UNC Basketball: Analyzing transfer targets Cormac Ryan, Harrison Ingram, Matthew Cleveland

Cormac Ryan

With Micah Shrewsberry taking over for Mike Brey at Notre Dame, it’s a new era in South Bend. This has led to a mass exodus of players, but there are two the Tar Heels have their eye on. One is incoming freshman Brady Dunlap, who has re-opened his recruitment and included the Tar Heels in his final five choices.

We’re talking about transfers, though, and on that end, former Fighting Irish..man (what’s the correct term here? It’s not easy to know when your team is named after an entire pugilistic nationality) Cormac Ryan makes a lot of sense for Carolina.

Though Ryan’s shooting dipped last year in an expanded role, he won’t be asked to carry the load with RJ Davis and Armando Bacot already on the roster. The 6’5″ graduate transfer shot over 40% from three in his junior year, and it’s his ability to spot up and knock down shots that has Carolina fans intrigued.

Carolina’s inability to shoot the ball from deep has been puzzling during the Hubert Davis era, especially given the head coach’s marksmanship during his playing days. Adding Ryan would provide an established outside threat to complement the playmaking of Davis and the low post-game of Bacot.

Ryan is one of those players that brings things to the table but doesn’t take anything off it. In addition to his outside shooting ability, he shoots over 80% from the free throw line and rarely turns the ball over. He was asked to do too much on a bad Notre Dame team last year, but could be an ideal third or fourth option in Chapel Hill.

Playing in the ACC has given Ryan plenty of exposure to UNC. Will that make a difference in his decision?