Interestingly enough, Matt Able wasn't the only key player North Carolina and Michael Malone were waiting on to make their NBA draft decision. Nope, we're not saying anything new in reminding people that Alexandros Samodurov is a top target for the Heels moving forward. Let's be real, he's likely the No. 1 target unless Malone has something cooking behind the scenes.
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And not long ago, it flew under the radar that the Greek center also followed Able in deciding to push back the start of his NBA career by a year. That's right, Samodurov pulled his name out before the deadline and now signs continue to point in the direction of him being a playmaker inside of the Dean Dome next season. But, is an announcement on the way?
Alexandros Samodurov, who has been a #UNC target for some time now, has withdrawn from the NBA draft process. https://t.co/gHrlt7nWXm
— R.L. Bynum (@RL_Bynum) May 29, 2026
Alexandros Samodurov officially pulled his name out of the NBA Draft
In the middle of typing this story, I'm also refreshing Twitter and Instagram, again, to see if Samodurov is ready to lock things in with the Tar Heels. Nope, nothing so far. Dang! Despite that, it's starting to feel like it'd be a surprise if Malone and his staff don't get this done in the near future.
We recently wrote about things, but Samodurov really does feel like the missing piece for the North Carolina starting five. As things stand, it's looking like Malone is going to roll with Terrence Brown, Matt Able, Jarin Stevenson, Neoklis Avdalas and 5-star center Sayon Keita. If and when (though we expect it) Samodurov commits, he'll take Seita's spot, which would be a great thing.
Keita is oozing with potential, as he's a 5-star prospect. However, there's going to be growing pains in the ACC in Year 1 for him. Having a veteran of the game like Samodurov man the starting spot would be incredibly beneficial for Keita, as he could come off the bench and make a major impact that way.
Signing Samodurov would also help close the door on international recruiting at the position. Carolina has been linked to several names this cycle in terms of overseas talent, including Brice Dessert and Mouhamed 'Momo' Faye. Dessert ended up signing with LSU, while Faye is still an uncommitted player.
However, David Sisk of 247Sports reported this spring that some schools were offering nearly double what Carolina had on the table for Faye's services. Malone isn't going to overpay for him, but 'settling' for Samodurov sure would make plenty of people back in Chapel Hill pretty dang happy.
In the coming weeks, the hope is that we'll all get some clarity on Samodurov and he'll make his way to campus and proudly don a Carolina blue jersey for a visit photoshoot. Malone seems to understand he'll be able to make a huge difference for this team next campaign. Adding Samodurov should have the Heels in the Top 15-20 conversation too, but that all depends on if UNC can keep working its magic and finally get this over the line.
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