UNC Basketball: Dontrez Styles discusses future, NIT decision

Sophomore Dontrez Styles’ future with the UNC basketball program is up in the air, as he discussed this and the NIT decision. 

Now that the UNC basketball program’s 2022-2023 season has officially come to an end, it’s that time of year when each player takes a closer look at their future plans.

For sophomore Dontrez Styles, his status is still undetermined, as he’s still deciding whether to return to North Carolina for his junior season.

On his weekly segment of ‘Tuesdays with Trez’ on “The Brian Hanks Show” in Kinston, Styles discussed his future, and also made a very interesting statement about how the team’s decision to not enter the NIL came about.

"“It was the coach’s decision.”"

Styles said that the decision was up to Hubert Davis, who announced to the team that their season was over shortly after the Selection Sunday show ended.

According to Styles, he would have preferred to play in the NIT.

"“I think I would, just to have the opportunity to play. The NIT is not the Carolina standard but there are some great teams in there and it would have been some great competition for me to showcase my game again. I would have played.”"

For a guy like Styles, it would’ve made sense to play, especially if the Tar Heels went in with the intention of playing more of the reserve guys in bigger roles. However, Hubert Davis and the coaching staff must’ve felt that it was in the best interest of the program to not enter the NIT, thus abruptly ending the team’s season.

It’s expected that Styles will make his decision over the next week or so, but at this point, based on his comments and lack of playing time, it wouldn’t be a surprise at all to see Styles explore other options in the transfer portal.

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