NCAA Basketball: Ranking of top 25 team frontcourts for 2023-24 season

3. North Carolina Tar Heels

One of the reasons why UNC had a preseason No. 1 ranking last season was the potential of pairing star center Armando Bacot with Northwestern transfer, Pete Nance. But Nance’s struggles also played a part in the team struggling overall, missing the postseason. Nance is gone, along with stout defender small forward, Leaky Black. Plus, several bench players such as Tyler Nickel, Will Shaver, Puff Johnson, and Dontrez Styles transferred out for more playing time.

The Heels did add a few key veterans from the portal to replace them. The big name is Harrison Ingram, a former five-star prospect and transfer from Stanford. He’s a double-digit scorer and ball-handler with great size and can play the small-ball four. Jae’lyn Withers averaged 8.9 ppg and shot 42% from three-point range, while James Okonkwo is a capable backup big from West Virginia.

The big name, of course, is Bacot. He still had great stats from last season, producing 15.9 ppg and 10.4 rpg. The 3-time All-ACC star had 17 double-doubles, including 23 points and 18 rebounds against NC State. With a new supporting cast, there’s a chance Bacot gets even better in his final year of eligibility.

Add Jalen Washington and four-star freshman Zayden High to the mix and this frontcourt has size, experience, shooting and an All-American caliber player to play off of. The pieces are there inside to have a bounce-back campaign but Ingram will be the key to that.