STOP THE FIGHT!
THROW IN THE TOWEL!
The world hasn't seen this lopsided a fight since Apollo Creed faced Ivan Drago in Rocky IV.
Jon Scheyer is running circles around Michael Malone this offseason. The only people surprised about that are the deluded faithful in Chapel Hill. While Scheyer has been busy, most recently landing a commitment from a reclassified big man who some believe could be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2028 draft, Malone is flailing.
Scheyer has built a loaded roster that could arguably compete for the ACC Championship...with its backups. The roster is so loaded, Scheyer is going to have trouble trimming down the rotation because there are just so many capable bodies.
On the other end of the spectrum is Michael Malone and UNC, who are having trouble filling out the roster. The latest example of that, following their whiff on Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje, is Florida Atlantic transfer big man Maxim Logue, who won't be joining the Tar Heels as originally expected:
FAU transfer Maxim Logue is no longer joining UNC, a source confirmed to the N&O. @InsideCarolina had it first.
— Shelby Swanson (@shelbymswanson) April 30, 2026
A hit to North Carolina’s depth in the post, but Michael Malone is still moving/recruiting overseas.
The latest: https://t.co/wjKtVioeIY
Duke and UNC continue to trend in opposite directions
Who could've predicted that a coach who hasn't even been an assistant at the college level in 25 years would face some immediate growing pains?
Roster building in college basketball is a bit different than the NBA, especially when the previous regime doesn't gift you a generational talent like Nikola Jokic to build around.
It's been an up-and-down offseason for the Tar Heels since they made the panic move of hiring Malone because they didn't want to wait for Billy Donovan and miss the beginning of the portal window. But with as poorly as things are working out for them in the portal as is, they may as well have waited.
While Duke is surging and will be in contention to be the preseason No. 1 team in college basketball, UNC appears to be in worse shape than before they fired Hubert Davis. Forget the Top 25 - is this team even going to make the tournament?
The only saving grace might be the expansion to 76 teams, which gives even highly mediocre teams like North Carolina a fighting chance to dance.
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