The wait continues for the start of the 2026-27 college basketball season as North Carolina fans are eagerly awaiting the first year of the Michael Malone era.
In the past few months, Malone and his staff have been hard at work building the roster. That included landing a good 2026 recruiting class and overhauling the roster with transfer portal additions. UNC did welcome back a few players as well from last year’s team.
But a recent decision in college basketball, the five-for-five rule, has changed some things with the transfer portal as of right now. Former UNC guard Seth Trimble is returning for a fifth year, but it won’t be with North Carolina and instead with Louisville. The Tar Heels didn’t have a roster spot due to how late the decision came. They did, however, add a player in Cameron Fens to boost the front court.
With the new rule in place, CBS Sports looked at the winners and losers from the “five-for-five” rule, and listed the Tar Heels as a loser:
On the bright side, you cannot describe North Carolina’s frontcourt as slim anymore. Michael Malone scooped up South Dakota transfer Cameron Fens, a husky 7-foot, 255-pound big man, to finalize UNC’s frontcourt picture. Fens looks like a polar bear compared to Sayon Keita, the 18-year-old slenderman, who will combine to make up the 5-man platoon for the Tar Heels.
