UNC Basketball: The Tar Heels connected to multiple transfer portal

Armando Bacot’s expired eligibility means that Hubert Davis will have to do something he hasn’t had to do yet during his head coaching career: find his next starting big man. While Jalen Washington is still on the roster, Davis still needs to add depth to the position whether he becomes a starter or not. That is why he has been connected to two bigger names in the transfer portal: Arizona transfer Oumar Ballo, and Kentucky transfer Aaron Bradshaw.

Let’s start with Oumar Ballo: Davis and his staff have been in touch with the 7’0 big, and it sounds like a campus visit is expected to be announced soon.

Ballo was a starter for the Arizona Wildcats and helped lead them to the Sweet Sixteen before falling to Clemson. He averaged 12.9 points and 10.1 rebounds per game, with his best scoring performance (22 points) being against future ACC team Cal. Ballo isn’t a guy that is going to stretch the floor for whichever team he is on, but he is a strong bruiser that knows how to get to the rim at will. Should Davis go this route, he would have to make peace with another season of having a big that is unable to knock down shots from deep.

The other option, however, is Aaron Bradshaw, who is more capable of knocking down shots away from the rim than Ballo. Bradshaw had a less impressive season in comparison — he averaged 4.9 points and 3.3 rebounds per game — but he also only started in 10 games and was coming off of a foot surgery prior to the season starting. Here is what 247Sports director of scouting had to say about Bradshaw’s upside, per Inside Carolina:

“While he made an immediate impact upon returning in early December, he saw his role diminish as the season went on. … there is unfortunately now a pattern of underachieving, (but) what is debatable is how much of that is contextual, after playing on teams built around DJ Wagner throughout high school,” said Adam Finkelstein, 247Sports’ director of scouting. “What remains undeniable is that Bradshaw’s ceiling remains high if he ever fully commits himself to maximizing his potential. There just aren’t many seven-footers who can space the floor vertically with their shooting while simultaneously being able to protect the rim and move their feet laterally.”

It feels like at the end of the day, Hubert Davis can’t go wrong with either one of these options, but it really all depends on what he wants. Do you want a bigger, stronger big that can punish teams in the post, or do you want a more versatile player that can space the floor and give you more of a NBA-friendly skillset? Ballo on paper is more of a sure thing in terms of what UNC would be getting, but it’s hard to deny that Bradshaw has a ton of upside and could end up being a star in Chapel Hill. It’s likely that Davis is speaking with other bigs in the transfer portal as well, but I personally would be happy with either one of the current options.

What do you think of the latest names to be connected to UNC in the transfer portal? Which center would you rather join the 2024-25 roster? Let us know in the comments below.