UNC men's basketball transfer portal: 3 reasons why Hubert Davis' latest additions aren't enough to challenge Duke for ACC title

North Carolina looks to bounce back from its up-and-down 2024-25 season, where they fell in the first round of the NCAA Tournament to Ole Miss.

RJ Davis bade farewell to Chapel Hill after playing five seasons with the Tar Heels. They also lost Elliot Cadeau, Ven-Allen Lubin, Ian Jackson, Cade Tyson, Jalen Washington and Jae'lyn Withers to the transfer portal. At the same time, Drake Powell decided to stay in the NBA draft.

All is still well with North Carolina despite the departures. Seth Trimble and James Brown are returning for another season and the Tar Heels coaching staff, led by coach Hubert Davis, stepped up on recruiting players from the transfer portal and incoming high school players.

They received commitments from five-star recruit Caleb Wilson and four-star standouts Derek Dixon and Isaiah Denis. UNC also doubled up on the transfer portal, acquiring 7-foot Estonian center Henri Veesaar, Alabama power forward Jarin Stevenson, Colorado State transfer Kyan Evans, combo guard Jaydon Young and shooting guard Jonathan Powell.

There are still some scholarship spots remaining for the Tar Heels, which they can use to recruit quality players to bolster the roster.

As things stand, the current lineup isn't enough to challenge Duke for the ACC title. Here are the three reasons why the Tar Heels' roster won't beat the Blue Devils in the 2025-26 season.

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3 reasons why UNC's latest additions aren't enough to challenge Duke for the ACC title

#1. On paper, UNC's lineup can't limit Duke's explosive bunch

North Carolina's current lineup is no match for Duke's talented bunch, consisting of five-star recruits Cameron Boozer, Dame Sarr and Nicholas Khamenia. They'll also have Sebastian Wilkins and Cayden Boozer in the roster to complement returnees Caleb Foster, Isaiah Evans and Patrick Ngongba II.

Tar Heels freshmen stars Caleb Wilson, Derek Dixon and Isaiah Denis will have their hands full against the feared Blue Devils retooled roster that ranks among the top teams in the way-too-early rankings. They're set to have transfer recruits Henri Veesaar and Jarin Stevenson manning the frontline, but it won't be enough to stop the first-year players Jon Scheyer has on his disposal.

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#2. UNC transfer recruits were complementary players

The five transfer players North Carolina recruited this offseason were mostly role players who'll just give a few contributions in crucial rivalry games. This means that they couldn't be counted on in major competitions that require more than their 100% efforts to win.

Henri Veesaar started mostly off the bench with Arizona last season and averaged 9.4 points, 5.0 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.1 blocks per game. Unless he underwent drastic improvements during the offseason, Veesaar would just be one of those players who fell victim to the dominant force that is Duke.

Jarin Stevenson started in 27 of his 74 games with Alabama and only produced 5.3 ppg and 3.4 rpg in 17.8 minutes of playing time. He was only a second fiddle to power forward Grant Nelson under the Crimson Tide's lineup.

Of the three guards, only Kyan Evans played significant minutes for Colorado State and produced great numbers of 10.6 ppg, 2.9 rpg and 3.1 apg in 36 games. Jaydon Young started in 10 of 32 games for Virginia Tech and struggled mightily on the field, making 34.7% of his shots last season.

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#3. UNC's coaching staff seems to rely more on old guards rather than trusting their new acquisitions

Sometimes, the spark comes from players you won't expect to produce in one game. Last season, overreliance on veteran players cost North Carolina some important games that could've boosted its seeding in the NCAA Tournament.

Of the freshmen who played in the three games against the Blue Devils, only Drake Powell has logged significant minutes for Hubert Davis' men, playing an average of 33.6 minutes.

On the other hand, Ian Jackson was relegated more to the bench, as he played a combined 31 minutes in the last two games, which was a far cry from the 30 minutes he suited up in the first game against their storied foe. James Brown only played a measly two minutes in the three-game series against Duke last season.

The three losses against Duke in the 2024-25 season were more of not trusting the freshmen to work their magic on the court. If the coaching staff again places the brunt of the responsibility on its old reliables, chances are they would lose to the Blue Devils once again this season.