UNC Basketball: Analyzing transfer targets Cormac Ryan, Harrison Ingram, Matthew Cleveland
Matthew Cleveland
Recent reports have noted Carolina’s interest in Florida State transfer Matthew Cleveland. The athletic guard toiled away on an uncharacteristically bad Leonard Hamilton team last year, but he has the ability to be a difference-maker wherever he goes.
The former five-star recruit hit one of the best shots of the season, a buzzer-beating three to win at eventual Final Four participant Miami. Oh, and he also did this:
And this:
Cleveland has the kind of high-flying athleticism that UNC hasn’t seen since the days of JP Tokoto (remember him?). At 6’7″, he’s yet another Carolina target with plus size for his position. The rising junior has the ability in the open court to rekindle the dormant Tar Heel fast break, and his length could allow him to defend multiple positions.
Cleveland won the ACC Sixth Man of the Year award as a freshman, then he drastically improved his outside shooting, free throw shooting, and rebounding as a sophomore. If he continues on that trajectory, he could easily make All-ACC as a junior.
It’s clear what Hubert Davis sees as the main needs for North Carolina. The Heels haven’t shot well from deep in recent years, but the commitments from Paxson Wojcik and Jae’Lyn Withers, and the potential addition of Cormac Ryan, could greatly improve that area of need.
Davis is trying to make the team more athletic with his pursuit of Harrison Ingram and Matthew Cleveland, and it’s no secret that he has targeted talented players that languished on bad teams last year, especially in the familiar confines of the ACC.
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Landing two out of the three players we’ve talked about today would be an enormous coup for the Tar Heels, showing that Hubert Davis is ready to fight in this new era of Portal Kombat. With so much riding on this coming season and a large portion of last season’s roster gone, what happens in the next few weeks will go a long way in determining Carolina’s fortunes for next year and beyond.