North Carolina seemed to speed up its timeline this offseason. Not content to wait for Billy Donovan to coach out the string of meaningless games with the Chicago Bulls, UNC made a move for Michael Malone on the cusp of the Transfer Portal window opening.
That urgency seemed to pay off with Malone landing commitments from Neoklis Avdalas, Terrence Brown, and Matt Able out of the portal. However, the flow of transfer talent eventually dried up, so Malone, who won an NBA title coaching Nikola Jokic, turned his attention overseas.
The goal of his European recruiting trip was to replace Henri Veesaar, UNC’s Estonian-born center, who declared for the NBA Draft. He plucked 18-year-old Malian big man Sayon Keita from Barcelona, but still needed more depth. Finally, after forays with Brice Dessert, Mouhamed Faye, and Keita’s teammate at FC Barcelona, Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje, he and his staff have seemingly settled on Alexandros Samodurov.
There has been rampant speculation that Samodurov has committed to the Tar Heels, and while Keeping it Heels’ Nick Delahanty reported that a deal was not yet done, it now appears to be at the one-yard line.
The 6-foot-10 Greek big man who plays for Panathinaikos in the Euroleague is likely to head to Chapel Hill, and if he does, Malone’s roster will finally look like a completed puzzle. And here’s how the 21-year-old would fit.
UNC’s 2026-27 projected starting lineup with Alexandros Samodurov:
Brown isn’t an elite playmaker, but with Neoklis Avdalas and Matt Able both capable of initiating, and Avdalas likely to do so frequently, Brown can slide comfortably into a role as a score-first, slashing combo guard.
He averaged 20 points a game at Utah last season and did so while shooting 32 percent from three on just 3.1 attempts per game. Brown puts relentless pressure on the rim, something Seth Trimble was really only capable of providing for the Tar Heels last season.
Matt Able is still navigating the NBA Draft process, but he’s expected to return to college and head to Chapel Hill after a promising freshman season at NC State. At 6-foot-6 and coming off a year in which he shot 35.5 percent from three on 4.1 attempts per game, if all Able provides is spot-up shooting, he’ll be a very valuable piece. But the good news for Malone is that he’s capable of a lot more.
Able can run the pick-and-roll comfortably, he can attack closeouts, shoot off the dribble and off the move, and he’s a disruptive defender who can guard up-and-down the lineup. As a secondary or even tertiary creator for UNC, Able should be a hyper-efficient scorer.
He’ll be listed as a wing at 6-foot-7, but Avdalas is a true point-forward. He’ll likely bring the ball up the floor much of the season and direct the offense. There were major flashes of his playmaking ability last season at Virginia Tech, including a 33-point, six-assist outburst in the second game of the season. However, he was unable to sustain that level of efficiency.
With another year to develop his game and his body, Avdalas has the potential to grow into an All-American caliber shot-creator. That’s the ceiling. But with an inconsistent shot and average athleticism, there’s no certainty that he’ll reach it.
Stevenson is back for his final season of eligibility, and he’ll fill the same role as a high-effort stretch four. He’s hovered right around 30 percent from three through his career, which is fine for a 6-foot-10 forward with defensive versatility. However, if he can suddenly tick that up towards 35 percent on similar volume, UNC’s will be scary offensively, particularly in transition.
Like Keita, most of the potential centers Malone has targeted through his international recruiting efforts have been rim-runners who primarily live in the dunker spot offensively, unless they’re operating as a screener in the pick-and-roll. That’s not how Samodurov projects to fit into the mix.
He may be a bit slight to play center, but so is Keita, and the additional floor spacing Samodurov provides as a capable three-point shooter will be particularly crucial for Terrence Brown. Brown is a downhill attacker, especially off the pick-and-roll, so a pick-and-pop pairing with Samodurov would be ideal for a coach who wants to load oversized shot-creators.
Samodurov is capable with the ball in his hands, though he’s not going to initiate much offensively, and on the other end of the floor, he has great instincts as a shot-blocker. A shot-blocking stretch five is exactly what Malone needed, and once Samodurov commits, everything will fall into place. This isn’t a top-10 roster in the country, but it has a clear identity, and if a few players make significant developmental leaps, UNC will be a dark-horse ACC contender.
There will still be major questions about how this team can handle physicality on the interior because a stiff wind could topple much of this front court. Samodurov doesn't fix that, but having another big to throw at those physical forwards will help the cause, especially one versatile enough to play up the lineup.
Bench rotation:
- Maximo Adams, F
- Sayon Keita, C
- Jaydon Young, G/F
- Isaiah Denis, G
Five-star freshman Maximo Adams is a talented isolation scorer at 6-foot-8, and UNC will need him in exactly that role off the bench, or in the starting lineup. Keita will split time at the five with Samodurov, providing a different look offensively as a rim-running lob threat, but with the same rim protection abilities.
Adams and Keita are the most intriguing bench pieces, but Young should become a steadying force in the backcourt and on the wing, while Isaiah Denis can grow into his game after missing nearly his entire freshman season because an offseason injury stunted his growth.
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