Among the team that Michael Malone is currently assembling, the majority of the roster will be new faces in the form of freshmen or transfer portal commits, with only three returnees from last season’s team so far. Those three are Jarin Stevenson, Isaiah Denis, and Jaydon Young. For a short stint last season, Hubert Davis used Jaydon Young as a starter for four games. However, that probably will not be the case this season, as he was likely brought in for a depth piece in the backcourt.
For Jarin Stevenson, however, he saw a significant rise in his usage down the last stretch of the season due to injuries on the roster. That trend will likely continue as we see him develop in the offseason and potentially earn a starting spot to start the year off. As it currently stands, I can predict that Stevenson will be a starter in the four slot.
A Bigger Opportunity in Year Two
That leaves Isaiah Denis, who is a bit of a wild card in terms of usage this season. He dealt with an injury for a portion of last year and mainly took a back seat in the rotation, only playing in a handful of games throughout the season for limited minutes.
In those minutes, however, he showed flashes of potential, and with a good offseason under him and a new head coach in Michael Malone, his minutes could rise exponentially from last season.
Why Denis Could Be Carolina’s X-Factor Off the Bench
The exciting component of Denis is that he is such an unknown talent. Depth has always been an issue for the Tar Heels, and he could fill that role early on in the season, and there is potential to grow. With the transfers North Carolina brought in, it would be difficult to say Denis could find himself in the starting rotation at any point this season, but I would expect him to play a key role in the team’s rotation.
With a solid offseason, Tar Heels fans should not be upset if Denis earns the right to be the sixth man and the first one off the bench. As the roster is currently configured, it looks like North Carolina will need a three-point specialist guard, and if Denis can excel in that role, he could earn significant minutes and meaningful playing time throughout the season.
In fact, in his flashes of potential last season, he shot 50% from three-point range in his limited minutes, and although it’s such a small sample size, it could be a sign of what is to come for Isaiah Denis next season.
