Heel Tough Blog: UNC Secures In-Home Visit With Top Transfer Guard
- Joshua Marlow
- 17 hours ago
- 2 min read
On a day filled with a lot of news around the Carolina Basketball program, in regards to the current and future roster, the biggest news came down late on Saturday night, as Inside Carolina was able to confirm that head coach Michael Malone is slated to meet with Wake Forest transfer, Juke Harris. This comes after Harris traveled to meet with Michigan on Saturday, the same day that the Wolverines celebrated their 2026 NCAA Tournament title. In addition to Michigan, there’s been a lot of interest in Harris from ACC rival NC State, as well as Rick Barnes and the Tennessee Volunteers. The meeting with Malone and Carolina will be an in-home visit, a sign that the Tar Heels might be a legit player for Harris, who is coming off a big sophomore season.
Harris started all 35 games for Wake Forest and averaged 21.4 points per game, along with 6.5 rebounds and 1.9 assists, on his way to earning 2025-26 All-ACC honors, as well as being named the 2025-26 Most Improved Player in the league. At 6-7, and a native of Salisbury, you have to imagine he grew up having hopes and dreams of playing for a program like North Carolina, and now that might be a real opportunity for him. In Wake’s loss to UNC in January, Harris scored 28 points, on 10-18 shooting, including going 5-12 from behind the arc. The 28 points were the fourth most he’d score in an ACC game last season.
According to 237Sports, Harris is ranked as the No. 6 overall player in the transfer portal, but is considered to be the top combo-guard in this year’s transfer portal cycle. On3 ranks Harris as the No. 3 player available in the portal.
Here is how Eric Bossi, the National Basketball Scouting Director, evaluated Harris back as a high school prospect in 2023: “Harris' strength is attacking off the dribble, and he's adept at using his size, ability to change directions, and creativity to get where he wants to go on the offensive side of the floor. While his bread and butter is getting by defenders, into the paint, and making things happen around the rim, he's got more to his game than just attacking off the dribble. Harris is able to keep opposing defenders off balance with his ability to make jumpers. He's not somebody that would be classified as a pure jump shooter, but he is a shot maker, and he's got a deep bag of tricks that he uses to free himself to score. Yes, he's most comfortable pulling up for shots off the bounce. But he's getting much better at moving off of the ball and reading defenses. Additionally, he's a willing passer with a feel for finding teammates in open spots.”
The Four Corners Podcast: