UNC Basketball: Roy Williams is making a push for this graduate transfer

Roy Williams, UNC basketball program looking for reinforcements on the graduate transfer market

North Carolina head coach Roy Williams is just one victory away from his eighth 30-win season since returning to Chapel Hill in 2003. He’s got nine first-place finishes in the Atlantic Coast Conference in 16 seasons, five Final Four appearances with the Tar Heels since 2005, and three national titles at his alma mater.

And despite all of that, the 2006 College Basketball Hall-of-Fame inductee doesn’t seem to have lost a step.

Just two wins away from their third Final Four in the last four seasons, the Tar Heels are one of the field’s heavy favorites to cut the nets down in Minneapolis — a victory that would give the program its seventh NCAA Tournament Championship, one behind Kentucky for third-place all-time.

The bad news? The Tar Heels stand to lose the bulk of the roster responsible for so much of their success this season; namely seniors Luke Maye, Kenny Williams and Cameron Johnson, along with the likely departure of freshmen stars Coby White and Nassir Little.

And that’s not unheard of at a school like North Carolina. Mass exodus at the end of successful seasons is not unlike a handful of others during the Roy Williams tenure — the same thing happened in 2005, 2009, 2012, 2016 and 2017 — but it doesn’t make it any easier.

That’s why it’s so important for programs like North Carolina to remain consistent on the recruiting trail, where striking out on any one class can be catastrophic.

The Tar Heels have a nice group of players that look to remain on campus for the 2019-20 season and beyond, but much of the star-power — and almost all of the experience — leaves with Maye, Williams, Johnson, White and Little.

It’s true, 5-star center Armando Bacot is a big time recruit, and a commitment from the 2019 class’s top point guard, Cole Anthony, would make things even better for the Tar Heels. However, the team will still have serious question marks on the wing and in the front court, where only one current starter, Garrison Brooks, will remain after this season. Uncommitted 5-star big man Precious Achiuwa is still a possibility for next season, and despite being a real long-shot at this point, so is Minnesota native Matthew Hurt.

In the event that Achiuwa and Hurt go to other schools, the Tar Heels need a contingency plan. That’s why Williams and his coaching staff are hitting the graduate transfer market, hoping to snag an experienced player with a year or two of eligibility left.

247Sports‘ Evan Daniels reported yesterday that North Carolina — among a long list of other schools that includes Clemson, Georgia Tech, Iowa, Nevada, Virginia , Xavier and more — have reached out to Akron graduate transfer Daniel Utomi.

Utomi is a 6-foot-6, 215-pound forward who averaged 14.2 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 33.7 minutes per game this season. He shot 40.3 percent from the floor, and 37.3 percent from three-point range.

His offensive numbers were even better the season before when he scored 16.7 points per game to go along with 5.3 rebounds and 1.9 assists. He shot the ball at a 45 percent clip overall, and better than 40 percent from long-range. He also connected on 77 percent of his free throws during the 2017-18 season, as opposed to just 67.5 percent this year.

He’s also been extremely durable for the Zips over the last two seasons, starting in all but two of the team’s games since the start of his sophomore season. His height, length and ability to shoot the ball from multiple spots on the court would be a tremendous addition to a North Carolina squad that’s losing one of the nation’s top shooters in Cameron Johnson.

It’s unknown how long Utomi will continue to accept offers and wait to make a decision, but we’ll follow the situation as it unfolds.