There's still one more roster spot for North Carolina and Michael Malone to fill, with the Tar Heels looking far and wide for some extra help. One name that feels more than safe to wipe off the board would be 17-year-old standout Nikola Kusturica. The FC Barcelona playmaker is looking for a new home at the last minute, with UNC first linked to him not long ago.
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However, the expectation was that Kusturica and UNC wasn't going to happen, as he's eyeing a major NIL deal, plus a two-year contract. With that, it's not a stunner at all that Mark Pope and Kentucky are in the driver's seat to sign him, as 247Sports' Travis Branham just put in his prediction for UK to get this over the line. Usually once Branham puts in his prediction like this, we all know what's coming:
NEW: 247sports Recruiting Analyst Travis Branham has logged a prediction for Kentucky to land Nikola Kusturica, a projected top-5 pick in the 2028 NBA Draft.
— Casey (@BleedBlueCasey) June 17, 2026
Game-changing. pic.twitter.com/ZAdHfMD6qt
Nikola Kusturica predicted to commit to Kentucky won't surprise a single UNC fan out there
Let's make one thing perfectly clear: this is not a 'major' recruiting loss for North Carolina, and Pope isn't taking down UNC to land the coveted prospect. Instead, this is just a case of this not being a good match for Carolina and the Serbian sensation for multiple reasons.
At the top of the list has to be NIL. UNC is not in a spot to add a superstar to its roster who's chasing a bag. Instead, the majority of Malone's work has been completed, with him now looking for some depth to help close his 2026-27 roster out. Sure, if Kusturica wanted to be a Heel, Malone would make it work, but the money just isn't there.
As we've said before, the priority right now for Malone should be on working to close things out with Wei Lin, a veteran guard who is getting ready to say goodbye to Oregon. Lin, who has three years of pro experience in China under his belt, remains in the transfer portal, and UNC has shown interest in bringing him to town.
The experienced point guard would be able to provide some valuable minutes off the bench for Terrence Brown, who transferred in from Utah after averaging nearly 20 points per game last season. It remains up in the air if Lin is going to be headed to the ACC, but he'd make a bit more sense for the Tar Heels right now at this stage of the offseason.
The big offseason gets for the Heels have no question been Brown, Matt Able, Neoklis Avdalas, Sayon Keita, and others. That's where the majority of the team's NIL budget went, which is why, again, we're not going to be sad once breaking news drops - if it happens - that Kusturica is going to be Lexington-bound. Pope is desperate to get the Wildcats back on track, which is why he's spending like a mad man. Hey, good for him, but this won't end up being a recruiting 'loss' that Malone or anyone in Chapel Hill will lose sleep over.
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