Tag: Pete Nance

Four former UNC basketball standouts cut from NBA rosters over the weekend

Which Tar Heels failed to avoid their former NBA teams’ latest round of roster cuts?

The North Carolina Tar Heels are one of the nation’s greatest college basketball programs, having won six NCAA championships, plus nearly 70 combined ACC regular-season and tournament titles.

As a result of UNC’s success, the country’s top players want to play in Chapel Hill. North Carolina has put some of that recent talent into the NBA, such as Harrison Ingram earning the San Antonio Spurs’ final roster spot this season.

Some other recent former Tar Heels were not as fortunate as Ingram, though.

On Oct. 19, former UNC standouts Armando Bacot, Cormac Ryan, Nassir Little and Pete Nance were waived by their respective NBA teams.

In a sports world that has an extremely difficult nature of business, NBA teams needed to trim their rosters – by 4 p.m. Saturday – to avoid salary cap hits.

Bacot, who is North Carolina’s all-time leader in rebounds (1,715) and double-doubles (87), was waived from his Exhibit 10 contract with the Memphis Grizzles. Bacot played with the Utah Jazz in summer league action.

Ryan, who transferred from Notre Dame to Chapel Hill for his final season of college basketball last year, was waived from his Exhibit 10 contract with the Oklahoma City Thunder. Ryan averaged 11.5 points per game and shot a hair better than 35% from 3-point land.

Little, the Portland Trail Blazers’ first-round pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, was waived by the Miami Heat. Little started 36 of 237 regular-season games in his first five professional seasons, averaging 5.5 points and 2.9 rebounds per game.

Nance, who never lived up to his hype as Brady Manek’s “replacement” during the Tar Heels’ 2022-2023 campaign, was waived by the Cleveland Cavaliers. Nance played eight NBA games in his rookie season, averaging 0.4 points and rebounds per clash.

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Former UNC basketball transfer Pete Nance impressing Cavaliers

Former UNC basketball transfer Pete Nance has been on the coach’s radar this season. What are the chances he makes the Cleveland Cavaliers roster?

Pete Nance transferred into UNC basketball from Northwestern in the offseason three years ago for his last year of college basketball. During that season, Nance averaged 10.0 points per game coming off the bench.

He also added 6.0 rebounds, 1.7 assists, and 1.1 blocks per game as well. He ended up going undrafted in the 2023 NBA Draft before joining the Cleveland Cavaliers for the 2023 NBA Summer League.

He ended up signing with the Cleveland Charge of the G-League after being released. Early this year, he signed a two-way contract with Cleveland. During a 10-day contract with Cleveland last year, he played in eight games averaging 3.4 minutes per game.

He once again took part in the 2024 NBA Summer League with the Cavaliers. This time, he averaged 11.6 points, 5.6 rebounds, 1.4 blocks, and 1.4 assists per game. He also shot almost 35% from behind the arc.

Commenting on his performance, Nance said, “I have made a lot of strides, but I am nowhere near where I want to be. I have to continue to get better and keep working hard.”

Cleveland also added Jaylon Tyson in the first round of the NBA Draft this offseason with the 20th overall pick out of California. He averaged 19.6 points per game in college.

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Pete Nance earns two-way contract with Cleveland Cavaliers

Former UNC basketball forward Pete Nance has signed a two-way deal with the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday.

Former North Carolina Tar Heels forward Pete Nance has earned another shot in the NBA.

On Monday, the Cleveland Cavaliers signed Nance to a two-way contract with president of basketball operations Koby Altman announcing the agreement. Nance has spent most of his first season professionally with the  Cleveland Charge of the G-League but did have a stint last month with the Cavaliers on a 10-day contract.

He played in two games during that span.

With the Charge, Nance has started in 24 of the 29 games he’s appeared in, averaging 13.6 points, 7.8 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.3 blocks in 31.5 minutes per game. Nance signed the two-way contract on his birthday.

Nance spent four years at Northwestern before transferring to North Carolina for his fifth and final year.

He’s an Ohio native who also saw his dad and brother play for the Cavaliers, the team he grew up rooting for. If Nance can take advantage of this opportunity, he could potentially earn a bench spot for a team that is heading to the playoffs in the Eastern Conference.

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Pete Nance Jr. continuing family ties, signs 10-day contract with Cavs

Pete Nance averaged 10 points and six rebounds per game during his lone season at UNC. He is now officially on an NBA roster – who with?

The Cleveland Cavaliers are one of the NBA’s bright, young and talented teams.

Led by All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell and shot blocking maestro Jarrett Allen, Cleveland sits at fourth in the Eastern Conference standings. The Cavs are behind the Boston Celtics (top seed), Milwaukee Bucks (second) and Philadelphia 76ers, who are all NBA finals contenders.

Most people might know the Cavs for LeBron James, who’s in every G.O.A.T argument with former UNC superstar Michael Jordan.

What basketball fans might not know, though, is Cleveland has deep family ties.

Those family ties include newly-signed Pete Nance, the former Tar Heel who – on Tuesday, Jan. 16 – signed a 10-day contract.

If this transaction sounds familiar, it’s because it does. Nance originally signed with Cleveland on Sept. 13 last year – after going undrafted in the 2023 NBA Draft. His play with the Cleveland Charge (13.3 points, 7.8 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game), the Cavs’ G-League affiliate, earned him a trial run in the big leagues.

Basketball fans might recognize Pete’s older brother, Larry Jr. Larry was drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers in 2015, spent 2017-2021 with the Cavs, played a season in Portland (Ore.) and is now in Year 3 with the New Orleans Pelicans.

Larry Sr., the eldest Nance, has enjoyed the most successful NBA career so far. He was a 3-time All-Star, a 1989 member of the NBA’s All-Defensive First Team, a Slam Dunk Contest Champion and – his greatest honor of all – having his number 22 retired by Cleveland.

Pete had a lot of high expectations coming into Chapel Hill, with many hoping he’d step in right away and replace Brady Manek’s production. Nance played solid basketball, averaging 10 points and six rebounds per game, but he failed to live up to his lofty expectations.

Here’s to a successful NBA career for the youngest Nance!

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Report: Cavaliers to sign undrafted forward Pete Nance to 10-day contract

Cleveland Charge forward Pete Nance has reportedly agreed to sign a 10-day contract with the Cavaliers.

Cleveland Charge forward Pete Nance has reportedly agreed to a 10-day contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

Nance, the son of Larry Nance and brother of Larry Nance Jr., went undrafted out of North Carolina last year after playing five seasons in college. He played with the Cavaliers in the summer league and was with the team in training camp before moving to the G League.

The 23-year-old becomes the third player from the family to play with the Cavaliers. Larry Nance logged 433 appearances across seven seasons from 1987-1994 and Larry Nance Jr. played in 182 games in four seasons from 2017-2021.

The Cavaliers needed to sign an additional player to the roster by Thursday to reach the league minimum of 14 players after reaching a buyout agreement with Ricky Rubio on Jan. 4. Nance is eligible to be with the team for the longer of 10 days or three games.

Nance is averaging 13.3 points, 7.8 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.5 blocked shots on 35.6% shooting from 3-point range in 22 games with the Charge. He has registered six 20-point games, including a career-high 29 points on Dec. 14.

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Pete Nance is officially a Cleveland Cavailer

Pete Nance, the starting power forward on last year’s UNC basketball team, signed with the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday, Sept. 13.

When the UNC men’s basketball team landed Northwestern transfer Pete Nance in the portal, it was expected he’d be able to step in immediately and replace Brady Manek’s production.

Nance came into Chapel Hill before the 2022-2023 campaign, one that had high hopes after a NCAA Championship Game appearance the year before. The youngest Nance would be playing alongside returners Caleb Love, R.J. Davis, Leaky Black and Armando Bacot.

Nance played stellar basketball during his one season in baby blue, averaging 10 points and six rebounds per game. Those weren’t quite the numbers fans were hoping for, especially for the transfer portal’s top player.

It’s safe to say professional basketball is off to a better start for the youngest Nance, who signed a contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2023.

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Nance will officially be joining a talented, young roster expected to be among the NBA’s best in the Eastern Conference. Cleveland sports a starting lineup of Darius Garland, Donovan Mitchell, Max Strus (acquired in offseason), Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen, while having talented veterans like Caris LeVert and Ricky Rubio on the second unit.

There’s no telling what position Nance will play when he takes the court, but you can bet on either power forward or center.

The most unique component of Nance’s signing is the family connection. His older brother, Larry Jr. (2017-2021) and dad, Larry (1988-1994), both spent several years in Cleveland.

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Pete Nance is an NBA Summer League champion

Pete Nance, a couple months’ removed from his lone season at UNC, helped the Cleveland Cavaliers with the NBA Summer League title.

When the UNC men’s basketball program brought in highly-touted Northwestern transfer Pete Nance ahead of the 2022-2023 campaign, there was a lot of hope and expectation he’d replace the production of Brady Manek from a season ago.

Manek was an integral part of the Tar Heels’ scoring attack, averaging 15.1 points per game and shooting a scorching .403 from downtown, while helping them to the 2022 NCAA Tournament Championship Game.

Though Nance didn’t live up to the hype as the top available transfer on last year’s market, he averaged 10 points per game, shot 82 percent from the free throw line and grabbed 180 rebounds.

His final college season was good enough for one team – the Cleveland Cavaliers – to give him a chance in the NBA Summer League. Cleveland is the same team his dad, Larry Nance and old brother, Larry Nance Jr., played for

Nance emerged from Summer League with the one thing he hoped to accomplish at Carolina – a champion.

On Monday, July 17, Nance helped the Cavs secure the Summer League title with a 99-78 win over the Houston Rockets, another promising, young team with lots of recently-drafted talent. This victory was a cap on a perfect summer campaign, as Cleveland finished its brief slate 6-0.

Nance didn’t play much in the victory, but he made his impact felt in limited minutes, scoring two points and adding four rebounds, three assists and two blocks.

According to FanSided, Nance saw anywhere from 17-27 minutes per game.

Though the Cavs have a plethora of talent on their roster – Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland, Evan and Isaiah Mobley, Jarrett Allen and Max Strus, to name a few guy, Nance’s brief summer league stint could be enough for him to stay in Cleveland.

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Pete Nance shines in Cleveland Cavaliers’ Summer League win

Former Tar Heel Pete Nance continues to shine for the Cleveland Cavaliers Summer League team.

Former Tar Heel [autotag]Pete Nance[/autotag] must have had some Oreos before he laced up for the Cavaliers on Monday, shining in Cleveland Summer League win against Memphis.

Nance finished with 9 points on 4 for 6 shooting in 16 minutes of action. The performance comes a day after Nance contributed 11 points, 5 rebounds, and one block in the 99-77 win over the Toronto Raptors.

The former Tar Heel continues to provide quality minutes for the Cavaliers in the Summer League, averaging 17.4 minutes per game in the first three. In those three games, Nance has averaged 8.3 points and 2.7 rebounds. Along with Brady Manek for the Atlanta Hawks, he has become a Tar Heel talked about a lot through the Summer League.

 

Nance did not get selected in the 2023 NBA draft, yet signed with the Cleveland Cavaliers days after, representing the same team his dad Larry Nance Sr. wore in the early 1990s.

Seeing the Tar Heel carving out a potential spot on the Cavaliers roster is always a good site.

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Pete Nance signs with Cleveland Cavaliers

Former UNC basketball forward Pete Nance has signed a 10-day deal with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Former Northwestern and North Carolina forward Pete Nance is looking to follow in his dad and brother’s footsteps in the NBA. On Saturday, Nance took a step forward in that goal.

Nance has signed an Exhibit 10 contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers per Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. The deal will allow Cleveland to sign Nance to a two-way contract with their G-League affiliate team if he impresses in Summer League play for the Cavaliers.

The goal for Nance now is to make a big impact in Summer League play and impress the Cavaliers to earn another deal.

After playing four seasons at Northwestern, Nance transferred to North Carolina for his final year. But it was an up-and-down one for the forward who started alongside Armando Bacot and Leaky Black.

Nance averaged 10 points, 6 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game while shooting 42.2 percent from the field. He did hit a game-tying shot against Ohio State in December that sent the game to overtime in the CBS Sports Classic. 

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Eight ACC players selected for Portsmouth Invitational Tournament

Two recent Notre Dame players could have an NBA shot.

There are several avenues for NBA hopefuls to make it to the league. One of the better-known ones is the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament, which is open only to recent college seniors. This is the oldest amateur tournament in the country, so it carries some weight.

The tournament doesn’t generate NBA draft picks every year, but Tyrese Martin ended a four-year drought when he became a second-round selection in 2022. [autotag]Pat Connaughton[/autotag] was drafted after taking part in the 2015 tournament. Other notable tournament alumni include Jimmy Butler, Tim Hardaway, Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman, John Stockton, Dave Cowens, Earl Monroe and Rick Barry.

This year, eight recent ACC seniors have the opportunity to compete in the tournament. While there aren’t any guarantees for what happens afterwards, it’s a great way to get noticed by scouts. Here are the players who represented the ACC during the past season and will get a good look by folks who know the professional game well: