From the moment North Carolina center Henri Veesaar announced that he's headed to the NBA, plenty of fans have been ready to hit the panic button. However, Michael Malone and his staff are on the grind looking for help at the position. And no, a superstar isn't expected to be signed, but multiple guys who can contribute and be developed appears to be the direction the Heels are headed in.
UNC's projected lineup without Henri Veesaar shouldn't have fans panicking
Will this lead to Northwestern transfer Cade Bennerman making the move to Chapel Hill for next season and beyond? That could end up being the case. While speaking on the Heel Report Podcast, 247Sports' Andrew Jones confirmed that the UNC staff has been in contact with him. Not only that, he added that Carolina is feeling good about getting this over the line soon.
North Carolina is hoping to land transfer center Cade Bennerman in the coming days
Let us make one thing clear - Bennerman is not going to come in to be a Veesaar replacement. Instead, he's a 7-0, 205-pounder who just wrapped up his freshman season in the Big Ten who could pitch in with some valuable minutes. Formerly the No. 2 player out of Tennessee for the 2025 class, Bennerman entered the portal and UNC has been in consistent communication of late, per Jones.
Bennerman redshirted the 2025-26 campaign and didn't see the floor. Coming out of high school, he had scholarship offers from Northwestern, Michigan, South Florida, Cal, Penn State and others. Again, Bennerman would make the move to the ACC as a depth piece and not be a starter.
That's not a problem, though. Jones confirmed there are several international players Carolina continues to target for the five spot and more verbals will be on the way even after Bennerman picks the Tar Heels, assuming that does get done soon.
Malone and his staff are selling development to bigs and this is exactly what would be the case for Bennerman, who is yet to see any action at the college level. This may not be the kind of splash move Tar Heels fans might be waiting on, but it'd be a 7-0 addition for this roster when it needs it, especially with James Brown also leaving to head to Howard. Maxim Logue has committed, but UNC needs more help. That's where someone like Bennerman could come in. We'll see if he ends up committing in the coming days.
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