Michael Malone built his first UNC basketball roster primarily from scratch, highlighted by a transfer portal overhaul. Malone landed two international bigs in Sayon Keita and Alexandros Samodurov, plus a 3-man high school recruiting class headlined by Maximo Adams.
Only three Tar Heels returned from the 2025-26 roster: Jarin Stevenson, Jadyon Young and Isaiah Denis. Stevenson and Young announced their returns early, while Denis later withdrew himself from the transfer portal.
Early returns of Denis’ decision are paying off. During North Carolina’s come-from-behind, 88-70 preseason win over USC on Friday night in Greensboro, Denis scored a career-high 14 points off the bench, making four of his eight shot attempts and all four free throws.
After Denis helped UNC win the first game of Malone’s collegiate coaching career, he dove deep into his decision to return and what worked well for him on Friday.
“I feel like I came out there, I just wanted to prove myself right that I know who I am,” Denis said. “Making me want to come back, Coach Malone and the coaching staff making me feel comfortable, making me feel wanted. He (Malone) told me if I go out here and I earn my minutes in practice, there won’t be no reason why I don’t get an opportunity, so I felt comfortable with that. And as for tonight, just my teammates putting me in the right spot, me being aggressive, having coaches that are telling me like, “Hey when you go out there, just be you. Play free. Obviously, it can be a little bit nervous coming out there first opportunity, but they did a good job of keeping me comfortable and just telling me, “Hey, just go out there and do what you do.” And I feel like that’s what I did”
Denis only played in ten games during the Tar Heels’ 2025-26 campaign, averaging just 1.9 points per game and playing no more than eight minutes in a single contest. Denis came out of Davidson Day a top recruit in North Carolina, making Hubert Davis’ decision to play him sparingly a head-scratching one.
After just one preseason game, Denis appears poised for a breakout sophomore year and plenty more court time. Will Denis help lead UNC to a National Championship in Malone’s first season?
