As the North Carolina Tar Heels look ahead to their 2026-27 men’s basketball roster, transfer portal activity will play a sizable role.
UNC already has one key piece of the puzzle, landing versatile Virginia Tech transfer Neoklis Avdalas. North Carolina also returns Jarin Stevenson and Jaydon Young, while awaiting a few other decisions. The Tar Heels recently lost one hopeful addition to their 2026-27 roster, as Arkansas guard Karter Knox committed to Louisville.
UNC previously targeted Knox, but talks never fully materialized. North Carolina isn’t missing a ton offensively in Knox, who averaged just 8.1 points and 4.5 rebounds per game, across 22 appearances (18 starts) for John Calipari’s Razorbacks.
The Cardinals, coming off their second-straight NCAA Tournament appearance, have every look of an early National Championship contender under head coach Pat Kelsey. Louisville also landed a pair of top portal players in Flory Bidunga and Jackson Shelstad, both of whom started at Power Four programs last season.
The Tar Heels are currently in the mix for several portal players, most notably Utah guard Terrence Brown, Wake Forest guard and North Carolina native Juke Harris, plus Notre Dame leading scorer Jalen Haralson. UNC is also in the final seven for NC State’s Matt Able, a possible move that feels eerily similar to Ven-Allen Lubin switching between schools last 2025 offseason.
Tar Heels head coach Michael Malone has a long history of developing championship-level talent, as evidenced by his 2023 NBA Championship with the Denver Nuggets. Nikola Jokic, a 3-time NBA MVP, blossomed into a superstar under Malone’s watch.
Sure, you want to see more commitments for North Carolina this early in the portal, but there’s guys who will want to play for Malone. Don’t panic.
