UNC Basketball will have to replace the production from their top players this season. Could grad transfer Rayjon Tucker be the missing piece for a great 2019-20 campaign?
After winning 29 total games and making it to the Sweet 16, UNC Basketball will be undergoing some major changes this offseason. They’re guaranteed to lose their top three scorers to graduation (Luke Maye, Cameron Johnson, and Kenny Williams), while very likely to not have freshmen Coby White and Nassir Little to the NBA Draft. Both are projected to be mid-first round picks at worst and have already signed agents in the process.
That means that the Tar Heels will lose over 60% of their total production from this past season, as well as four of their five starters and top bench player. Only one player remains who scored over 5.0 ppg (Garrison Brooks) is coming back for 2019-20. That puts a lot of pressure on UNC Basketball to find a new set of players to keep them in contention for next season.
From the recruiting trail, Roy Williams has a five-star center in Armando Bacot arriving, solidifying the center position. Three-star point guard Jeremiah Francis will likely have to play a good amount of minutes out the gate as a freshmen as well. But there are still plenty of talent available that the team can take advantage of.
The transfer market continues to rise each day, nearing 1000 division-1 players likely to switch college programs. 98% of them probably aren’t good enough to play for the Tar Heels but there are still a few who could make an immediate impact at a high level.
One of them is Rayjon Tucker, a grad transfer from Little Rock, a school from the Sun Belt. The 6’5 guard averaged 20.3 ppg and 6.7 rpg in nearly 37 mpg this past season. He was very efficent from the field, making nearly half of his total shots and over 40% from three-point range. Tucker scored in double figures in all but one game and had a career-high 36 points against Louisiana.
With how many players are expected to leave at season’s end, it makes sense for Roy Williams to reach out to Little Rock grad transfer Rayjon Tucker. 6-5 wing that can shoot it (2.4 3PG on 41.1 3P%). #UNC https://t.co/wvxfsULp4N
— Trevor William Marks (@twmarks_) March 27, 2019
This is an interesting prospect that the Tar Heels are considering. Many power conference teams are looking to add him for next year but UNC appear to be the favorite for the Charlotte native. He only has one real season of data, since he transferred from Florida Gulf Coast after playing two seasons off the bench. There are plenty of previous mid-major grad transfers such as Matt Mooney who have been great successes, while other 20+ ppg scorers flamed out versus tough competition.
But still, this is a good risk for UNC Basketball to take. With Bacot and the other returning bigs, the frontcourt situation will be just fine. And if they can land Cole Anthony, considered to be the top point guard from the 2019 class and predicted to go to UNC, the Tar Heels will be find in the backcourt. But without Johnson and Little, they’ll need wings to replace them. Tucker is a perfect player who fits into the Tar Heels system and will have a better supporting cast to work with.
Tucker might not be suited to be a top offensive option for a top-25 UNC Basketball team but with Bacot and Anthony (potentially) that won’t be an issue. It’s hard to see better options for the Tar Heels so they better land this talented grad transfer. As for Tucker, it would be a great ending for a player who started on the bench at Florida Gulf Coast.