Sports
UNC basketball: Which Tar Heels will, won't be returning in 2023-24? – The Fayetteville Observer
With the NCAA Tournament now in the rear view mirror, college basketball’s transfer portal has filled up over the last four weeks. And on the final day of its opening, one final North Carolina basketball player jumped in.
Following a season that saw the Tar Heels (20-13) go from preseason No. 1 to becoming the first top-ranked team to miss March Madness since the field expanded in 1985, changes are coming in Chapel Hill.
UNC announced the end of its season after the NCAA Tournament bracket was released, deciding not to play in the NIT. In all, six players have been reported to have entered the portal from the 2022-23 roster. The Tar Heels have also made an addition from the portal.
Here’s a look at who has announced they will enter the portal, with the latest announcements at the top of the list, and players who will join the Tar Heels from the portal.
The Fayetteville native entered the portal on May 11, the final day players could announce their ability to change schools ahead of the 2023-24 season.
The 6-foot-5 guard played in 50 games for the Tar Heels over two seasons, but never started. This past season, he averaged 10.3 minutes and 2.7 points per game and shot 12-for-37 (32.4 percent) from 3-point range. The Arizona native moved to North Carolina in 2019 ahead of his final two years of high school.
This past season’s leading scorer (16.7 ppg), Love announced on social media on Monday, March 27, that he had decided to enter the transfer portal, becoming the sixth Tar Heel to do so this offseason.
Love was a hero of the Tar Heel’s unforgettable 2021-22 season, responsible for a game-winning 3-pointer that eliminated Duke in the Final Four in Coach Mike Krzyzewski’s last game.
A redshirt freshman from Birmingham, Alabama, Shaver entered the portal on March 25, according to a report from VerbalCommits.
Shaver practiced and dressed out in the second half of the 2021-22 season but did not play in a game, and only appeared in three games this season, scoring two points against Alabama and playing five minutes against The Citadel in December.
The 6-foot-8 junior announced March 22 via his Instagram account that he will enter the transfer portal. Johnson averaged 4.1 points and 2.7 rebounds this past season as the team’s top bench player with an average of 15.9 minutes per game. He was hindered by injuries in his three seasons, missing more than 30 games.
The 6-foot-6 Kinston native played sparingly in two seasons with the Tar Heels. The sophomore is best known for his contributions in the 2022 NCAA Tournament as a freshman. Styles averaged 7.5 points and 4.5 rebounds in 19.5 minutes against Marquette and Baylor in March Madness. He averaged 1.4 points per game in two seasons, appearing in 30 games as a freshman before playing 15 as a sophomore.
The 6-foot-7 freshman wing appeared in 25 games, averaging 2.1 points and 0.6 rebounds per game. The Virginia native flashed potential with a career-high 16 points against The Citadel in December. Overall, Nickel played 152 minutes as a Tar Heel. He is the Virginia High School League’s all-time leading scorer with 2,909 points in 102 games.
A senior who spent two seasons at UNC after making the move from ACC foe Virginia, the 6-foot-8 Raleigh native will use his bonus COVID season elsewhere. McKoy averaged 1.2 points and 1.3 rebounds in 6.6 minutes per game in two seasons with the Tar Heels. He played in 41 games, including 11 in 2022-23.
The 6-7, 230-pound wing who averaged 10.5 points, 6.2 rebounds and 3.4 assists in two seasons at Stanford is a former McDonald’s All-American.
A 6-5 wing from Charleston, South Carolina, Wojcik averaged 14.9 points, 7.2 rebounds and 3.2 assists last season at Brown.
He can help the Tar Heels in an area of need: 3-point shooting. Wojcik, who played two seasons at Loyola-Chicago before playing two more at Brown, is a career 36.4% 3-point shooter.
After three seasons at Louisville, 6-foot-9 forward Jae’Lyn Withers is coming to Carolina. He averaged 8.9 points and 5.3 rebounds last season
Ryan began his career at Stanford and spent the last three seasons at Notre Dame, averaging a career-high 12.3 points last year.
Staff writer Rodd Baxley can be reached at rbaxley@fayobserver.com or @RoddBaxley on Twitter.
