North Carolina’s roster has been flipped nearly inside out, and that makes projecting the starting five a little tricky - especially with one spot still unsettled. The Tar Heels are bringing in 11 new players, and the coaching staff has plenty of fresh faces too, including Michael Malone and Chuck Martin. The talent level is there, but the lineup is still taking shape.
The clearest path to the top of the offense runs through the backcourt, starting with the Virginia Tech transfer. The 6-foot-9, 215-pound Greek guard arrives in Chapel Hill with a massive ceiling, and he looks close to unlocking it.
His efficiency was a problem last season, but his shooting from the perimeter is expected to jump. Even if that part of his game doesn’t take a huge leap right away, his playmaking will keep showing up.
The sophomore guard should finish as North Carolina’s assist leader and has a real chance to grow into a dangerous scorer along the way.
Another transfer could end up being the most polished scoring threat in the group. Brown, who came over from Utah, put up 19.9 points per game last season, though that production came with an extremely high usage rate and a low outside shooting percentage.
His numbers may dip a bit, but the setup around him should help a lot. At 6-foot-3 and 175 pounds, Brown is expected to spend more time working off the ball in Malone’s offense, which should open up cleaner chances at the rim.
With Avdalas handling so much of the creation, Brown could easily lead the Tar Heels in scoring while also becoming more efficient.
Able fits that same ecosystem almost perfectly. In his only season at North Carolina State, the 6-foot-6, 211-pound guard played just 21.7 minutes per game off the bench, but he still managed 8.8 points a night without needing a heavy shot load.
He also shot 35.5 percent from three. Of the projected starters, he might be the most steady and efficient of the bunch.
He doesn’t need the ball to make an impact, and that makes him a natural fit next to Avdalas and Brown. With Malone coaching him, Able could end up looking like almost a complete player.
Stevenson already showed he can handle a defined role. Last season, he worked well as a 3-and-D forward alongside Henri Veesaar and Caleb Wilson, and he should have more room to do even more in a tweaked role under Malone. The new head coach made it clear early that keeping Stevenson was important to him, and the Tar Heels should use him in more inventive ways now that the offense is built around three playmakers in a backcourt that can mix and match.
The biggest question mark sits in the middle. Cameron Fens is currently ruled ineligible for this upcoming college basketball season, and that leaves North Carolina without a settled starting center.
If that ruling stands, the staff will have to make a tough call, and Keita is the most logical answer. He just got to Chapel Hill a couple of weeks ago, so nothing is locked in, but if he gets the job, the assignment is straightforward: protect the rim and run the floor.
His range of outcomes is wide, but the seven-foot center should be an elite defender sooner rather than later.
In Other News...
Bill Belichicks UNC Debut Revealed Who He Already Trusts Most
North Carolina opened the Bill Belichick era with a win, and the first snap-count look from the season opener offered an early glimpse at which players the new coach already leans on most. On defense, linebacker Derek McDonald and cornerback Jaiden Patterson were on the field for every snap, a sign that Belichick was comfortable keeping trusted veterans in the game when it mattered. The first-game distribution also fit the broader feel around the roster, with the Tar Heels leaning on experience as they settled into a new system.
The offensive line is part of that same picture. North Carolina spent the offseason adding depth and bringing back more experience up front, and it showed in the way the group was used in the opener. For a team trying to build quickly under a coach who has long valued reliability, the early message was clear: the players who know the assignment and can handle the load are going to get the biggest opportunities until further notice. [Read more 🡒]
Billy Edwards UNC Debut Sparked A Quarterback Debate Fans Know Well
Fall camp is barely in the rearview mirror, but the quarterback discussion around North Carolina already has the familiar split between patience and urgency. Miles ONeill, Travis Burgess and Billy Edwards Jr. have each drawn support from different corners of the fan base, and Edwards recent debut only sharpened the conversation by giving supporters and skeptics fresh evidence to work with.
What stood out most was the way Edwards handled the job in difficult conditions, leaning on safe decisions and avoiding the kind of risky throws that can tilt a game the wrong way. ESPNs stat department flagged his contested passes, which only added to the debate over whether he looked like a steady game manager or a quarterback still leaving something on the table, and for Tar Heels fans, thats exactly the kind of argument that can stretch well beyond one afternoon. [Read more 🡒]
UNC Just Sent A Clear Message About Michael Malones First Team
North Carolinas mens basketball program has made a striking financial push ahead of Michael Malones first full roster build, lifting its 2026-2027 roster budget to more than $20 million. That is a major jump from roughly $14 million last season and signals just how aggressively the Tar Heels are backing Malone as he puts his stamp on the program.
Malone has been active with boosters since taking over, and the structure of the budget shows how seriously UNC is approaching the new era. His contract includes $6.75 million in revenue sharing for NIL, with the rest of the money reportedly coming from booster support, a setup that points to a program ready to compete at the highest end of college basketballs spending race. [Read more 🡒]