The Tar Heels have 11 new players and five returnees from last year's NCAA Tournament team. Six transfers and an international player join the roster amid pressure for Hubert Davis' fifth season. The Tar Heels are picked third in the ACC.
Caleb Wilson (freshman, F, 6-10, 215). The McDonald's all-American is a top NBA prospect and likely one-and-done candidate with athleticism and length.
Henri Veesaar (redshirt junior, C, 7-0, 225, 9.4 ppg). Veesaar averaged 5.4 rebounds and 1.1 blocks last year at Arizona. UNC desperately missed a consistent frontcourt presence last season.
Seth Trimble (senior, G, 6-3, 200, 11.7 ppg). The veteran stepped into a larger offensive role to become last year's No. 3 scorer.
The losses include five-year guard RJ Davis, an Associated Press first-team all-American in 2024 who finished as the No. 2 scorer in UNC history and No. 3 in ACC history. UNC also lost wing Ian Jackson (transfer to St. John's), point guard Elliot Cadeau (transfer to Michigan), forward Ven-Allen Lubin (transfer to N.C. State) and wing Drake Powell (first-round NBA pick).
Incoming transfers include point guard Kyan Evans (Colorado State), wing forward Jarin Stevenson (Alabama), wing Jonathan Powell (West Virginia) and guard Jaydon Young (Virginia Tech). The quartet combined to make 210 3s last year.
UNC added 22-year-old Luka Bogavac, a 6-6 guard from Montenegro. Cleared by the NCAA, Bogavac was still sorting through a school-level eligibility issue as of last week.
UNC opens at home against Central Arkansas on Nov. 3 before an immediate test with a visit from No. 19 Kansas (Nov. 7). The nonconference slate includes a neutral-site game against No. 22 Michigan State (Nov. 27) and a trip to No. 9 Kentucky (Dec. 2). The Tar Heels host Florida State on Dec. 30 to open an ACC schedule that includes a visit from No. 11 Louisville (Feb. 23) and two dates with sixth-ranked rival Duke.
Results have swung wildly since Hubert Davis followed retired Hall of Famer Roy Williams: a trip to the NCAA title game in 2022, becoming the first team to miss the NCAAs after being ranked preseason No. 1 in 2023, a No. 1 seed and Sweet 16 appearance in 2024, then last year's bubble-ticket to March Madness. ... UNC's opener marks its first official game without RJ Davis since March 2020, with that game played on the eve of the COVID-19 shutdown of the sporting world. ... UNC lacks a returnee who started at least half its games the previous season for the first time since 2005-06.
Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here and here (AP News mobile app). AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
Only subscribers can view and post comments on articles.
Already a subscriber? Login Here
Murder for Two Read moreMurder For Two
Brian Wright said:
Dirk van Ulden said:
Dirk van Ulden said:
DavidKristofferson said:
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
Error! There was an error processing your request.
Sorry, an error occurred.
Already Subscribed!
Cancel anytime
Thank you .
Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.
Check your email for details.
Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account.
No promotional rates found.
Secure & Encrypted
Thank you.
Your gift purchase was successful! Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
| Rate: | |
| Begins: | |
| Transaction ID: |
A receipt was sent to your email.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.