estimating Who is leaving and who is staying at UNC? Following Loss in the NCAA Tournament
Despite the diminished prospect of winning a national championship, North Carolina had a successful 2023–24 campaign.
The Tar Heels did not make the men’s NCAA tournament the previous year. They did, however, recover swiftly to win the ACC regular-season title and secure the top seed in March Madness.
But an important offseason has arrived as UNC starts to move past its heartbreaking Sweet 16 loss to Alabama.
A number of veterans, including seasoned center Armando Bacot and possibly elite guard RJ Davis, are leaving the team, which Hubert Davis and his coaching staff will have to adjust to. Luckily for the Heels, though, Chapel Hill will soon welcome a couple of 5-star prospects.
In a perfect world, Harrison Ingram and RJ Davis are retained by North Carolina to lead the team in 2024–25.
Sadly, the likelihood is that neither will come back.
Davis might stay in Chapel Hill even though I’m projecting them to move on. It seems like he’s just a mediocre NBA prospect, so the veteran guard has every right to continue his education.
Elliot Cadeau might participate in the 2024 NBA pre-draft, but his NBA career will probably be postponed due to a slight impact on his scoring as a freshman. In the backcourt, Seth Trimble ought to rejoin him, and Washington and Jae’Lyn Withers, two forwards, are ready for bigger roles.
It is anticipated that Zayden High, a 4-star recruit in the 2023 class, will join the rotation.
In summary: Probably each player who scores ten points.
ACC coaches won’t be haunted by the double-double machine anytime soon because Armando Bacot has finally used up his five seasons at UNC. It’s also the end of Cormac Ryan’s career as a collegiate player.
Harrison Ingram, a vital wing, and leading scorer RJ Davis may both return the following season. But after his fourth year, Davis might want to go pro, and B/R’sJonathanWasserman projects Ingram as an early second-round pick in the NBA draft.
Paxson Wojcik, a reserve guard for the Tar Heels, is also ineligible, though the team might have a backup or two go through the transfer portal.
North Carolina, led by two 5-star recruits, is expected to bring in the seventh-best recruiting class in the country.
Two spots ahead of in-state wing Drake Powell, Ian Jackson is ranked as the ninth overall prospect. Considering the probable rebuild on the perimeter, both of them are expected to play significant roles as freshmen.
Having said that, Davis assumed leadership of the program in 2021, and UNC has been actively involved in transfers ever since, most notably with Ryan and Ingram. The Tar Heels are fully expected to search the portal, especially if Davis and Ingram depart.
James Brown, a 4-star center who is ranked No. 72 in the 2024 cycle, is the last new recruit.
