Tar Heels just outside of top 25 in Jon Rothstein’s preseason 45

Here is where the UNC basketball program lands in Jon Rothstein’s top 24 rankings ahead of the 2023-24 season.

With the NBA draft entry and transfer portal deadlines officially closed, we now have a better look at rosters for the 2023-24 college basketball season.

One team that was recently impacted was North Carolina. Last week, the team lost a commitment from four-star guard Simeon Wilcher who was a part of the 2023 class and just a week away from moving onto campus. Wilcher is now at St. John’s after committing to the program on Monday. While the loss hurts UNC’s roster, they did get a reclassification from Elliot Cadeau, one of the top players in the 2024 class that has moved into 2023.

And after those moves, UNC is still outside of the top 25 in Jon Rothstein’s preseason top 45. UNC checks in at No. 27:

Projected Starting 5:
R.J. Davis
G Elliot Cadeau
Cormac Ryan
F Harrison Ingram
Armando Bacot
Projected Bench: Seth Trimble, Jalen Washington, Zayden High, Paxson Wojcik, Simeon Wilcher, Jae’Lyn Withers
Key Newcomers: Simeon Wilcher, Zayden High, Paxson Wojcik (Brown), Jae’Lyn Withers (Louisville), Cormac Ryan (Notre Dame), Harrison Ingram (Stanford), Elliot Cadeau
Key Losses: Pete Nance, Leaky Black, Dontrez Styles, Puff Johnson, Tyler Nickel, Justin McCoy, Caleb Love, D’Marco Dunn

This is a little bit of a lower ranking than we have seen for the Tar Heels among other publications. But it’s not too far outside of the top 25. Going into this season, UNC has to find a way to regroup and not only make the NCAA Tournament but go on a run as well.

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