The NCAA transfer portal typically raises many questions for teams around the country.
Unfortunately for teams that decide to get rid of their head coaches, that typically adds another whole issue.
For North Carolina, that's something they're currently dealing with. North Carolina has lost multiple players, including five-star recruit Dylan Mingo.
Simply put, North Carolina is currently dealing with a few tough losses in the portal and will need to respond. Fortunately, new head coach Michael Malone has done nothing but that, as his early portal situation has been very impressive.
Still, The Athletic's Brendan Marks recently wrote about the teams hit hardest by the transfer portal and named North Carolina among them. When we really look at the whole situation, it's almost tough to argue with.
“Another coaching change, another roster turning over. Several players from the Hubert Davis era have already landed elsewhere — Bogavac at Oklahoma State, Dixon at Arizona and Powell at Pitt — while new coach Michael Malone builds out his first team in Chapel Hill,” Brendan Marks of The Athletic wrote. “But in addition to losing its entire backcourt from this season, UNC had another portal entry of sorts earlier this week, when five-star point guard and top-10 recruit Dylan Mingo reopened his commitment. (According to a source briefed on negotiations, Malone and his staff preferred to reallocate the money Davis had set aside for Mingo elsewhere.)
“Still, the Tar Heels’ rebuilding efforts are off to a strong start with a commitment from Avdalas, who has first-round potential. Can UNC add Wake Forest wing Juke Harris — the No. 2 transfer in America, per The Athletic’s rankings — to that mix? And can Malone retain center Henri Veesaar, who has one of the most intriguing stay-or-go decisions in the country?”
The question for North Carolina is whether it can keep some of its top players currently on the roster, like Henri Veesaar and if it can go out and do what's necessary to add in the portal.
The portal situation makes this rather interesting, as North Carolina really has no excuse not to build as good a roster as it can when we know the money situation is where it is.