The college basketball season has been over for a little more than a week. That’s more than enough time for the new round of madness to begin.
The transfer portal opened as the season came to an end, and UNC and Duke have both had plenty of activity as they begin to shape next year’s team.
Both teams entered the offseason coming off of blown 19-point leads in the NCAA Tournament, However, they were in very different positions regarding the stability and recent history of the two programs.
Duke was still feeling the pain of a season it felt ended too early, as the top-seeded Blue Devils fell in an Elite Eight upset, missing out on a repeat trip to the Final Four. However, in the big picture, coach Jon Scheyer has Duke on solid ground as one of the top programs in the nation and an annual contender for the national title.
North Carolina, meanwhile, parted ways with coach Hubert Davis, who replaced a Hall of Fame coach a year before Scheyer did the same in Durham. The Tar Heels had success under Davis that most other programs would envy, but the team’s uneven performance drew the ire of a fanbase used to sustained excellence on the level of their nearby rival.
The team broke away from a coaching tree dating back to the birth of the ACC—well over a half century of history—and hired former NBA coach Michael Malone.
There’s still plenty more activity to come at both schools, but here’s a look at how the programs came out of the gate as rosters begin to form.
Duke
After not losing a scholarship player to the transfer portal last offseason, Duke seemed to be the model of stability, mixing old and new approaches with home-grown talent that sticks around to develop and one-and-done freshman superstars.
However, Duke saw multiple players enter the transfer portal in the first week. Sophomore shooter Darren Harris was the first to depart, moving on to Indiana. He was followed into the portal by Nikolas Khamenia, a McDonalds All-American who averaged 5.7 points off the bench. He saw his playing time increase in the postseason and seemed a candidate to have a breakout sophomore year on the level of Isaiah Evans or Patrick Ngongba saw this season.
Duke has also been actively shopping potential incoming transfers. The Blue Devils hosted Kansas big man Flory Bidunga, but he opted to transfer to Louisville over the weekend. There were reports that Duke may have cooled after receiving indications that Ngongba was planning to return, spurning a potential jump to the NBA.
No Blue Devils have announced intentions to enter the draft yet, although Evans and national Player of the Year Cameron Boozer are expected to. Depending on what junior guard Caleb Foster does, that may be the extent of Duke’s losses.
Duke is looking at several portal guards, although their interest level will likely depend on Foster’s decision.
Carolina
Malone quickly assembled a coaching staff, retaining Sean May and Pat Sullivan from Davis’ UNC staff and adding former Arkansas assistant Chuck Martin and former Providence head coach Kim English.
The Heels already had four players in the portal before Malone was hired. Malone convinced two of them—Jaydon Young and Isaiah Denis—to return to the fold. Freshman point guard Derek Dixon departed for Arizona, and shooter Jonathan Powell opted for Pitt.
That initial four has been joined by another four 2025-26 Tar Heels—sophomore big men James Brown and Zayden High, point guard Kyan Evans and shooter Luka Bogavac, who originally said he planned to return, then left for Oklahoma State.
UNC has added one incoming transfer. Combination guard Neoklis Avdalas, who averaged 12.1 points with Virginia Tech as a freshman, will suit up for Malone next season. The Heels have been involved with several other players. They reportedly contacted Khamenia and have also met with Wake Forest guard Juke Harris.
The Heels also saw five-star guard recruit Dylan Mingo, who decommitted on the same day the Heels hired Malone, officially part ways with the team. Mingo, along with older brother Kayden, in the portal after deciding to leave Penn State, reportedly visited UNC last week but all parties decided to go their separate ways.
Jarin Stevenson announced that he would return to UNC next season, while freshman big man Caleb Wilson confirmed his intention to depart for the NBA Draft. That leaves the biggest unknown from last season’s roster as Henri Veesaar, who led the Heels in scoring and rebounding.
UNC was involved with several portal big men, including Alabama’s Aiden Sherrell, but he appears close to joining Duke’s Harris at Indiana, perhaps an indication that Veesaar may be considering a return.
