• This is the third and final preseason game for the Tar Heels. Carolina beat Southern California, 88-70, on October 9 in Greensboro and lost to Indiana, 76-58, in Indianapolis on October 18.
• UNC opens the regular season November 2 against Western Carolina. That game is the first of six consecutive home games to begin the season, the first time the Tar Heels have played six straight at home to start a season.
• Carolina is 2-0 all-time against the 49ers in regular season or post-season play. The Tar Heels beat Charlotte, 93-83, in overtime in the second round of the 1998 NCAA Tournament in Hartford, Conn. Shammond Williams (32), Vince Carter (24) and Antawn Jamsion (19) combined for 75 of UNC’s 93 points. The only other matchup also went to overtime, a 75-73 Carolina win in the Smith Center on 12/12/1998. Ed Cota and Kris Lang led four Tar Heels in double figures with 17 points apiece.
PRESEASON NOTES
• Carolina is under the direction of first-year head coach Michael Malone, who spent 24 seasons in the NBA, including 12 as a head coach.
• Malone was hired as UNC’s 21st head coach on April 7, 2026. He is the Tar Heels’ first head coach who was not a former UNC player or assistant coach since Frank McGuire, who led Carolina from 1952-61 and won the Tar Heels’ first-ever NCAA championship in any sport in 1957.
• The Tar Heels’ 16-player roster includes five returning players from last season and 11 newcomers. The incoming players include four freshmen (three domestic and one international), six collegiate transfers and one international player who enters as a junior.
• The five returning Tar Heels, all in-state products, include 6-10 senior forward Jarin Stevenson from Chapel Hill, 6-4 senior guard Jaydon Young from Goldsboro, 6-4 sophomore guard Isaiah Denis from Charlotte, 6-8 junior forward John Holbrook from Hickory and 6-1 senior guard Evan Smith from Charlotte.
• The freshmen include 6-7 forward Maximo Adams from Los Angeles, 7-1 center Sayon Keita from Mali, 6-6 swingman Kevin Thomas from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and 6-5 freshman guard Malloy Smith from Newport Beach, Calif.
• Alex Samodurov enters UNC as a junior. The 6-11 forward from Evosmos, Greece, played last year for Panathinaikos in the Greek Basketball League.
• The six college transfers include Matt Able, a 6-5 sophomore guard from Baltimore (NC State); Neo Avdalas, a 6-9 sophomore guard from Kalamata, Greece (Virginia Tech); Angelo Brizzi, a 6-3 graduate guard from Warrenton, Va. (Buffalo); Terrence Brown, a 6-3 senior guard from Minneapolis (Utah); Cade Bennerman, a 7-0 sophomore center from Nashville (Northwestern); and Cameron Fens, a 7-0 graduate center from Dubuque, Iowa (South Dakota).
• Stevenson, in his second year in the program, is the lone returning starter from last year’s team that went 24-9 overall, 12-6 in the ACC. Stevenson is the leading returner in every statistical category, including scoring (8.1 per game), rebounding (4.4) and three-pointers (26).
• This is the first season UNC did not return a player who averaged double-digit scoring as a Tar Heel since 2019-20. However, four players on the roster did average double-figure scoring last season on other teams – Brown at Utah (19.9 ppg), Fens at South Dakota (14.4), Brizzi at Buffalo (14.4) and Avdalas at Virginia Tech (12.1).
• Carolina’s six incoming transfers combined for 2,234 points last season (636 by Brown, 463 by Brizzi, 460 by Fens, 375 by Avdalas and 300 by Able). The five returning Tar Heels combined for 348, 266 of which came from Stevenson.
• Carolina’s roster includes six players who have made a combined 309 starts on the collegiate level (80 by Brown, 69 by Brizzi, 63 by Fens, 52 by Stevenson, 31 by Avdalas and 14 by Young).
• Three current Tar Heels have previously played against Carolina – Stevenson twice for Alabama, Young twice for Virginia Tech and Avdalas once for the Hokies. All three played one game against UNC in Chapel Hill. Last year, Avdalas scored 19 points and had five assists in Carolina’s 89-82 win in the Smith Center.
VETERAN STAFF A BLEND OF COLLEGE/PRO EXPERIENCE
• Head coach Malone will direct a coaching and development group that includes several returning members of the Carolina basketball program (Sean May, Pat Sullivan, Eric Hoots), three coaches from other college teams (Chuck Martin, Bryan Tibaldi, Jorge Sanz) and two additional former Tar Heel standouts (Brandon Robinson, Deon Thompson).
• Assistant coaches Sean May and Pat Sullivan and director of basketball operations Eric Hoots have a combined 55 years with the program.
• Associate head coach Chuck Martin came to Chapel Hill after three seasons with John Calipari at Kentucky and, most recently, Arkansas.
• Assistant coach Bryan Tibaldi was an assistant coach for six seasons with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Last season, he coached at Providence.
• Assistant coach Jorge Sanz was on Mark Few’s staff at Gonzaga for the last eight seasons.
• Assistant coach Brandon Robinson, who played at UNC from 2016-20, and was on Hubert Davis’ staff in 2021-22, returns to Chapel Hill after four seasons on NBA staffs in Charlotte and Utah.
• Director of Player Development Deon Thompson retired in 2026 after playing 16 seasons of professional basketball. He was the starting power forward on UNC’s 2009 national championship team.
• Every member of Malone’s staff has played for and/or coached with a Naismith Hall of Famer, including Dean Smith, Bill Guthridge, Roy Williams, John Calipari, Tom Izzo and Mark Few.
• Sullivan (1993), May (2005), Thompson (2009) and Robinson (2017) won national championships as Tar Heel players.
MALONE AN NBA CHAMPION
• Michael Malone was head coach of the Denver Nuggets for 10 seasons (2015-25) and the Sacramento Kings for two seasons (2013-15). The Queens, N.Y., native is Denver’s all-time winningest coach in the regular season (471 wins) and playoffs (44 wins).
• He led the Nuggets to an NBA title in 2023, the only NBA championship in franchise history. The Nuggets went 16-4 in the post-season that year, including 4-1 against Miami in the NBA Finals. Malone led Denver to nine playoff series wins.
• Malone spent 12 years as an assistant with the New York Knicks (2001-05), Cleveland Cavaliers (2005-10), New Orleans Hornets (2010-11) and Golden State Warriors (2011-13). He was the lead assistant at both New Orleans under Monty Williams and Golden State under Mark Jackson.
• He coached three-time NBA Most Valuable Player Nikola Jokic in Denver and all-time scoring leader LeBron James while an assistant in Cleveland. His 2023 NBA championship team featured Jokic, Jamal Murray, Aaron Gordon, Michael Porter Jr. and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.
• Jokic averaged 23.0 points, 11.6 rebounds and 7.6 assists and was a seven-time all-star in 10 seasons playing for Malone. He made first-team All-NBA five times and second-team twice.
• Among other notable players Malone coached in the NBA include Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, Harrison Barnes and Chris Paul. In addition to Barnes, he coached former Tar Heels Danny Green, Antawn Jamison and Jawad Williams. He coached 39 international players who represented 25 different nations.
• He also worked with some of the top coaches in the NBA, including Jeff Van Gundy, Lenny Wilkens, Mike Brown, Williams and Jackson.
• Malone’s father, Brendan, was an NBA coach for nearly 30 seasons. He won NBA titles in 1989 and 1990 as a member of Chuck Daly’s staff in Detroit.
TAR HEELS FIFTH IN PRESEASON ACC POLL
• Carolina was voted fifth in the preseason ACC poll as selected by the media who attended the league’s media days October 6-7.
• Duke, Virginia, Louisville, Miami and UNC were voted one through five, respectively.
• Maximo Adams received the fourth-most votes for Preseason ACC Rookie of the Year.
TAR HEELS BEAT USC IN PRESEASON OPENER
• Carolina went on a 12-0 run over a six-minute stretch midway through the second half and held USC to 26.5% shooting from the floor over the final 20 minutes to open preseason play with an 88-70 win October 9 at Greensboro’s First Horizon Coliseum.
• Jarin Stevenson led four Tar Heels in double figures with a game-high 25 points (his official career high is 22 while at Alabama vs. Texas and his UNC high last season was 19 against Pitt). Stevenson hit four of Carolina’s 11 three-pointers, was 8 for 14 from the floor and led both teams with 10 rebounds. He scored 16 second-half points.
• Neo Avdalas (15), Isaiah Denis (14) and Maximo Adams (11) also scored in double figures for Carolina. Rodney Rice led USC with 22.
• Avdalas had nine rebounds and led the Tar Heels with five assists.
• Denis scored 10 of his 14 in the first half, helping the Tar Heels erase an early, 10-3 deficit by scoring 10 of Carolina’s next 12 points.
• Carolina shot 53.6% from the floor in the second half.
• The Trojans led, 39-37, at halftime. In fact, USC held the lead for 6:33 more than the Tar Heels, but Carolina out-scored Troy, 51-31, over the final 20 minutes. The game featured seven ties and 14 lead changes.
• Led by Denis and Adams, the Carolina bench out-scored USC’s non-starters, 35-5.
• The teams combined for 32 turnovers (18 by UNC) and converted those into 46 points.
• Eight individuals competed for the first time as Tar Heels.
RECAPPING THE INDIANA GAME
• Indiana broke open a two-point game with an 18-8 run to end the first half and went on to defeat the Tar Heels, 76-58, at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
• The Tar Heels cut a 15-point deficit to seven just over six minutes into the second half before the Hoosiers pulled away.
• Bryce Lindsay hit four 3FGs and led all scorers with 26 points.
• Sayon Keita had 12 points, nine rebounds and five blocks for UNC.
• The Tar Heels shot 34.9% and held the Hoosiers to 36.2% from the floor. Indiana out-scored UNC, 17-7, from the free throw line.
• Indiana out-rebounded Carolina, 53-31, and grabbed 20 offensive rebounds that led to 17 second-chance points. The Hoosiers also converted 15 Tar Heel turnovers into 19 points.
SCHEDULE NOTES
• In ACC play, the Tar Heels play home-and-home games against Duke and Louisville.
• Carolina hosts conference games against Cal, Georgia Tech, Miami, NC State, SMU, Stanford and Virginia and plays at Boston College, Florida State, Notre Dame, Pitt, Syracuse, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest.
• Clemson is the ACC team the Tar Heels are not scheduled to play in the regular season this year. This will be the first season UNC and Clemson aren’t scheduled to play in the regular season since 1950-51, which predated the formation of the ACC.
• For the first time since 1979, the Tar Heels will play NC State in a non-conference game in the regular season, when the teams meet Dec. 15, 2026, in the Tobacco Road Classic presented by Old Dominion Freight Line in Greensboro’s First Horizon Coliseum (formerly the Greensboro Coliseum).
• Last season was the first since 1919 UNC and NC State were scheduled to play only once. Beginning in 1920, the teams were scheduled to play home-and-home every year through 2025. The teams played once in Raleigh last season and were scheduled to play only in Chapel Hill this coming season in ACC play.
• Carolina and NC State will return to Greensboro for the second Tobacco Road Classic in December 2027.
• Arkansas comes to Chapel Hill on December 1 for the fourth edition of the ACC-SEC Challenge. The Tar Heels are 2-1 in the Challenge with a home win over Tennessee, home loss to Alabama (with Jarin Stevenson) and road win last season at Kentucky. This will be the 12th time the Tar Heels play the Razorbacks (UNC leads, 8-3) but the first time ever in Chapel Hill. The teams have played the previous 11 games in 11 different cities and never on the other team’s campus.
• The Tar Heels return to Madison Square Garden in New York on December 19 to play Kentucky in the CBS Sports Classic. It is Carolina’s fourth trip to the Garden in the last five seasons (beat Ohio State in 2022-23, lost to UConn in 2023-24 and beat UCLA in 2024-25). Carolina is 31-12 in MSG.
• On January 30, midway through ACC play (after nine of 18 conference games) the Tar Heels play Illinois, a Final Four team a year ago, in the Nashville Hoops Showdown.
