Tag: Zayden High

How does Zayden High’ departure affect UNC’s 2024-2025 basketball roster?

The North Carolina Tar Heels said goodbye to reserve forward/center Zayden High on Monday, Aug. 27. How does his departure impact the roster?

The UNC men’s basketball team will have plenty of talent sprinkled throughout its roster for the coming season.

North Carolina’s starting lineup will be headlined by the return of reigning ACC Player of the Year RJ Davis, while Seth Trimble and Jae’Lyn Withers give the Tar Heels’ bench some starting-caliber options.

UNC’s bench lost a key contributor on Tuesday afternoon – and arguably, the team’s biggest hype man – who had a much clearer path to playing time in 2024-2025.

Zayden High, who played 23 games in his freshman season last year for North Carolina, is no longer enrolled at the school.

High appeared in a limited role during the 2023-2024 campaign, averaging 0.8 points and 1.1 rebounds in 4.5 minutes per game.

You’re probably wondering: how does the loss of a player, who didn’t even average five minutes per game, impact the Tar Heels?

UNC will have starting experience in the post, headlined by Vanderbilt transfer Ven-Allen Lubin, but not a ton outside of him. Belmont transfer Cade Tyson can play in the post at 6’7″, but I see him being utilized more at small forward.

Center Jalen Washington is a key reserve, but with Armando Bacot’s departure, Washington is poised to take a starting role. Jae’Lyn Withers was likely North Carolina’s starting power forward, but Tyson and Lubin’s arrival put him back on the bench.

Don’t forget about James Brown, an incoming 4-star center who could also see minutes at power forward, or recent Georgia Tech transfer Tyzhaun Claude.

To sum it up, High’s loss isn’t a major one for the Tar Heels. There’s no doubt, though, UNC will miss High’s energy both on and off the court.

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Zayden High leaves North Carolina after one year

Zayden High is no longer with the UNC basketball program they announced on Tuesday.

The University of North Carolina announced on Tuesday that sophomore forward Zayden High is no longer enrolled and has left after one year.

The school put out a release stating that he is no longer enrolled and did not provide any more details about the situation. High joined North Carolina as part of the 2023 class along with Elliot Cadeau, committing to the Tar Heels in 2023. He picked UNC over Arkansas, Michigan, Texas, and Villanova.

In his lone season with North Carolina, High appeared in 23 games and did not make a start. He totaled 18 points and had 26 rebounds during those games.

Going into this season, there was a shot for High to earn some valuable minutes with the departures that the program had. The Tar Heels were already thin in the front court and now the loss of High impacts that even more.

High was ranked No. 70 overall in the 2023 class per the 247Sports composite rankings, committing out of Texas. With his departure, UNC now has just 11 scholarship players and recently added another player with former Georgia Tech forward Tyzhaun Claude.

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What Jonas Aidoo’s Arkansas commitment means for UNC

What will the Tar Heels do at center next season?

In just his three years as UNC’s head men’s basketball coach, Hubert Davis has shown Tar Heel Nation a strong ability to recruit.

Davis landed Elliot Cadeau, Pete Nance and Brady Manek in recent years, and he brings in five-star All-Americans Drake Powell and Ian Jackson this coming season.

One of North Carolina’s greatest needs in the coming season is an experienced center, something it doesn’t have on the roster right now.

Jalen Washington is the projected starting center. Though he has enjoyed some big moments in that role, he averaged just 7.4 minutes per game over his first two years in Chapel Hill. Zayden High will also see minutes at the 5 this season, while the Tar Heels also bring in four-star center James Brown.

UNC is looking to the transfer portal for an experienced big man. After striking out on Danny Wolf, Oumar Ballo, appeared to be among the favorites to land Tennessee transfer Jonas Aidoo.

However, Aidoo announced his commitment to Arkansas on Monday. If Aidoo had joined the Tar Heels, he would have been playing just 30 minutes down the road from his hometown.

With North Carolina missing three of the portal’s top available centers, what do they do now at the 5?

I like the idea of rolling with Washington, High and Brown. Though none have much collegiate experience, this trio gives Hubert Davis a great idea of which unit his centers fit best with.

The Tar Heels aren’t entirely out of the running for a transfer portal center yet, though. Rutgers big man Cliff Omoruyi is visiting Chapel Hill on Thursday.

If Hubert can get Omoruyi to commit, missing on Aidoo will not be such a big loss after all.

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Rutgers transfer center Cliff Omoruyi visiting UNC on Thursday

Can Hubert Davis convince Cliff Omoruyi to become a North Carolina Tar Heel on Thursday?

Since Armando Bacot exhausted his final year of eligibility, the UNC men’s basketball team has been searching for a center in the transfer portal.

North Carolina was linked to the likes of Danny Wolf, Aaron Bradshaw, Oumar Ballo and Jonas Aidoo, only for them to choose other programs.

The Tar Heels still have centers Jalen Washington and Zayden High on their roster, plus they bring in 4-star James Brown, but they’re looking to bolster a fairly inexperienced position by adding some experience.

Thursday could bring UNC the good news it needs in a wild transfer portal.

Cliff Omoruyi, the Rutgers transfer who is linked to North Carolina, is visiting campus on Thursday, May 2.

Omuruyi is the epitome of a reliable center, averaging double-digit points and over eight rebounds per game over the last three seasons. He was a part of two NCAA Tournament runs during his time in New Jersey, as Rutgers snapped a 38-year drought between Big Dance wins in Omoruyi’s freshman season (2020-2021).

With Chapel Hill being Omoruyi’s final visit, head UNC basketball coach Hubert Davis needs to lay all his cards out on the table.

If the Tar Heels make a strong enough impression, they could enter the weekend with a starting center for the upcoming season.

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Hubert Davis praises Zayden High after 81-69 win over Oklahoma

Hubert Davis praises freshman forward Zayden High after an 81-69 win over Oklahoma.

This season, [autotag]Hubert Davis[/autotag] has been utilizing his talents from off the bench, and one freshman has started to carve his path into the rotation.

UNC 4-star freshman forward [autotag]Zayden High[/autotag] talents were on full display in Wednesday night’s 81-69 victory over Oklahoma. High tied his highest minute total with 12 in the win, the first time he’s logged double-digit minutes since November in the win against UC Riverside.

What was so impressive about High performance wasn’t what was on the stat sheet but the energy he brought to the court, producing in critical minutes. Following the game, Hubert Davis raved to media about High’s impact in the late night win.

“You see his energy? He competes! I love it. When you see that type of passion and that will and want to. His number was called tonight, and he stepped up. It won’t show up huge on the box score, but a huge determining factor in us winning this game was him…He does exactly what I ask him to do. I’m very proud of him.”

It will be intriguing to see how many times High Number gets called this season after producing the results Davis was looking for.

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UNC Basketball Roundtable: Who will be Tar Heels’ most surprising player?

Our UNC basketball round table takes a look at who will be the most surprising Tar Heel for the 2023-24 season.

The North Carolina Tar Heels will begin the 2023-24 season on Monday, hosting Radford in a non-conference battle in the Dean Dome.

UNC’s program is coming off a tough season last year, missing out on the NCAA Tournament after being the preseason No. 1. But this team will have a new look in Hubert Davis’ third season.

The Tar Heels were very active in the transfer portal, losing key members while also utilizing it to add to the roster. In all, the Tar Heels added three new starters as well as some key depth pieces. The hope is that they improved the roster despite losing players from last season and can make a run at the NCAA Tournament again.

As we get set for the new season, we decided to do a roundtable here at Tar Heels Wire, answering questions about UNC as well as the ACC. First up in the series is a look at who we think will be the most surprising player on the roster this season.

UNC Basketball 2023-24 player preview: Zayden High

Our UNC basketball 2023-24 season player preview continues with freshman power forward Zayden High.

The UNC basketball program is preparing for its 2023-2024 season, looking to bounce back from last year’s nightmare.

It has been quite an adventure for the Tar Heels since they last walked off the court, with significant movement coming from the transfer portal. Caleb Love will not be in Carolina Blue this year, and it is not because he enlisted for the NBA draft. Instead, he will be in Arizona as a member of the Wildcats.

Love is not the only main Heel left in the offseason for new threads. Puff Johnson, D’Marco Dunn, Justin McKoy, Will Shaver, Dontrez Styles, and Tyler Nickel transferred from UNC.

What became a depleted roster created new opportunities to build, and that is precisely what UNC did, using RJ Davis and Armando Bacot as their corner pieces. One of those new pieces is four-star freshman Zayden High.

With the season near, we move on to the following player preview with Zayden High up next.

Where UNC basketball signees sit in final 2023 ESPN rankings

ESPN updated its final class of 2023 player rankings this week, with both of UNC basketball’s signees sitting in the top-75.

As the 2023 class winds down its high school year, the final class rankings have started to come out. For UNC basketball’s two-man class, both players landed in the top 100.

UNC’s class of [autotag]Simeon Wilcher[/autotag] and [autotag]Zayden High[/autotag] ranks No. 24 in the ESPN team rankings. Originally, UNC’s class included the top overall prospect in the class, GG Jackson, before he reclassified to 2022 and flipped his commitment to South Carolina.

Either way, the Tar Heels ended up with two four-star prospects.

Simeon Wilcher finished at No. 27 overall while Zayden High was No. 75 in the class.

ESPN recruiting analysts Jeff Borzello and Paul Biancardi broke down UNC’s class.

“Carolina had some misfortune in the 2023 class when elite prospect G.G. Jackson decommitted and ultimately wound up in the 2022 class with South Carolina. But Hubert Davis has a very good duo lined up at this stage. Five-star guard Wilcher has been in the fold for more than a year. He’s an excellent offensive player, capable of playing either guard spot and showing high-level ability as a scorer and creator. ESPN 100 forward Zayden High was a stock-riser during the spring and summer, bursting onto the scene during the April Nike EYBL sessions. High is an intriguing offensive piece given his ability to score inside but also stretch the floor with his shooting ability.”

Joining the two-man high school class next season so far are Louisville transfer forward Jae’Lyn Withers and Brown transfer wing Paxson Wojcik.

Both Wilcher and High are expected to be multi-year players in Chapel Hill.

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Key UNC target talks potential of reclassifying to 2023 class

Key 2024 UNC basketball target discusses the potential of reclassifying to the 2023 class — leaving the door open to make the move.

While the UNC basketball 2023 recruiting class is just a two-man class at the moment, there is the possibility of adding to it.

Four-star guard Simeon Wilcher and four-star forward Zayden High will enroll in the summer … but could a five-star join them?

Current 2024 top-15 forward [autotag]Jarin Stevenson[/autotag] has had rumors about his potentially reclassifying surrounding his recruitment. As of now, he’s staying in 2024, but he is not closing the door on a move to the 2023 class.

“Right now, it is just an option, there is nothing set in stone,” Stevenson told 247Sports. “I am still seeing things out and testing what the schools got and seeing if it is the best option. I think the odds are between 40- and 50-percent (to reclassify).”

The 6-foot-10 Stevenson is the No. 12 overall prospect in the 2024 class in the 247Sports rankings. He is also the top overall prospect in North Carolina and the No. 2 overall power forward.

Throughout his recruitment, Stevenson has visited UNC numerous times, and he’s planning another return visit after the college season ends.

NC State, Duke, Virginia, Missouri, Georgetown, Arkansas and others are some of the main programs involved in his recruitment.

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Hubert Davis on Simeon Wilcher: ‘He can be dominant on both ends of the court’

UNC basketball head coach Hubert Davis comments on the signing of five-star guard Simeon Wilcher.

The UNC basketball program signed the final member of its class of 2023 on Tuesday afternoon as five-star guard [autotag]Simeon Wilcher[/autotag] put pen to paper and made it official.

Wilcher, ranked No. 19 overall in the 247Sports Composite rankings, joins four-star forward Zayden High who officially signed with UNC last week.

Wilcher will come to Carolina after the expected departure of at least one member of its backcourt in Caleb Love and a potential departure of RJ Davis. Because of that Wilcher will be expected to step in immediately to provide an impact.

North Carolina head coach Hubert Davis spoke publicly for the first time on Wilcher. 

“We’re very excited about Simeon joining Carolina Basketball. He is exactly what we were looking for and what we wanted in a guard in the class of 2023. He has a skilled combination of size, athleticism and competitiveness, is an excellent on-ball defender, can really shoot well and is a fantastic finisher at the basket. What really sets him apart is his terrific understanding of when to pass and when to shoot. He can be dominant on both ends of the court and he simply makes everyone around him better, which is one of the reasons his team is ranked No. 1 in the country. Simeon and his family are the kind of people we are always looking for to be a part of this program.”

The 6-foot-5 guard led Roselle Catholic (NJ) to a New Jersey State Championship as a junior while averaging 16.3 points, 5.3 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game. He had 22 points, seven rebounds and five assists in the State Title game.

UNC’s 2023 two-man recruiting class ranks No. 26 in the country.

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