North Carolina has loaded up through the transfer portal, but one spot still hangs over the roster: point guard.
The Tar Heels lost Derek Dixon this offseason after he entered the transfer portal in the wake of the coaching change. Dixon had stepped into the starting job about halfway through last season and looked like a real candidate to become the team’s future floor general. Instead, after UNC moved on from Hubert Davis and hired Michael Malone, Dixon landed at Arizona, leaving the Heels without a true point guard.
UNC did add backcourt help in Terrence Brown, Matt Able and forward/guard hybrid Neoklis Avdalas, but none of them fit the classic point guard mold. That leaves a real question about how the offense will be organized when the season starts.
For now, Brown appears to be the closest thing to the answer. He has the most experience handling the ball as a primary option, but his game is built more around scoring than setting others up. Brown averaged more than 19 points per game last season at Utah.
Able is even less likely to be thrown into that role right away. At NC State last season, he worked mostly as a role player and made his impact with his three-point shooting rather than as a primary ball handler. He looks more like a piece who still needs time before taking on that kind of responsibility.
Avdalas is the wild card, and maybe the most interesting name in the mix. The 6-foot-9 forward from Greece averaged a team-high 4.6 assists per game as a freshman at Virginia Tech last season, showing real playmaking chops for a player his size. If there’s a coach who might be comfortable building around that kind of oversized creator, it’s Malone.
Before arriving at UNC, Malone became best known for helping unlock Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic, who developed into one of the best passers in basketball history while playing center.
Avdalas is not Jokic, but the combination of his passing and his size could make him a natural fit in Malone’s system. It wouldn’t be a surprise if UNC views him as the de facto point guard. In a sport that keeps drifting further toward positionless basketball, the Tar Heels now have to figure out who will steer the offense as Malone begins his first season in Chapel Hill.
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For Tar Heels fans, it is a chance to watch one of their most talented recent players move into the next stage after a frustrating finish in Chapel Hill. The matchup will be on Prime Video at 7 p.m. ET, and while the result matters less than Wilson simply getting back on the court, there is plenty of interest in seeing how he looks in his first competitive action in a while. [Read more 🡒]
Tar Heels Fans Finally Get The Caleb Wilson Moment They've Waited For
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The bigger anticipation, though, is centered on Caleb Wilson, who is finally on the verge of getting back on the floor after a long layoff. Seth Trimble also made his Summer League debut for Washington, adding another Tar Heel to the leagues summer showcase, and with more UNC alumni still working through their own opportunities, this stretch has become a useful early look at how the programs recent talent is beginning to spread across the NBA. [Read more 🡒]