CBSsport News: UNC Women’s Basketball: Rylee Grays Has enter her name in the transfer portal.
After seeing very little playing time as a freshman, Rylee Grays has elected to enter her name in the transfer portal.
We didn’t see much of Rylee Grays during her freshman season, but it appears as if she’s set to depart the UNC women’s basketball program this offseason.
Grays has entered her name into the transfer portal, according to Talia Goodman. She becomes the fifth UNC women’s basketball player to enter the transfer portal, joining underclassmen Paulina Paris and Teonni Key along with fifth-year seniors Anya Poole and Alexandra Zelaya (who have an extra season of eligibility but were expected to pursue other opportunities elsewhere).
Appearing in just five games this season, Grays played a season-high seven minutes and recorded four points against Western Carolina on December 15. From that point on, Grays didn’t see much action, as she made one appearance that lasted less than a minute.
Assuming that all the remaining underclassmen (along with graduate student Lexi Donarski) return, the UNC women’s basketball program will have five scholarships to work with. The pending decisions of potential fifth-year players Deja Kelly and Alyssa Ustby will also have major implications on next season’s roster.
This is the current world of college basketball, as plenty of teams across the country are dealing with roster movement. For Courtney Banghart and the UNC women’s basketball program, the goal is to add additional talent to build the best possible roster for the 2024-2025 season, as the goal is to once again be a competitive squad come NCAA Tournament time.
Let’s see what Banghart and her staff have up their sleeves as they look to build their roster for next season.
Our UNC Basketball 2023-2024 season in review begins with Elliot Cadeau, a very talented freshman who has plenty of room to grow.
The 2023-2024 UNC basketball season has come to a close, as it’s now time to take a closer look at the individual performances of the Tar Heels who could potentially be back for the 2024-2025 season.
We’ll start with freshman Elliot Cadeau, a five-star prospect who joined the Tar Heels a season earlier than anticipated. As is the case with most freshman who are tasked with a significant amount of responsibility on the court, the New Jersey native had his ups and downs, but there’s no question that he has the talent to be a very good player at North Carolina.
We all knew COVID was gonna be a game changer, and we’re still experiencing the ripple effects. One of those new norms is that players transferring in and out of college basketball programs is an ever-evolving labyrinth that coaches and fans will have to continue to navigate for the foreseeable future.
Hence, we give you the inaugural Transfer of the Year award.
First, the nominees.
James Okonkwo stayed buried deep on the bench all season, played very limited minutes, and recently entered the transfer portal.
Paxson Wojcik entering any game caused fans’ faces to cringe and teeth to grind, but he did manage a few moments of collective exhalation.
From the ashes of last season’s Louisville season rose the phoenix that is Jae’Lyn Withers. One of the biggest contributors from the refurbished and oft-utilized Tar Heel bench, Withers provided a spark and was more than just a guy. With the second-most bench minutes played behind Seth Trimble, he made multiple key and timely plays that led to or solidified UNC victories. Unfortunately he also made as many poor decisions and inconvenient turnovers that made fans groan (still too soon to mention that ill-advised three point attempt at the end of the Alabama game?). Every time you started to fall for Jae’Lyn, you became Nic Cage in Moonstruck.
Then there’s Cormac Ryan. Any other year, the fiery Irishman from New York would probably be your winner, averaging 11.5 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 1.2 assists per game. He went nuclear against Duke in part two of the Devil sweep with 31 points on 6-8 shooting from deep. An extremely streaky shooter, Cormac finished at 35.4% from behind the arc. When he was on he was really freaking good, but when he was off it was ugly. Still, look no further than Ryan’s comments supporting RJ after his disappointing performance in the Alabama postgame presser to see just what an outstanding teammate this guy is. A very close first runner-up.
The Transfer of the Year, however, must go to Harrison Ingram. Since the very start of the season, it was apparent that the junior transfer from Stanford was going to have a significant impact on this team. Harrison was less boom-or-bust than Cormac. That consistency was relied upon night in and night out and tips the scales in Harrison’s favor.
One game that stands out: in part one of the double-trouble-for-Duke domination, on a night where RJ, Cormac, and Cadeau all had shooting struggles in the Dean Dome, Ingram delivered 21 points and 13 rebounds. His season-high of 22 points also came against NC State in Chapel Hill.
Harrison’s positive attitude was infectious. His motor and intensity in defending and diving for loose balls and generally playing with maximum effort invigorated this team throughout the season; an intangible characteristic that was sorely missed last year.
Even in the games in which his shot wasn’t falling, Ingram persistently and repeatedly found ways to influence the contest in Carolina’s favor, to the extent that you never wanted to see him come out of the game. His energy was that valuable.
Harrison finished the season at 12.2 points per game, 8.8 rebounds (including a season high of 19 vs. the Wolfpack in Raleigh), 2.2 assists, and 1.4 steals, with a FG% of 43.0 and 3P% of 38.5. Too bad there’s no stat line for hustle and heart.
