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Heel Tough Blog: Tar Heels Set to Honor 100th Anniversary of Kenan Stadium
Nicholas Faulkner- Getty Images 2026 is a special season for Tar Heel football as it is the 100th anniversary of their home stadium. On Wednesday evening, the Tar Heels announced how they will be honoring that this season in a variety of different ways. A logo for the 100th anniversary was debuted earlier today and, according to a release from the program, will be available on merchandise and other commemorative items. This is a really nice touch from the program and will cer

Anthony Pagnotta
May 132 min read


Heel Tough Blog: Four-Star Wing Commits to North Carolina
On3 It was announced reported earlier this week that Michael Malone and the Tar Heels would host a four-star small forward in the 2026 class, by the name of Kevin Thomas, as they continued to fill out the roster for the upcoming season. Thomas was on campus today for his official visit to UNC, and has committed to play for North Carolina for the upcoming season, becoming the first high school prospect to commit to the UNC program under Michael Malone, who was hired back in Ap

Joshua Marlow
May 132 min read


Heel Tough Blog: Malone Adds Veteran NBA Assistant to Coaching Staff
Friar Basketball - Substack After interviewing for a spot on Michael Malone’s staff last week, veteran NBA assistant Bryan Tibaldi has been hired by Malone, becoming the fourth assistant to be named to the new staff. Tibaldi, who played college basketball for Tom Izzo at Michigan State in the mid-2000s, ironically worked for Kim English last year at Providence, before English was fired as the head coach of the Friars. Earlier this off-season, English accepted a role on Malone

Joshua Marlow
May 131 min read


Heel Tough Blog: 2027 Official Visit Schedules- WR
Official visits are set to resume for the 2027 class at the end of month, as the Tar Heels look to convince some important targets that they should be a part of what will be a smaller class this year for the program after the massive class the group brought in last cycle. To get you prepared, we’re taking a look at the prospects that have scheduled official visits with the program by position groups and updating you on where their recruitments stand heading into the month. To

Anthony Pagnotta
May 122 min read


Heel Tough Blog: Former National Champion to Join Michael Malone's Staff
247Sports Michael Malone is still busy building out the roster for the 2026-27 season, but he still has positions to fill on his coaching staff, after Kim English backed out of the assistant’s role back in April. Last season, veteran NBA assistant Bryan Tibaldi was in Chapel Hill for an interview, but so far, a hire hasn’t been made. With that in mind, the UNC staff got a boost earlier today, as former national champion Deon Thompson will join Malone’s staff as a grad assista

Joshua Marlow
May 121 min read


Heel Tough Blog: 2027 Official Visit Schedules- RB
Official visits are set to resume for the 2027 class at the end of month, as the Tar Heels look to convince some important targets that they should be a part of what will be a smaller class this year for the program after the massive class the group brought in last cycle. To get you prepared, we’re taking a look at the prospects that have scheduled official visits with the program by position groups and updating you on where their recruitments stand heading into the month. To

Anthony Pagnotta
May 112 min read


Heel Tough Blog: Former 4-Star LSU Commit to Visit UNC This Weekend
247Sports The Tar Heels are still working to finalize the roster for the 2026-27 season, and with all the focus primarily on the transfer portal and the international landscape, you may have forgotten that UNC could add from the high school ranks if prospects haven’t committed yet. Michael Malone and the UNC coaching staff are working to add at least one, if not two more big men to the roster for next season, with the hopes of adding at least one more shooter, to round out th

Joshua Marlow
May 112 min read


Heel Tough Blog: 2027 Official Visit Schedules- QB
Official visits are set to resume for the 2027 class at the end of month, as the Tar Heels look to convince some important targets that they should be a part of what will be a smaller class this year for the program after the massive class the group brought in last cycle. To get you prepared, we’re taking a look at the prospects that have scheduled official visits with the program by position groups and updating you on where their recruitments are at. We’ll start with the fou

Anthony Pagnotta
May 102 min read


Heel Tough Blog: Tar Heels Showing Interest in Stetson OL Transfer
@247SportsPortal- Twitter The Tar Heels might be through spring ball, but they are continuing to keep their eyes open for help along the offensive line. After missing on Mercer offensive line transfer Jamari Freeman last month, the Tar Heels are expressing interest in another FCS transfer along the offensive line. According to Pete Nakos of On3 Sports, the Tar Heels are one of the teams that has expressed interest in Stetson transfer offensive lineman Vincent Chen. Chen, who

Anthony Pagnotta
May 81 min read


Heel Tough Blog: Names to Know Exiting Spring Ball
@milesoneilll- Instagram We are now a couple of weeks from the close of spring ball for the Tar Heels and the attention is turning towards the summer, where the team will add a few more players to the roster as they head into the player-led practice period. As we approach that stage of the offseason, here is a look at some under-the-radar names to know around Tar Heel before we get to fall camp. Peyton Seelmann Heading into spring, there were some questions about Seelmann mak

Anthony Pagnotta
May 73 min read


Heel Tough Blog: NC State Transfer Officially Signs With UNC
Facebook After initially committing to UNC back in April, NC State transfer Matt Able has officially signed with North Carolina, as the UNC roster is slowly coming together under first-year head coach Michael Malone. Able played one season at NC State, where he averaged 8.8 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 0.9 assists, while shooting 42% from the field and 36% from behind the arc. In the Wolfpack’s blowout win over UNC last February, Able scored 19 points, while going 6-10 from the

Joshua Marlow
May 71 min read


Heel Tough Blog: Greek Big Man Becomes Latest International Target for UNC
Ersin's NBA Draft Newsletter - Substack Michael Malone may be back stateside, but his search to find frontcourt help for 2026-27 continues to take him overseas, as another target has emerged, according to sources close to the UNC program. Those sources indicate that Alexandros Samodurov is the latest international prospect to draw interest from the Tar Heels, after playing for Panathinaikos professionally in Greece. His numbers aren;t going to catch anyone’s eyes, as he avera

Joshua Marlow
May 61 min read


Heel Tough Blog: UNC Showing Interest in Multiple Transfers
Yahoo Sports With so much focus on the international prospects, it’s easy to forget that there are bigs still available in the transfer portal that played college basketball last season, who could help out the Tar Heels for next season. And after a week spent overseas, with contact being made to multiple international bigs, Michael Malone, and the UNC staff have reached out to two transfers stateside, as they continue to work to rebuild a frontcourt that has lost Caleb Wilson

Joshua Marlow
May 42 min read


Heel Tough Blog: Italian Big Man on Michael Malone's Radar
247Sports The quest to rebuild UNC’s frontcourt is sill on going for first-year head coach Michael Malone, who has lost both Caleb Wilson and Henri Veesaar to the NBA Draft, along with multiple transfer portal entries from depth pieces. Last week was an uneven week in the rebuilding area of the roster, as UNC was able to land five-star big man, Sayon Keita from Barcelona over in Spain, and Northwestern transfer Cade Bennerman, while learning that FAU transfer, Maxim Logue, wo

Joshua Marlow
May 42 min read


Heel Tough Blog: Three Tar Heels Invited to NBA Combine
Kevin C. Cox- Getty Images The NBA announced its list of participants for this year’s NBA Draft Combine on Friday and three Tar Heels are among the 73 players that will be attending the event May 8-10 in Chicago. The highest-rated of the group according to the mock drafts is forward Caleb Wilson, who hopes to go top five. Wilson led Carolina in scoring (19.8) and rebounding (9.4), despite only playing 24 games, before injuries cut his season short. He would earn second-team A

Anthony Pagnotta
May 22 min read


Heel Tough Blog: FAU Transfer Won't Enroll at North Carolina
Florida Atlantic University Athletics Last week, during Michael Malone’s biggest day in the transfer portal, UNC landed FAU transfer Maxim Logue, a big man who had more potential than his stats would suggest he had. Fast forward over a week later, and Logue is no longer expected to enroll at UNC, according to Inside Carolina. In their latest intel report earlier in the week, Inside Carolina reported there were some issues getting Logue enrolled into UNC from an academic persp

Joshua Marlow
Apr 301 min read


Heel Tough Blog: Tar Heels Drop The Ball With No Spring Game
UNC Athletics The Tar Heels reportedly took some steps on the field this spring, but the staff and athletic department made a major mistake off of it. The team held its final scrimmage to close out spring ball on Friday night, but did so in front of an empty Kenan Stadium. This was certainly a choice from whoever made this decision, especially with where the program is at after just one season under Belichick. Last year’s ‘Practice Like a Pro’ event was frustrating from both

Anthony Pagnotta
Apr 282 min read


Heel Tough Blog: Michael Malone Adds International Pro to UNC Program
247Sports After landing Northwestern transfer Cade Bennerman yesterday, Michael Malone added another big man to the roster on Monday, in the form of international pro Sayon Keita, a member of FC Barcelona. Keita is a 7-0, 215-pound center who visited Chapel Hill back in 2025, averaged 8.7 points and 4.3 rebounds in 19 minutes, while playing in ACB and EuroLeague competition for FC Barcelona’s Under-22 team. This is the latest step to reshaping Carolina’s frontcourt, after lo

Joshua Marlow
Apr 281 min read


Heel Tough Blog: UNC Lands Northwestern Big Man
247Sports Needing to find a suitable replacement after Henri Veesaar declared for the 2026 NBA Draft, Michael Malone first looked internationally before turning to the transfer portal and identifying Northwestern transfer Cade Bennerman as a target, after he redshirted with the Wildcats last season. Earlier this afternoon, Bennerman committed to Michael Malone and the UNC program, becoming the fifth transfer to commit to Malone this offseason. Bennerman, committed to Northwe

Joshua Marlow
Apr 271 min read


Heel Tough Blog: More Names Emerging As Possible Veesaar Replacement
On3 On Friday, Henri Veesaar announced his decision to enter the 2026 NBA Draft, with the intention to stay in the draft and not return to Chapel Hill for what would’ve been his senior season. Veesaar reportedly left a big NIL bag on the table to chase an NBA career, where he’s at best projected as a late first-round pick, but that’s before going through the annual NBA Combine process, where he can improve his draft standing. This decision has left Michael Malone and the staf

Joshua Marlow
Apr 272 min read
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