The 2025-2026 season marks the fifth year for head coach Hubert Davis as the head coach of the North Carolina Tar Heels, and to say that it has been up and down would be an understatement. The first season under Davis, North Carolina was the National Runner-Up, then they missed the NCAA Tournament entirely.
In year three, it looked like coach Davis and the Tar Heels had turned a corner. North Carolina finished that year as a top seed in the NCAA Tournament only to lose in the Sweet 16. Then there was last year. The Tar Heels made the NCAA Tournament as one of the First Four teams, but many, including myself, didn't think they deserved to qualify.
In all, North Carolina has made the NCAA Tournament 3 out of the 4 seasons that Coach Davis has been the head coach. Although it hasn’t been pretty, especially last year, North Carolina has still been at the top of the sport for most of Coach Davis’ tenure.
Blue Blood programs will have expectations, regardless of the roster and the outcome of the previous season. North Carolina is a Blue Blood and will therefore have expectations every season. This year, like every year, the expectation is to play in the NCAA Tournament and compete for a National Championship. Anything else is unacceptable in Chapel Hill.
Is that a plausible goal this year? Everyone knows the name on that jersey means something, but with NIL and the transfer portal, will the Tar Heels still have enough to reach their goals and make a legitimate run to the NCAA Tournament? The talent will always be premier in Chapel Hill, but do you have faith in Coach Davis?
Starting Lineup
Caleb Wilson- Freshman- Center
Wilson comes to Chapel Hill expected to be one of the best freshmen in the country, and given that he was the Gatorade Player of the Year in Georgia, scoring over 1,800 points with over 1,100 rebounds in his high school career, he earned that distinction.
Wilson fills a significant area of need for North Carolina, and the best teams that coach Davis has had have featured elite big men. Wilson has the makings of the next one, but don’t get too attached to him because he will only be in college for a season, as Wilson is going to be a lottery pick.
Henri Veesar- Senior- Center
The Estonian big man spent the first three years of his career at Arizona and was one of the top transfers in the transfer portal in the offseason. Veesar wasn’t always a giant part of the offense at Arizona, but it wasn’t because of his lack of ability.
He was highly efficient from the shooting range, shooting 67% on two-point attempts last year. The Tar Heels are not going to need him to score 15 a game, but what they will need is for Veesar to bring his normal prowess on the defensive end. The big man was one of the best shot blockers in the Big 12 last year and can be a great rebounder. Veesar is an upgrade over every big man the Tar Heels had last season.
Jonathan Powell- Forward - Sophomore
It sounds wild, but Powell may have the highest ceiling of any player on North Carolina's roster. The wing is already one of the best shooters in the country, and he also happens to be one of the most explosive players in the country. Powell can take over a game and dominate on both ends of the floor.
The transfer from West Virginia showed flashes last year of his tremendously high ceiling. Powell is listed as a wing but will play a point forward role for North Carolina. Powell played 980 minutes last year and turned the ball over 18 times. He is going to handle the ball against pressure defenses and ensure the Tar Heels runs their offense effectively.
Seth Trimble- Senior-Guard
Trimble is the only returning starter from last season's NCAA Tournament team. It is hard to know what to expect of the guard as far as stats go. He is going to play a key role in every one of the wins and losses for the Tar Heels, will likely score in double figures, and will be one of the best glue guys in the game.
Trimble is one of the best drivers in the game. When he puts the ball on the floor, he is going to get to the rim and will either score or get fouled. He is going to be the one player on the floor for the Tar Heels who isn’t much of a threat from deep. His offensive game is limited but efficient, and the biggest thing he brings to the Tar Heels is elite leadership, as well as an understanding of both offensive and defensive schemes. He is the only player to play for Davis for four years on the roster.
Kyan Evans- Junior- Guard
The point guard had his breakout game against Memphis in the NCAA Tournament. Evans, while at Colorado State, had his career-high 23 points against the Tigers in the first-round upset and showed his ability to score from all three levels. Evans is going to need to be that player for North Carolina, but will also need to be the one who brings a calming presence to the offense.
Evans has more appeal than just his breakout game in the NCAA Tournament. He is one of the top three-point shooters in the country. At one stretch last season, he made 24 out of 40 threes, which is suitable for 60%. He set the Colorado State record in the game against Memphis with six threes. He will carry an offense for a while if he starts feeling it from downtown.
Reserves
Jarin Stevenson- Junior- Forward
The hometown kid returns home to try and win a championship at North Carolina after spending his first two seasons at Alabama. That should tell you everything you need to know about the big man. He is super athletic, can run the floor, and shoot from outside just like every other Alabama player for head coach Nate Oats.
Stevenson never truly got a lot of playing time for the Crimson Tide because there were other players better than him, and he doesn’t offer much on the defensive side of the ball. He is going to play for the Tar Heels and will stretch the floor, make some threes, a highlight reel dunk, and then rinse and repeat for the remainder of the season.
Jaydon Young - Junior- Guard
Young is another transfer, and looking at the transfers into the program, it's clear what Coach Davis was going for: to find as much shooting as possible. Young is a transfer from Virginia Tech, who took half of his shots from the three-point line in his two seasons and made 57 total in that time.
Young got some more run last year with Virginia Tech and scored 27 points and 26 points in back-to-back games. He did show that he has more of an arsenal than just three-point shots, but the Tar Heels are going to need him to come in and shoot threes and be a quality depth option for Coach Davis.
Derek Dixon- Freshman- Guard
The Tar Heels are always going to have freshmen who contribute right away, and Dixon is going to be one of those players. The reigning Gatorade Player of the Year in Washington, DC, was an elite shooter and stat stuffer in high school. His talent level is off the charts, and he is a prime candidate to work his way into a starter's role by the end of the season.
The guard can play multiple positions and will score and distribute from anywhere on the floor. He is another player with a high ceiling and extreme potential to become a superstar in the ACC if he stays for all four years.
Isaiah Denis - Freshman - Guard
If Denis hadn’t broken his finger in the middle of his senior year in basketball, he would have probably been in the McDonald's All-American game and would have been able to display his talents for all to see. I guess you will just have to take my word for it now. Denis is a kid who can score and will play all the guard positions.
Denis can pass and run the offense, serving as a pass-first point guard, or he can be a player who stands behind the three-point line and shoots, while also distributing the ball. Finally, he can play the off guard and just score. He will likely be asked to play a lot of point guard this year and will succeed at it.
Schedule Outlook
North Carolina considers itself a Blue Blood; it recruits like one and has won championships like the rest of the Blue Bloods in the country. So why not schedule like a Blue Blood? The non-conference schedule could be improved, but there will be some fantastic games against Kansas, Michigan State, and Kentucky.
The rest of the non-conference schedule features some buy games, a semi-challenging game against St. Bonaventure, and a game against Georgetown that would have been one of the best games on the college basketball schedule 10 years ago. This version of Georgetown likely won’t stand a chance against North Carolina. The final non-conference game is a neutral-site matchup against Ohio State, which should be a win for North Carolina. However, Ohio State typically performs well in the CBS Sports Classic.
ACC play is a gauntlet every year, and the Tar Heels are going to get their two games with Duke. The other double play in the league goes to Syracuse. The schedule will allow North Carolina to rack up a ton of wins in January and the beginning of February before playing Louisville, Clemson, and Duke at the end of the year. All things considered, it's a schedule that is good, not great, but will do plenty in the way of quality out-of-conference games for the NCAA Tournament committee to view as favorable. It isn’t likely that the Tar Heels will need that consideration anyway, given how I think the team will be this year.
Overall Outlook:
North Carolina and head coach Davis know how important last year was as a building block and start consistently winning. That should always be the goal, but over the last few months, that has not always been the case. It finally seems like Coach Davis has figured out what type of team he wants to have, and that is a team that is going to shoot a ton of threes, be dominant in the paint, and hold onto the ball. Those are all things that Championship teams are elite at.
The Tar Heels may have lost a ton of talent in the transfer portal, but they did a great job of replenishing that talent by adding a nice collection of talent from the transfer portal as well. The Tar Heels are going to have shooters, and this year will have more guys who can create their own shots on the offensive end. The biggest win for the coaching staff was that they addressed their most significant need in a big way.
It was no secret that North Carolina had no frontcourt last year, and it was their biggest weakness. This year, Coach Davis brought in an elite freshman and acquired one of the most athletic big men in the portal to help in the frontcourt, along with a stretch forward from Arizona. Those additions make North Carolina a lot better off this season.
How good will North Carolina be? I have them losing to Kansas and Kentucky and starting the year just outside the top 25. Tar Heel fans should take solace in knowing that I don’t think it will be a question this year if North Carolina makes the NCAA Tournament. I think they will make it and secure a single-digit seed as a result. Give me an overall record of 24-7 in the regular season.