CHAPEL HILL – North Carolina’s basketball team still has an available scholarship for the 2022-23 season, as there are currently 12 Tar Heels using the 13 allotted spots afforded Division One programs.
What might UNC Coach Hubert Davis do with that final scholly? That is certainly something that has been at the forefront of any discussions regarding next season’s team, ebb and flowing with what a few specific players that entered the transfer portal have done.
Former Baylor forward Matthew Mayer was someone the Twitterverse zeroed in on for a while, but he committed to Illinois a few weeks ago, and when former Northwestern star Pete Nance removed his name from the NBA Draft but remained in the portal, he became the big name being tossed around.
That wasn’t such a stretch, especially with him taking an official visit to Carolina this week. He is an option, and could commit to the Tar Heels. But this isn’t a guarantee, and it isn’t a certainty Davis will add anyone. He is pleased with what he has, as sources had previously confirmed to THI. If UNC doesn’t make a move, its staff will be fine, and the Heels will still begin next season ranked in everyone’s top five, and perhaps even in the number one spot.
“The thing that I like about our team right now is there is a hunger and a thirst and a desire,” Davis said Wednesday during his summer press conference. “And it’s coming from the returning players from what they experienced last year, and then the newness of the freshmen that are really excited. And so, combining that together I think we’re in a good spot.”
Four starters from a team that lost the national championship game by three points are back, as are some key reserves, though Dontrez Styles and Puff Johnson didn’t exactly log a ton of minutes. Styles played 175 minutes and Johnson 249, though both had some key runs during UNC’s six NCAA Tournament games. They are also tabbed as the most likely candidates to fill the opening left by Brady Manek having moved on.
And that is the area on which Davis and his staff must soon make a decision: Add someone who is accomplished and makes the team better, or roll with Styles, Johnson, and Washington and make a go of it with them, assuming each will develop enough to enhance UNC’s statis as a national championship contender.
Nance, who is 6-foot-10 and was honorable mention All-Big Ten this last season, would fill two needs, perhaps Carolina’s only true needs. One, he is strong and can defend the post, so backing up Armando Bacot would be a natural move for him. He started every game last season at the center spot for Northwestern. Plus, in averaging 14.6 points per game, Nance converted 45.2 percent of his 93 three-point attempts.
So, he can play the five and four.
“We’re always actively looking to make our team better,” Davis said. “And not just this summer, always – we’re always looking to improve our team. But on the other end, I really like where our team is right now. We’ve got our full team here on campus; obviously the returning players because they’re in the first session of summer school, but our freshmen are now on campus.”
Tyler Nickel and Jalen Washington recently arrived, and Seth Trimble gets here Thursday. He has been playing for the Under18 USA Basketball team that won a gold medal last week in Mexico.
The UNC staff has had plenty of time to vet Nance as a player. Davis faced his father, former Clemson star Larry Nance, in the NBA, and they have seen countless hours of film on him while also reaching out to other coaches to get the lowdown on Nance.
Now, with him taking his official visit, it’s about seeing how he fits around the program. Davis has described Manek as the perfect fit, but it isn’t a stretch suggesting Dawson Garcia, who left the program in late January, was not.
“We’re always actively looking to improve our team,” Davis reiterated Wednesday. “It’s not just about basketball, but one of the things that we have (is) we have great chemistry. And one thing I always say is, ‘I want good basketball players, but they’ve got to be good people from good families.”
“So yes, you have to be a good basketball player, but it has to fit in our locker room, because we have tremendous chemistry, and I never want to try to disrupt that.”
A decision in Nance won’t just be Carolina’s, the player has to decide, too. But that he is in Chapel Hill this week and UNC has an available scholarship, the staff is making it clear they will add if those stars aligned.
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