247Sports lists reason for optimism for UNC basketball in 2024-25

Here’s why you should be optimistic about the UNC basketball program for the 2024-25 season and beyond.

North Carolina’s 2023-24 season didn’t end the way the Tar Heels had hoped, bowing out as a No. 1 seed in the Sweet 16 to Alabama. But it was somewhat of a successful season in Chapel Hill for Hubert Davis and his staff.

A year after failing to reach the NCAA Tournament, North Carolina won the ACC regular season title and earned that No. 1 seed. They looked like a totally different program after some key transfer portal pickups. And now they are hoping to continue building off this season for the future.

As the college basketball season winds down on Monday, 247Sports revealed some reasons why big programs should be optimistic moving forward. That included North Carolina as Inside Carolina’s Adam Smith wrote:

“As for reasons for optimism, look no further than a year ago, when coach Hubert Davis oversaw a sweeping overhaul and extensive rebuild of UNC’s roster. Seven players from the 2022-23 team departed through the transfer portal, and two more players, both starters, moved after using up their college eligibility. Davis responded by adding five transfer pickups through the portal and two freshman newcomers (while also dealing with an incoming signee backing out of his national letter of intent days before he was due on campus). Ultimately, the results included an ACC regular-season title, No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament and ACC Coach of the Year recognition for Davis.

“He has proven himself a capable portal recruiter and effective roster constructor amid the challenges of today’s on-the-fly climate. Plus, Carolina always figures to stand as an attractive destination, particularly given its blue-blood status as a traditional power and lucrative NIL opportunities. Throw in point guard Elliot Cadeau, with a year of college experience under his belt and the arrival of a highly regarded recruiting class topped by five-star prospects Ian Jackson and Drake Powell, and the reasons for optimism — despite the question marks that can be prevalent at this time on the calendar — are there for the Tar Heels.” — Inside Carolina’s Adam Smith

This season was important for Davis. Another disaster of missing the NCAA Tournament surely would have put him on the hot seat. However, he showed that he can get the team back to playing at an elite level.

The recruiting as well as the transfer portal didn’t hurt either. Both have been bright spots for Daivs in his tenure as head coach of the program.

Now, the task ahead is to continue to find success and get his first title as head coach.

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