North Carolina heavily invested in Michael Malone's first medicore roster

They're doing it again.

The delusional folks in Chapel Hill are hyping up the significant investment that North Carolina made into Michael Malone's first Tar Heels roster. According to Inside Carolina, UNC's financial commitment for its 2026-27 roster exceeded $20 million:

$20 million and that's the best roster he could build? Shouldn't that be a massive red flag? It's certainly not something that should be bragged about.

Malone added some talent, no doubt, but it's hard to see the Tar Heels being better than they were last season without Caleb Wilson.

We'll give credit where it's due: there's some talent in that backcourt. Terrance Brown, Matt Able, and Neoklis Avdalas are a good three-man core. But that frontcourt? WOOF.

$20 million and you couldn't find a competent center? Even if Cameron Fens is eligible, that's the best you can do? At North Carolina?

North Carolina spent $20 million on a borderline Top 25 team

There's an argument that UNC is a bubble team heading into 2026-27. That's a lot of money to spend on a roster that doesn't have many confident that the Heels are even a solid NCAA Tournament team.

Jeff Borzello's preseason Top 25 didn't include North Carolina. He had them in his "next five", which would put them at No. 30. That's in lockstep with Joe Lunardi's early Bracketology for ESPN, which has UNC as a projected 8-seed.

Contrast that with Duke, which is the No. 1 overall seed in Lunardi's bracket. Being a private school, the amount of money Jon Scheyer spent to build this roster won't be disclosed. But it's probably not discernibly more than what North Carolina ultimately spent to build a starting five that might not be fit for Duke's bench.

It's hard to blame UNC for being excited to have a new head coach. Hubert Davis certainly wasn't the guy. Maybe Malone is. Maybe he'll find a way to better utilize the money that North Carolina is going to invest in the program.

But this first roster isn't much to brag about. They should have a decent season, but there are some obvious flaws to it. At the end of the season, North Carolina fans who donated money to give Malone an expanded NIL war chest may be looking for a refund. And once burned, it's going to be even harder to get those folks to help fund future rosters down the road.

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