It wasn't long ago that Mouhamed 'Momo' Faye was on commit watch for North Carolina. Head man Michael Malone and Chuck Martin flew to Paris to see if they could get things done with the standout center, but no verbal pledge arrived.
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To make matters worse, other teams have gotten involved and it's looking like the UNC faithful can go ahead and forget about the dream of the Senegalese big man making the move to Chapel Hill. That's because Andrew Jones and David Sisk just hopped on the Heel Report Podcast and provided quite the update on the Faye recruiting hunt. Plain and simple, barring a miracle, he's going to be headed elsewhere.
“Been told that officially, North Carolina is not out of it for him, but you’re looking at competitors offering twice as much basically to what North Carolina has for him,” Sisk told Jones.
Money is looking like it will prevent UNC from landing big man Momo Faye
Well, that's a kick in the pants for a lot of people. While talking about teams being linked to Faye, Sisk also brought up St. John's and how Rick Pitino likely has a bigger budget to use right now, as he has missed out on a lot of his previous targets, including Massamba Diop, who signed with Gonzaga.
Malone and Co. haven't had that same issue, as Neoklis Avdalas, Matt Able, Terrence Brown and Cade Bennerman are Carolina-bound for next season as transfers, while 5-star center Sayon Keita recently gave Malone the news that he was hoping for. Malloy Smith and Maximo Adams are other standouts who will be on the way to help out next season.
So, yes, the cupboard is not bare for the Tar Heels, but a lot of people were hoping that Faye would join the squad and make a big impact near the glass. The loss of superstar Henri Veesaar continues to sting, as the former Arizona transfer is expected to potentially be taken in the first round of the NBA Draft along with Caleb Wilson.
That's why so many of us had Faye high on our board to help Keita down low in 2026-27. Judging off of what Sisk just revealed on his podcast, however, it's fair to say that a miracle will be needed for Faye to pick UNC. Hey, if other teams are tossing double the amount of NIL money his way, then no one can blame him for heading elsewhere.
At the same time, it's a bit disappointing for Malone, as he put in quite the effort to get Faye to suit up in the ACC next season. With money being an issue, Carolina will likely have to pivot once again to other targets, as there are still multiple options for the staff to go after overseas.
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