NCAA Basketball: 10 early big winners from 2022 offseason

North Carolina Tar Heels

The Tar Heels aren’t on this list because of anything they’ve done in the portal. In fact, they haven’t landed anyone and lost bench guards, Kerwin Walton and Anthony Harris to the portal. So why are they an early winner to this point? Well, mainly because they haven’t lost anyone else.

Among the starting five that received around 95% of the minutes in the last month of the season, only power forward Brady Manek had no eligibility left. However, there was legit talk throughout the season that the other four were going to be around for one more year before going pro. However, after the surprising run to the national championship game, momentum turned in a positive way, with stars Caleb Love and Armando Bacot electing to return first.

Love averaged 15.9 ppg and 3.6 apg as the starting point guard alongside RJ Davis, who also is coming back as well. Bacot had a case to win ACC Player of the Year after putting up 16.3 ppg and 13.1 rpg as one of the best bigs in NCAA Basketball. And an underrated move is the additional return of Leaky Black, who doesn’t score much but is viewed as one of the best individual defenders in the sport.

Losing just one starter from a national title appearing team makes UNC a preseason favorite and clear early winner, going 4/4 in pro decisions. And the offseason isn’t over, as the power forward spot is still available for one of the better four-men in the portal. If they land Baylor transfer Brady Manek, the Heels could end up as a big winner overall.