UNC Basketball: Analyst believes Dontrez Styles needs expanded role

Jamie Shaw of On3 has tabbed current UNC basketball player Dontrez Styles as a player who might benefit from a more expanded role. 

One of the interesting storylines surrounding the UNC basketball program this season has been the usage (or lack of) of sophomore Dontrez Styles.

The Kinston, North Carolina native hasn’t been able to carve out a role in the Tar Heels rotation, as he’s played a total of 55 minutes during the 2022-2023 season. Averaging just five minutes per game over his 11 appearances, Styles has only played double-digit minutes once this season (16 against The Citadel on December 13).

As no one has been able to crack the code of how the Tar Heels bench is utilized under second-year head coach Hubert Davis, one national recruiting analyst believes Styles would benefit from more of an expanded role.

In his latest article, Jamie Shaw of On3 took a closer look at some student-athletes who were ranked in the top 100 in their respective recruiting classes to see which players could benefit from some more playing time. Styles was the first player mentioned, as this is what Shaw had to say about the sophomore forward:

"Dontrez Styles is a 6-foot-6 sophomore at North Carolina. The combo forward chose the Tar Heels over NC State, Clemson, and others. Styles is averaging 1.1 points in 5.0 minutes per game this season. The Kinston, NC native graduated from Kinston (NC) High. He was the No. 62 player in the 2021 On3 Consensus."

Fans of the program have been clamoring for the team to give some of the bench players more opportunities, and Styles is certainly among that mix. If the trend of him not playing much continues, it wouldn’t be a surprise at all to see Styles enter the transfer portal in hopes of finding a better opportunity for himself.

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