Most people you talk to tend to believe that North Carolina had a rather strong offseason as Michael Malone built his first team as the head coach of the UNC basketball program.
Completely rebuilding a roster isn't an easy task, but it's a common trend that college basketball coaches face on a yearly basis. Fortunately, Malone and his staff hit the ground running, constructing a roster they believe can compete for a title this upcoming season.
CJ Moore of The Athletic graded every new high-major basketball coach's roster, taking a closer look at what the new hires had put together up to this point. He used a sliding scale (dependent on the job being discussed), so you know that UNC was already held to a higher standard than others.
You probably will agree that his grading is a bit harsh.
UNC fans will disagree with The Athletic's offseason grade
Moore's grade for UNC's offseason is... a C+... here's why:
Michael Malone is graded on the toughest scale here because he has one of the best jobs in the country. The expectation is UNC should always be a Top 25 team, and I didn’t rank the Heels in my latest rankings. I do like the upside swings in Neoklis Avdalas and Matt Able in the transfer portal, and it was important to hold on to incoming recruit Maximo Adams, who I thought was one of the best scorers in his class. The frontcourt is worrisome. Sayon Keita is another fun upside swing, but he averaged 8.7 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game for FC Barcelona’s under-22 team. Is he ready to be a starter for a blue blood? The stabilizer would have been Henri Veesaar, who stayed in the NBA Draft and went 52nd. He would have been one of the highest-paid bigs in the country, and not getting him to stay or landing a proven replacement could be what really holds the Heels back.
Sure, Moore makes a valid point that the frontcourt is an area of concern. If Henri Veesaar had returned, that would've erased any doubt about this team, but Moore believes that the roster (as currently constructed) isn't a Top 25-caliber team.
The good news is, no one has ever won a national championship based on preseason expectations!
Moore does mention some key additions, such as transfers Neoklis Avdalas and Matt Able along with incoming freshman Maximo Adams. However, the lack of adding a "proven replacement" in the frontcourt makes Moore believe that this team will be hampered by the frontcourt, something Tar Heel fans don't want to necessarily hear.
Neoklis Avdalas gives UNC fans yet another reason to be fired up for his debut
Of course, the incoming talents, such as Sayon Keita and Alexandros Samodurov, can help alleviate that by bursting onto the scene to fill the void, but until then, expect to see many analysts view the Tar Heels' frontcourt situation as one to watch as the 2026-2027 season approaches.
For now, all we can do is respectfully disagree, but the hope is that these types of "grades" turn out to backfire on those who doubted the Tar Heels heading into Malone's first season at the helm.
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