbington an especially important name to watch for Malone and his staff, who have already shown they can land elite talent even without prior experience in this part of the job. North Carolina is expected to push for an on-campus visit in the near future, and adding Wabbington would be another major recruiting win for the program.
Of course, the bigger picture still stretches beyond this season. Keita and Samodurov could develop into 2027 draft prospects themselves, which means North Carolina may need to reshape the center rotation again after the upcoming year. For now, though, Wabbington gives the Tar Heels another high-level target to chase.
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North Carolinas mens basketball program is entering a new era in the 2025-26 academic year, and the timing makes it feel like more than just another coaching change. After Hubert Daviss departure, the Tar Heels moved quickly to reset the direction of the program, even as the rest of the athletic department kept producing big moments, from the Diamond Heels run to the College World Series finals to Seth Trimbles last-second three against Duke.
The focus now shifts to what comes next for a program that expects to compete at the highest level every season. Michael Malone has already begun working the transfer portal and the recruiting trail, trying to blend Carolina roots with a fresh approach, and for fans still sorting through the meaning of Daviss exit, the bigger question is whether this reset can turn a turbulent stretch into something more sustainable. [Read more 🡒]
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Brooks previously suited up for the Chiba Jets, and his next chapter will come with a different club as he prepares for the 2026-2027 season. The move gives him another chance to settle in within a league he already knows, and it adds one more layer to a post-UNC journey that has already spanned multiple countries and levels of the pro game. [Read more 🡒]