Insider Jon Rothstein breaks down why Hubert Davis' 2025-26 UNC is "polar opposite" from the squad last season 

The North Carolina Tar Heels under coach Hubert Davis barely scraped into the 2025 NCAA Tournament after a mixed regular season and ACC Tournament. The Tar Heels were knocked out of the Big Dance in the second round after finishing last season with a 23-14 record.

The Tar Heels also had a huge roster turnover with stars like R.J. Davis and Drake Powell departing for the NBA via the draft, while former five-star recruit Ian Jackson entered the transfer portal and joined the St. John's Red Storm, forcing a rebuild in Chapel Hill.

Ahead of next season, North Carolina landed the commitment of five-star forward Caleb Wilson. During a segment of Inside College Basketball, CBS analyst Jon Rothstein hailed the rebuilding effort by Hubert Davis that has addressed the Tar Heels' weaknesses from last season.

"It feels like a polar opposite from last season," Rothstein said. "Last year, the Tar Heels were a perimeter-heavy team — RJ Davis, Elliott Cadeau, Ian Jackson, Seth Trimble. The real knock on North Carolina was that they didn’t have a consistent low-post presence, either on the glass or in the half-court offensively. There was no Armando Bacot.

"There wasn’t anybody who could get the ball and finish down low. Now, it feels like you have the polar opposite. I look at North Carolina, and I look at the strength of this team, and I think it’s up front. Jarin Stevenson, a transfer from Alabama. Caleb Wilson, a five-star freshman power forward. And also Henri Veesaar, a transfer from Arizona. There is a real, real element of depth up front."

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Hubert Davis addresses UNC's offseason focus

Highly regarded freshman Caleb Wilson will headline North Carolina's freshman class that includes Isaiah Denis and Derek Dixon.

While speaking to reporters last week, the embattled Hubert Davis addressed how he was helping the new recruits to bed in and his team's focus during the offseason.

"Offseason is the offseason, but summer school, individual workouts, team practices, and spending a ton of time with the players," Hubert Davis said.

"Getting on the court with them, individual workouts like I talked about. Skill development is huge for us, and we want each one of our players to continue to get better and better. I mean, that's the fun part. That's all we've been doing all summer."

The Tar Heels also added five transfer portal prospects, including Arizona’s Henri Veesaar, Alabama’s Jarin Stevenson, Colorado State’s Kyan Evans, Virginia Tech’s Jaydon Young and West Virginia’s Jonathan Powell, while Luka Bogavac is an international prospect who played for SC Derby in the ABA League.