Michael Malone is overseas, looking to funnel more talent from Europe to Chapel Hill after landing a commitment from 18-year-old Malian center Sayon Keita from FC Barcelona. So, UNC’s roster construction isn’t yet complete, but it appears that the staff’s attention has shifted away from the Transfer Portal after making four veteran additions this offseason.
It was five until FAU power forward Maxim Logue dropped out of the class on Thursday. That could prompt Malone to make another move, but most likely, that will come from Europe, not the portal.
While there are still a few uncommitted players on the market, the portal has mostly dried up, and UNC’s starting five appears to be in place. That makes now a good time to evaluate Malone’s portal haul with three of his four pickups figuring to factor into next season’s starting five.
According to 247Sports, UNC has the fifth-highest graded transfer class, so a B- could be a bit harsh. However, Evanmiya.com slots the Tar Heels’ incoming class as the 19th-best in the country, and that ranking matches my opinion of UNC’s haul more closely.
It’s not that Brown, Able, and Avdalas are bad players; they just all have clear flaws or limitations, and the overall build leaves a lot to be desired. And Bennerman, redshirted last season, and at 7-foot, is listed at just 205 pounds, which compounds the lack of physicality UNC has in the frontcourt with Keita, who weighs 215 as a seven-footer.
Malone’s vision was clearly to prioritize length and playmaking up and down the roster. He can play lineups where all five guys can create their own shot off the bounce, and that gives him significant scheme versatility. The player who unlocks that the most is Avdalas, who, at 6-foot-9, is a skilled point forward.
As a freshman at Virginia Tech, however, Avdalas managed just a 46 percent effective field goal percentage, while over 40 percent of his shots were above-the-break threes, which he hit at a lackluster 30 percent clip. For all his size, only 17 percent of his field goals came at the rim, and 33 percent of his points came from the paint.
There will be flashes of brilliance from Avdalas, but a high turnover rate has to come down, and UNC must surround him with shooting to maximize his playmaking skillset. As a three-and-D wing with great size, Able fills that role perfectly and gives UNC great size in the backcourt. But without the presence of Henri Veesaar as a 40 percent three-point shooter out of the pick-and-pop, Malone is betting on Avdalas and Brown, two underwhelming three-point shooters, to space the floor for each other and for Keita, his rim-running big.
Brown is a relentless downhill attacker. He’ll give UNC the paint pressure it lacked from the backcourt last season with Derek Dixon at point guard. How efficiently he scores, though, is still an open question. Averaging nearly 20 a game for Utah, his 48.6 percent effective field goal percentage was 48th percentile, and his sub-20 percent three-point attempt rate fell in the bottom 20 percent nationally.
Again, it’s a good group; if Brown and Avdalas progress as outside shooters, UNC could be lethal on the offensive end. Yet, UNC came away without a proven game-changer, and a few too many ‘ifs’ and ‘buts’ to feel great about the transfer portal haul.
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