The North Carolina Tar Heels are bringing back only three players from last season’s rotation - Jarin Stevenson, Jaydon Young and Isaiah Denis - which leaves a lot of new faces carrying the load when 2026-27 opens.
That reality pushed Michael Malone’s staff to work aggressively in the transfer portal, and the roster now includes several marquee additions. But with so much turnover, a few newcomers will need to hit the ground running if UNC is going to look like a complete team early.
One of the biggest names in that group is Avdalas. CBS Sports’ Isaac Trotter raised concerns earlier this week about North Carolina’s roster construction, including the backcourt, and he singled out Avdalas while pointing to his recent struggles.
That makes the early part of the season especially important for the former Virginia Tech guard, who has a clean chance to reset the conversation. Malone’s system should suit him well, and with a bigger role and more responsibility, the Greek guard has the kind of setup that could lead to elite production.
The frontcourt carries its own uncertainty, and Keita sits right in the middle of it. North Carolina’s center group also includes Alexandros Samodurov and Cameron Fens, though Fens’ eligibility for this season remains unresolved.
Keita arrived as one of the top overseas recruits, bringing real value as a rim protector who can defend all five positions. His offensive game still needs polish, but at 7-foot-1 and 205 pounds, he has a path to becoming a dangerous lob target.
If Fens is unavailable and Samodurov is better suited to power forward, Keita could be the opening-night starter at center.
Brown is the other name that has to come out fast. Utah leaned on him heavily last season, and the 6-foot-3, 175-pound senior delivered 19.9 points per game.
Even so, questions have followed him about whether he can create enough for teammates and whether his perimeter shot is consistent enough. Trotter brought up those same concerns earlier this week.
Still, Brown may be in a better spot now. He is unlikely to be the Tar Heels’ lead ball handler, with Avdalas expected to handle that job, and that should free Brown up as more of an off-ball scorer.
If he can improve his three-point shooting and use his quickness and athleticism to attack the rim, he has a chance to be one of UNC’s most efficient scoring threats.
In Other News...
UNC Football Fallout Puts Bill Belichick Under Fresh Scrutiny
UNCs football program spent seven weeks under a microscope, and the universitys review has now left the Tar Heels with more questions than clean closure. North Carolina said the investigation, sparked by allegations from former employees, included more than 60 interviews and concluded that some actions reflected a disregard for the schools values and standards of conduct, even as officials stopped short of calling the problem systemic.
The fallout already reached the sideline with defensive coordinator Steve Belichicks resignation, and the larger conversation is set to continue when Chancellor Lee Roberts addresses the investigation and the football program at an upcoming Board of Trustees meeting. For a program trying to steady itself, the issue now is not just what happened during those seven weeks, but how the university chooses to answer for it going forward. [Read more 🡒]
Garrett Wilson Just Gave UNC Fans A Painful What-If
Garrett Wilson added an unexpected twist to a familiar recruiting what-if when he said on a podcast that he once dreamed of playing basketball at North Carolina. The current Jets receiver and former Ohio State football standout made clear just how much the Tar Heels meant to him growing up, saying that if UNC had offered him a basketball scholarship, he would have taken it and headed to Chapel Hill instead of playing football in Columbus.
For UNC fans, it is the sort of alternate timeline that lingers because Wilson did not just mention the program in passing. He said he appreciated the Tar Heels basketball tradition and its rivalry with Duke, which only makes the imagined fit feel more real. It is still just a dream and not a decision that ever had to be made, but it leaves Tar Heel fans wondering what might have happened if that door had opened. [Read more 🡒]
UNCs Path After Clemson Comes Down To One Crucial Decision
North Carolinas road from here is a good deal clearer after Clemson, even if it is hardly simple. The Tar Heels still have a full run of games left in the 2026-27 season, and the current week-by-week projections suggest a team that can grind its way toward a .500 finish if it handles the matchups in front of it the right way.
The real swing point is less about talent than decision-making from one week to the next, because the remaining schedule leaves little margin for a bad read on an opponents strengths. The forecast points to a 6-6 finish and a postseason berth, but getting there depends on whether North Carolina can keep turning the games it should win into wins instead of letting the season drift into something much harder to salvage. [Read more 🡒]