What an absolutely great day it was for North Carolina, as it was able to land some of the top players in the transfer portal for its 2026-27 roster. North Carolina added Matt Able out of NC State and Utah transfer Terrence Brown.
Brown was viewed as one of the best guard prospects in this portal class, and Able was as good as it gets this past season for the Wolfpack.
Michael Malone had some tough decisions to make with his roster, and there are still some things he needs to do for North Carolina to be what it's aiming to be next season, but Tuesday was certainly a step in the right direction.
Regardless, it's interesting to see that his list of needs was pretty much fulfilled in one day, and there could be more coming.
“There are two priorities for Malone right now. One, as we just mentioned, is keeping Veesaar. He provides an anchor on the interior and would give the new head coach a player to build around. But given the timing of Veesaar's pending decision, the lack of legitimate replacements at his position is glaring.
“The second focus is a couple of perimeter scorers and playmakers, and the Tar Heels have a few players on their shortlist. Utah transfer Terrence Brown is atop the board; he has visited UNC and Kansas. Wake Forest transfer Juke Harris met with the Carolina staff a couple weekends ago, although he's also going through the NBA draft process. NC State's Matt Abel and Paul McNeil Jr. have also been linked to the Tar Heels,” Jeff Borzello of ESPN wrote.
Henri Veesaar is now the biggest remaining situation. If the big man out of Estonia decides to return, North Carolina will probably be a top four to five team in America, preseason-wise. He's coming off a year in which he averaged 17 points and 8.7 rebounds, shooting 60.8% from the field, the 20th-best mark in the country.
Bringing him back with the additions Malone has already made would be something to watch.