The clock is ticking. We are now a week away from seeing this new version of the Tar Heel

basketball squad take the court in an exhibition matchup against USC. Michael Malone has had a couple of weeks of full practice implementing his system, and things appear to be coming together for this team.

I wrote an article a while ago talking about some of the questions that this team and coaching

staff face leading into the 2026-27 season. While that article focused more on potential rough

areas and weaknesses for this team, in this article I will name some of the things to be excited

about with this new-look roster. It’s a roster with promise, size, speed, length, and is led by a

coach that has won an NBA championship. Let’s get down to the particulars.

1. Michael Malone Has Assembled a Championship Caliber Backcourt

One thing that doomed Hubert Davis last year was the lack of scoring and overall productivity

out of his backcourt. Between Kyan Evans and Luka Bogavac struggling to adapt to the ACC

level, and Derek Dixon being a freshman, Carolina just didn’t get the production it needed

outside of Seth Trimble. Luckily, that shouldn’t be an issue this year. Michael Malone was

aggressive in the portal, and while the Heels missed out on the home-run guard in Juke Harris, they snagged three solid options that could very well develop into one of the best backcourts in the nation. The presumed starters are Utah transfer Terrence Brown, Virginia Tech transfer Neoklis Avdalas and NC State transfer Matt Able. Brown is a skilled downhill slasher who averaged over 19 points per game last year at Utah. He projects as the leading scorer not just in this backcourt, but on this team. Able and Avdalas are both NBA prospects who chose to come to Chapel Hill to improve their draft stock for next year. Both have All-ACC potential. But it’s not just the starters that are the reason to be excited. The Heels have an abundance of options behind these top three. Returnees Jaydon Young and Isaiah Denis bring a sense of familiarity to the roster, while transfer guard Angelo Brizzi brings experience as a sixth-year senior. By the end of the year, this is a backcourt that Tar Heel fans should be able to look back on and be proud of once we see the whole body of work.

2. The Raw Talent on This Roster is Abundant

Very rarely do we talk about a Carolina roster and say that they just weren’t talented enough to cut it with the likes of Duke and the other top ACC talent. In the final two years of the Hubert Davis era, though, it felt like that was the case. That should not be the issue this year. This is a team with as much raw talent and ability as any in the country. You could argue that there are three legitimate first-round draft prospects with Matt Able, Neo Avdalas, and Sayon Kieta on the roster. Not to mention Terrence Brown, who could force the NBA to take him more seriously if he improves his efficiency while keeping his scoring numbers high. Jarin Stevenson has the feel of an NBA plug-and-play gadget big, while freshman Maximo Adams has been getting praise as a shooter and rebounder all offseason. The scary thing for Carolina opponents is this: all these players are not as polished as they could be, and that’s what Michael Malone and his staff have been working to unlock. If Malone can develop and unlock some of these players’ capabilities, Carolina could find themselves among the top teams in the ACC, and even the country come March.

3. Length Should Not Be an Issue Anywhere

Another thing that plagued Hubert Davis (especially two years ago) was that Carolina at times

simply wasn’t lengthy or big enough to size up with Duke, especially along with several other

teams. While this roster doesn’t have the girth it needs without Cameron Fens, the length is not a problem. One through five, this team is tall and lanky, and it starts with the frontcourt. With Fens, Carolina has five guys that are 6-11 or taller. Add the 6-9 matchup nightmare Neo Avdalas, 6-7 Maximo Adams, 6-6 Kevin Thomas, and a guard rotation whose shortest member is 6-3, and you have one of the taller teams in the country. What that unlocks exactly is up to Michael Malone, but I would not rule out the potential to press full court or run some half-court trapping with the speed and stealing capability that also exists in certain areas around this roster. It also should help in rebounding despite the lack of muscle. Kieta, Stevenson, and Adams have all been praised at different times for their ability to rebound, and I find it hard to believe that with the

length in the backcourt that Carolina won’t get some rebounding out of their guards as well.

4. Depth Shouldn’t be Either

I already mentioned the depth in the backcourt, but it’s worth mentioning that this roster is deep, period. Of the 15 scholarship players (excluding Fens), on the roster, 12 of them are fighting to be a part of Michael Malone’s rotation throughout the year. Isaiah Denis is most likely the backup ball handler behind Brown in the backcourt, then there’s going to be a scrap for minutes as substitutes at the shooting guard spot. Jaydon Young and Angelo Brizzi are both experienced veterans who can bring shooting. Young brings a little bit more intensity on the defensive end, but Brizzi is the more polished scorer. On the wing, Maximo Adams and Kevin Thomas both bring shooting and length, but Adams is versatile and will likely play the power forward spot as well. Alex Samodurov can play the power forward and center spots. Cade Bennerman has shown a lot of potential and could also fight for a spot if Fens remains ineligible. To put it simply, Michael Malone has options, and the lineups that he could throw out there are plentiful

5. The Coaching Staff is Going to Unlock the Potential That This Team Has

One of the main things that this staff has that the previous staff doesn’t is proven player

development guys. Bryan Tibaldi was labeled primarily as a player development guy when he

was added to the staff. Chuck Martin was John Calipari’s main assistant at Arkansas. Not to

mention Michael Malone has a track record of developing talent himself, most notably Nikola

Jokic. We’ve heard multiple people in the program say that Malone has been trying to get more out of Jarin Stevenson, a guy who I think could be special this year. Isaiah Denis has had a whole offseason working and developing. If you look at the high-potential guys such as Kieta, Able, Avdalas, Adams, and Bennerman, there are plenty of reasons to believe that these guys will develop under Malone and, in the case of Kieta, Able, and Avdalas, could turn into a legitimate problem for opposing teams.

As the season closes in, our excitement here on the Heel Tough Blog only grows. Carolina has been undervalued all offseason; now it’s time for this team to show why. There is much to be excited about, and hopefully it will come to fruition starting with Carolina’s first exhibition game against USC on October 9th.

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