THBTHD #009
Happy spring, y’all. That collective exhale you heard last week was for the basketball transfer portal finally closing Tuesday. If you thought it was chaotic, you’re not imagining it.
2,499 players jumped ship this year — a full 45% of all players on rosters — according to Verbal Commits.
Let’s get to it…
1. The lead-off: On paper, are the Heels better next season?
Reed: Carolina continues filling out the roster and added another piece this week: VT’s Jaydon Young, a 6’4” guard.
He’s a Greensboro native who averaged 8.1 points last year for the Hokies — but he really came on late in the season and could have potential.
He also loves UNC and recently said he’s going to show everyone what it means to “be a Carolina player.” Gotta love that.
The question is, with all these new guys, is Carolina better than last season — on paper, at least?
Andy: It’s an interesting debate. On paper, I don’t think you can say next year’s roster is better.
UNC certainly added size, but it feels like a bit of an overcorrection with what now appears to be a lack of serviceable guards.
At this point. It’s certainly possible Carolina could add another player between the time we hit “Publish” on this post and it hitting your inbox.
Reed: I agree. On paper, this new roster does look inferior. Luckily, paper doesn’t play the games.
The roster turnover is a little alarming, though.
Andy: The Heels lost three five-star recruits (Ian Jackson, Drake Powell, and Elliot Cadeau) and have just one coming in (freshman Caleb Wilson). Most of the other new additions were four-star recruits.
But that may not matter. Florida was the first team in the modern era to win the championship without a single player ranked in the Top 100 coming out of high school.
Is that an insane anomaly, or will that become the norm in the age of unfettered free agency?
Reed: It could be. I’ve seen a lot of grumbling from former players suggesting today’s players lack loyalty and are only in it for the money.
The best college players may well be those who stick around multiple years and play for pride or the school or the love of the game, or whatever motivates them.
Having a multimillion-dollar superstar is no guarantee of anything. Just ask Duke.
Andy: For us, it’s going to have to be a situation where the whole is more than the sum of the parts. We saw that happen two years ago with the arrival of Harrison Ingram and Cormac Ryan.
The pieces need to fit together, and you have to find a vocal leader to keep the team together on the court.
One unanswered question will be whether adding a GM and a personnel department has improved the chances of successfully identifying the right transfer portal targets. We’ve seen wild successes (we miss you, Brady!) and wild misses from year to year.
Reed: I do think talent is only one small part of the equation. Last year’s team had a ton of it…and still ended up the way it did.
Winning does seem to boil down to a mysterious brew of intangibles that are just really difficult to shop for and predict.
We’ll just have to hope the recipe is right next year.
2. Your turn
3. News roundup
🇮🇪 UNC heading to Ireland: The 2026 season opener will now be played in Blarney instead of Texas, as originally scheduled.
"We have a globally recognized university and athletics program that exemplifies excellence in all we do," Chancellor Lee Roberts said.
Our take: If Belichick is coming off a decent first season, this spotlight game will only add to the hype. Does anyone have lodging recommendations?
👋 So long, Drake Powell: He entered his name into the NBA draft, though in most mocks, he doesn’t go until the mid-second round.
“This decision was nowhere near easy,” he said.
Our take: We really want the one and dones, but we really don’t want the one and dones. UNC needs a signature NBA star right now. Maybe Drake can become that.
💰 Heels among biggest spenders: Carolina is one of ten schools dropping $10 million in NIL on basketball next season, according to CBS.
Carolina joins Arkansas, BYU, Duke, Kentucky, Michigan, Indiana, Louisville, St. John’s and Texas Tech in the club.
Our take: Yay? I guess this is what has to be done now, but it won’t matter at all if the season doesn’t go well.
✈️ Ven-Allen Lubin enters portal: The forward says he fully intends to return to Carolina, but was only jumping into the portal due to “the complexities surrounding the possible approval of the pending NCAA settlement."
Word is he already had a contract for next season, so the decision is even more bizarre.
Our take: We’d rather everyone just be straight about what is going on: I want to play, and I want to get paid. We don’t blame the players for this, but just own up to it.
🤔 Ian Jackson to St. John’s: He’s set to join a Red Storm team that, according to some, already has a top transfer class. Seth Trimble liked the move, posting, “💰timeeeeee let’s get it my boy.”
One weird wrinkle: Rick Pitino announced on Twitter that Jackson represented the team’s “next great point.” Sorry, what?
Our take: It’s almost like the reverse Jarin Stevenson. When Pitino landed at St. John’s last year, most thought Jackson, a NYC native, would flip. It just happened a year later.
🏀 Andrej Stojaković still in the mix: According to some reports, UNC could possibly land the sharpshooter who averaged 18 points for Cal last year.
He recently visited Illinois, and it’s unclear where he’ll end up.
Our take: This feels like a player that would significantly raise the floor for next year’s team. Fingers crossed.
📧 Belichick’s girlfriend copied on emails: The coach wanted Jordan Hudson included on some program comms, according to the NY Times.
She apparently provided guidance on how to avoid nepotism charges against hiring Belichick’s son, as well as asking UNC to block users “harassing” the coach on message boards.
Our take: If she channels her penchant for attracting attention into trolling NC State fans, we’ll copy her on whatever emails she wants.
4. This week’s reason why Duke sucks
When we used to do the podcast, we’d end every episode with that week’s reason why Duke sucked. The tradition continues here.
Andy writes…
Dateline: March 30, 2025
Location: Upper East Side, Manhattan subway station
Event: 90 minutes before first pitch, Yankees vs. Brewers
I couldn’t help but snap a picture of this guy waiting on the platform for the train to Yankee Stadium.
Quite possibly the greatest day of his life was the day Marcus Stroman signed with the New York Yankees. The former Duke pitcher made it possible for front-runner fans to wear Duke gear with their pinstripes.
We guarantee that if you rip open that #7 jersey, you’ll find a Dallas Cowboys shirt underneath.
And let’s not overlook the shoes. If “Hey Dudes” weren’t already the quintessential “I’ve given up on life” footwear for men, cranking out a Duke version sealed the deal.
👊 Thanks for reading, and BTW, if you’ve got thoughts or comments, send them our way at thbthd@gmail.com.
🏈 Big congrats to Omarion Hampton, who the Chargers selected at #22. He may well start immediately as a rookie.
Go Heels!