This major accolade proves UNC struck gold in the transfer portal with Henri Veesaar

When it comes to transfer portal additions, UNC absolutely struck gold when they were able to bring Henri Veesaar to Chapel Hill.

The Tallin, Estonia native not only came to North Carolina to fill a major void on the team's roster, but has done so at an elite level. His dominant junior season has rightfully earned him a spot as a finalist for the most prestigious award that a true center can earn.

Henri Veesaar named a Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award finalist

Veesaar is one of five finalists for the annual Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award, one that honors the center of the year across college basketball. He is the lone player from the ACC to crack the list of finalists, as he's joined by Alex Condon (Florida), Graham Ike (Gonzaga), Flory Bidunga (Kansas) and Zuby Ejiofor (St. John's) as the contenders for the award.

A breakout campaign for Veesaar

During his two seasons at Arizona, Veesaar started a total of five games for the Wildcats. He was primarily a reserve big man, as his role grew significantly from his freshman to sophomore seasons.

After his sophomore season, Veesaar entered the portal in hopes of finding a bigger role, something Hubert Davis and the Tar Heels could easily offer.

Following a season in which UNC was extremely small in the front court, North Carolina loaded up with size, as Veesaar was a key clog in this roster reshaping process. While there was hope that Veesaar could be a productive center to compliment fellow front court mates Caleb Wilson and Jarin Stevenson, no one could've predicted that he would be as good as he was this season.

In 29 games, the 7-footer flirted with double-double averages, finsihing the regular season averaging 16.3 points, 8.4 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game. He shot 61.4% from the floor, knocking down an impressive 41.5% of his shots from beyond-the-arc.

Coming into the season, Veesaar never recorded a double-double. He put together 13 double-double performances during his junior season, just one indication of just how productive he was for the Tar Heels.

Well deserved

Not only has Veesaar put himself in the mix to be regarding as one of (if not the) best center in college basketball, he has also seen his NBA Draft stock rise up to new levels. While there's no guarantee he declares for the draft (given he has one season of eligibility left), it's super impressive to see what he's been able to accomplish in his first season as a Tar Heel, serving as one of the biggest transfer portal additions in the entire country from last year's cycle.

While some transfers don't pan out, there's no doubt that Henri Veesaar was a home run addition for North Carolina.