Serge Ibaka Foundation After committing to the UNC Basketball program earlier this spring, FC Barcelona’s Sayon Keita has officially been cleared to make the move to Chapel Hill after a lengthy process of getting his visa approved, paving the way for the Mali native to join the program the week that classes start on the UNC campus. Keita, who is a projected NBA lottery pick for next year’s NBA Draft, averaged 8.7 points and 4.3 rebounds in 19 minutes, while playing in ACB and

@UNC_Basketball Late last night, a former UNC guard, Seth Trimble, made it known that he was looking into a return to college basketball and would seek a transfer outside of the UNC Basketball program after his eligibility status for the 2026-27 season was given new life after a ruling two weeks ago. Trimble, who did enter the transfer portal back in the spring, did participate in the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas and was supposed to sign an Exhibit-10 contract with the Wiza

Tar Heel Story While Carolina is still working to finalize their non-conference schedule for the 2026-27 season, the preseason schedule took another step toward being set for the first year of the Michael Malone era. Earlier this summer, UNC announced it will travel to Indianapolis to take on the Indiana Hoosiers in late October. According to Inside Carolina and other sources close to the UNC Basketball program, UNC will play USC in Greensboro prior to making the trip to the

Tar Heel Stroy After reaching out to South Dakota transfer Cameron Fens last week, Michael Malone and the Tar Heels landed his commitment earlier on Friday to round out the roster for the 2026-27 season. Fens was one of the many college basketball players last week who was granted an extra year of eligibility after a Colorado judge granted an injunction in response to a lawsuit that was filed after the NCAA adopted the new 5 for 5 model, which begins this academic calendar. I

Kyle Ross- Imagn Images The quest to add a big man to the roster for the 2026-27 season hit an extra gear late last week, when a Colorado judge granted eligibility to student-athletes who had graduated after the 2026 academic year came to a close. That ruling came in response to the NCAA adopting the 5 for 5 model, allowing student-athletes the ability to play 5 seasons of collegiate sports in a 5-year timeline. That ruling has since been clarified, granting eligibility to pl

South Dakota Athletics On Friday night, Judge Charlotte N. Sweeney, from Colorado, issued a preliminary injunction, paving the way for student-athletes who were seniors in the 2026 academic year to be eligible for another season, after the NCAA adopted the new five-for-five model earlier this summer. While this ruling is going to send both college football and college basketball into a frenzy, trying to add talent to their respective rosters, some schools, like UNC, stand to

The Tar Heel Story With the roster all but set for next season, and the 2027 recruiting class taking form, the only thing left for Michael Malone to do this summer was to complete his coaching staff for next season, and it appears that he’s done just that, adding Jorge Sanz to his UNC bench, Sanz, who has spent the last eight seasons in Spokane, announced his departure from the Gonzaga program, where he served not only as an assistant, but as the Director of Basketball Operat

The Tar Heel Story After hosting Buffalo transfer guard Angelo Brizzi on an official visit earlier this summer, Brizzi has committed to North Carolina as a late addition to the basketball roster for the 2026-27 season. Brizzi, who was granted a hardship waiver by the NCAA, will play his sixth season of college basketball in Chapel Hill, after starting his career at Villanova, before making his way to Davidson and, most recently, Buffalo. Last year, Brizzi averaged 14.5 point

Greensboro Complex According to sources connected to both North Carolina and NC State, the Tar Heels and the Wolfpack are set to play a non-conference neutral site game at the Greensboro Coliseum in December. This is a response to the ACC only scheduling one game between the two longtime rivals for a second straight season, after the ACC opted to reduce its conference slate from 20 games, down to 18. Last year, Carolina lost the only game between the two programs in Raleigh,

@UNC_Basketball After not hearing his name in the first round of the 2026 NBA Draft, Henri Veesaar’s wait came to an end last night, after being drafted 52nd in the NBA Draft, by the Los Angeles Clippers, with the pick to be sent to the Atlanta Hawks. Entering the Draft, Veesaar was projected by many to be late first round selection, and after not going on Tuesday night, there was belief he’d be off the early in the second round, but that was not the case, as he was the 22nd

@ChicagoBulls For the 56th time, the North Carolina basketball program has produced an NBA first-round draft selection, after the Chicago Bulls drafted Caleb Wilson with the 4th overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft. Wilson, who spent just one season in Chapel Hill, landed with the team he was linked to the most during the NBA Draft pre-process, and becomes the third Tar Heel that the Bulls franchise has spent a first-round selection on to help turn them around, joining Michael

University of Buffalo Athletics The college basketball transfer portal is still open for business, and just when you thought that UNC had contacted its final player, a new transfer target emerged earlier this week. According to both Inside Carolina and Jamie Shaw of On3 Sports, Michael Malone and the UNC Basketball program have expressed interest in Buffalo guard Angelo Brizzi, who will seek to play a 6th season of college basketball after receiving a hardship waiver from the

@UNC_Basketball The non-conference schedule isn’t officially set, and neither is the roster for the 2026-27 season, but that doesn’t mean other happenings around the program can’t be finalized. Earlier today, it was announced that Carolina Basketball will take on the Indiana Hoosiers in a preseason exhibition on Sunday, October 18th, at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in downtown Indianapolis, at the home of the Indiana Pacers. This is the latest high-profile preseason exhibition that

GoHeels.com The 2026-27 non-conference schedule is still in the works, and it took a step towards being completed late last night, as the ACC/SEC Challenge matchups were revealed. According to Inside Carolina and confirmed by Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports, the Tar Heels will host the Arkansas Razorbacks in the fourth year of the event. Last year, Carolina won at Kentucky to improve to 2-1 in the ACC/SEC Challenge, with a previous win over Tennessee, coupled with a loss to Alaba

Oregon Ducks Athletics The Tar Heels still have one scholarship available before filling out the roster for the upcoming season, and a new transfer portal target has emerged, according to Inside Carolina. Per IC, the Carolina Basketball program has been in contact with Oregon transfer Wei Lin, who spent one season with the Ducks. In the 2025-26 season, Lin played in 30 games, making 30 starts, and he averaged 6.6 points, 0.9 rebounds, and 1.7 assists, while shooting 34% from

Draft Express After withdrawing from the NBA Draft late on Thursday night or early Friday morning, Greece’s Alexandros Samodurov has officially committed to Michael Malone and the UNC Basketball program, becoming the second international prospect to commit to Malone since he was hired back in April. Samodurov is a 6-11 big man from Greece, who has played professionally for Panathinaikos, where he played with current UNC guard Neoklis Avdalas, who transferred into the UNC prog

GoHeels.com As the Tar Heels are still working to complete their non-conference schedule for the 2026-27 season, the ACC league office dropped the opponents for the upcoming ACC slate, with dates and times to be announced at a later time. As a reminder, the league moved back to an 18-game slate as of last season, with each program only playing two teams, both home and away. With that in mind, here’s a breakdown of Carolina’s 2026-27 ACC schedule. Home & Away: The two schools

Shutterstock After an extensive process, Matt Able officially withdrew his name from the 2026 NBA Draft earlier today, paving the way to play for Michael Malone and the Tar Heels in 2026-27. Able, who transferred after one season at NC State, committed to UNC out of the transfer portal back in April, before signing with UNC earlier this month. But after a strong showing in the NBA Draft Combine, Able improved his draft stock, but was still projected as a second-round draft se

Robert Morris University Athletics The primary focus for the UNC roster is centered around Matt Able’s pending decision whether to play college basketball next season, or begin his NBA journey, and keep his name in the draft after a strong showing in the NBA combine. In addition to that, Carolina is also awaiting the decision of Alexandros Samodurov, who is expected to withdraw from the NBA Draft and sign with the Tar Heels, but nothing is official as of this moment. Michael

University of North Carolina Athletics It took some time, but Michael Malone finalized his staff for the 2026-27 season, after hiring former UNC national, Brandon Robinson, to the staff. This week alone, Malone has added Deon Thompson as a grad assistant and Bryan Tibaldi as a player development coach, but the addition of Robinson completes a staff consisting of Chuck Martin and former Tar Heels Sean May and Pat Sullivan. The hire was reported and confirmed by Inside Carolina