The college basketball offseason has already been a very active one across the sport as the transfer portal has seen a record amount of players enter it in the past month and a half.
While we are still months away until the start of the 2023-24 season, it’s always fun to check in on the early rankings. And on Monday, ESPN released its updated version of their ‘way-too-early’ top 25 after a slew of roster moves the past few months.
North Carolina moved up four spots from No. 23 to No. 19 in the polls, cracking the top 20. Here is what Jeff Borzello wrote on the Tar Heels’ situation:
Hubert Davis started the offseason with two anchors: R.J. Davis at one guard spot and Armando Bacot down low. He then went out and surrounded his two returning stars with intriguing complementary players. Notre Dame transfer Cormac Ryan is a veteran shooter, while Harrison Ingram from Stanford is a versatile wing. The Tar Heels have plenty of perimeter options already, but top-10 2024 commits Ian Jackson and Elliot Cadeau could still opt to reclassify.
The Tar Heels are the third-highest-ranked Atlantic Coast Conference team in the rankings behind No. 1 Duke and No. 18 Miami. Those three are the only three ACC programs listed, potentially signaling experts don’t think as highly of the conference once again this season.
We should also note that a lot will change between now and October, so the ranking could get better or even worse potentially.
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