In one of the more least surprising moves of what has been a very busy off season so far, junior big man Sterling Manley announced on his social media that he will be transferring out of the Carolina Basketball program. Before he does transfer, Manley will graduate and earn his degree from Carolina.
Sterling on leaving UNC:
After missing all of last season recovering from a knee injury, Manley appeared in 3 games late this season, including the regular season finale against Duke, where he registered a dunk and a block. After a promising freshman season where he averaged over 5 points and 3 rebounds, injuries derailed what could have been a very promising career for Manley. Despite not being a major factor on the court for the last couple of seasons, Manley never lost the respect of the coaching staff, and his teammates, a testament to his commitment to the game, and the program.
As mentioned above, this has been a very busy off season for Carolina, having already lost Walker Kessler to transfer, and Day’Ron Sharpe to the NBA. Losing a trio of bigs for the first time since the 2017 national title run won’t be easy, as Carolina is still awaiting decisions from both Garrison Brooks and Armando Bacot. With the transfer portal going to be as active as it’s been since its inception, the Tar Heels figure to be a factor in finding experienced talent as they’ll look to rebuild their frontcourt.