Michael Malone wiped the slate clean in Chapel Hill, parting ways with five-star recruit Dylan Mingo and moving on from Kyan Evans and Luka Bogavac, along with a bevy of other outgoing transfers. With the money Malone and his staff have freed up, they’re intent on going big-game hunting in the Transfer Portal.
UNC’s top portal target was–and still is–Wake Forest wing Juke Harris. The 6-foot-7 sophomore averaged over 20 points a game and is one of the best do-it-all playmakers on the market. However, the latest reports have Harris likely heading to Tennessee over UNC and Michigan, so Malone may be forced to pivot.
The Tar Heels are still favored to land Utah transfer Terrence Brown, so along with Neoklis Avdalas, UNC can still have a serious 1-2 punch from the portal. Still, to make it all work, Malone needs to add more on the wing, and that means executing a backup plan if Harris does choose the Vols. Luckily, there are already a few in place.
Harris is a three-level shot-creator. UNC isn’t going to find another 6-foot-7 wing who can fill that role. Luckily, at his best, Avdalas can get shots for himself and others off the dribble, which is a hot commodity at 6-foot-9.
Assuming Henri Veesaar returns, Avdalas can play the three with Jarin Stevenson as a floor-spacing four. That’s quite a bit of shooting around Avdalas, and presumably Brown, a downhill slashing guard who puts serious pressure on the rim at 6-foot-3. Still, if UNC can’t have Harris’s playmaking, the best route is to add another shooter next to Brown in the backcourt, and they’ve already contacted a few.
1. Paul McNeil, G, NC State, 6’5” 190 lbs
Two of UNC’s best floor-spacing options spent last season just down the road in Raleigh. At 6-foot-5, Paul McNeil is a knockdown shooter, and while he doesn’t provide much else, he doesn’t need to. McNeil scored just 11.1 percent of his 13.8 points per game in the paint and attempted nearly 80 percent of his field goals from beyond the arc.
Despite the volume, McNeil was hyper-efficient, hitting at 42 percent. With a quick, over-the-head release, McNeil is impervious to close outs and can stretch his range well past the NBA three-point line without any change in mechanics. He’d play well off Brown and Avdalas, and despite his slim build, isn’t a turnstile defensively.
Malone has reportedly contacted McNeil since he entered the portal, and once Harris commits, that pursuit could ramp up.
2. Matt Able, Wing, NC State, 6’6” 205 lbs
As a three-and-D wing, Matt Able offers a bit more than McNeil as a rebounder, playmaker, and switchable defender. He’s better at finishing around the rim and just has a more well-rounded game in general. Yet, McNeil is a significantly better shooter from distance at a higher volume, and that value is reflected in his all-in-one metrics with a defender real adjusted plus minus and 0.16 win shares per 40 minutes to Able’s 0.11 (per CBBanalytics.com).
Still, just because as a true freshman, Able couldn’t match one of the most prolific three-point shooters in the country, it doesn’t mean he isn’t a valuable player. Able would offer more versatility with the strength to slide down the lineup while still offering the backcourt spacing Brown and Avdalas would need to operate with the ball in their hands. He’s not Juke Harris, but he presents a closer facsimile of Harris’s versatility than a true specialist like McNeil.
UNC has shown interest in both McNeil and Able, so a package deal may not be impossible. Their skillsets are somewhat redundant, but you can never have enough shooting, especially when it comes with real length on the wing.
3. Curtis Givens III, G, Memphis, 6’3” 185 lbs
UNC has also contacted the former LSU guard, who spent last season at Memphis. Still primarily a catch-and-shoot player, Givens provides more as a ball-screen handler or attacking a closeout and getting to the rim off the dribble than McNeil or Able. At 6-foot-3 and as more of a true guard than a wing, he needs to do more off the bounce, but with a high turnover rate, it’s worth asking if a team should want the ball in his hands that often.
Givens wouldn’t offer the positional size that Malone is so clearly after in the portal, but he’d provide decent spacing as a 36.5 percent three-point shooter. The question marks about his game lie elsewhere, so the juice may not be worth the squeeze.
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