In just over four and a half months, North Carolina basketball will begin the 2024-25 season with a revamped team hoping to help the Tar Heels advance in March Madness.
UNC won the ACC regular-season title and earned the top seed in the NCAA Tournament, finishing with a 29-8 record last season.
In the months since the Tar Heels’ Sweet 16 loss to Alabama, fourth-year coach Hubert Davis has lost three starters and added two players from the transfer portal to join a trio of freshmen.
Cade Tyson (Belmont) and Ven-Allen Lubin (Vanderbilt) joined the squad through the portal. Ian Jackson, Drake Powell and James Brown will arrive in Chapel Hill as part of the 2024 recruiting class to join several returners, including star guards RJ Davis and Elliot Cadeau.
Here’s what the starting lineup could look like when the Tar Heels open the 2024-25 season in early November.
UNC Basketball Starting Lineup Prediction
Here’s an early prediction of the starting lineup for UNC to begin the 2024-25 season.
Elliot Cadeau
UNC’s top facilitator as a freshman, Cadeau’s comfort will increase in his second season alongside senior guard RJ Davis. Cadeau, 19, averaged 7.3 points and 4.1 assists per game last season. He led the Tar Heels with 150 assists, the most by a rookie since Marcus Paige in 2013. But Cadeau missed 43 of his 53 3-point attempts last season. He is an elite player when it comes to finishing around the rim and finding teammates, but his outside shooting needs to improve.
rj davis
Davis’ return keeps UNC in the conversation among national contenders. The reigning ACC Player of the Year was a first-team All-American guard after averaging a league-best 21.2 points. The fifth-year senior shot 39.8% from 3-point range last season and won the Jerry West Award as the nation’s top shooting guard. His leadership and scoring are vital for a program that lost a trio of veteran starters from last year’s team.
Ian Jackson
After Cadeau and Davis, head coach Hubert Davis will have plenty of options in the lineup. Hubert Davis can opt for a three-guard lineup or play with some bigger bodies to boost defense and rebound around his two returning guards. But it will be difficult to keep Ian Jackson, one of New York’s top 10 recruits, off the court. “Captain Jack” is a 6-foot-5 shooting guard known for pushing the pace and applying pressure as a defender. He is expected to be among the most talented freshmen in the country.
Cade Tyson
As a 6-foot-7, 205-pound wing, Tyson is a little small to slide up to the four. But the Tar Heels need to shoot and the Belmont transfer provides plenty as a 44.1% shooter from beyond the arc. After losing two of its top three outside shooters from last season, UNC needs Tyson’s ability to make shots. They also need the junior to provide a rebounding boost. Tyson improved his rebounding each season at Belmont, averaging 5.9 rebounds per game last season with the Bruins.
Jalen Washington
Perhaps no player on UNC’s roster enters the season with more pressure than Washington, who will be tasked with helping fill the voids left by Harrison Ingram and Armando Bacot. Washington averaged 3.9 points and 2.6 rebounds in 8.4 minutes per game as a sophomore. The 6-foot-10 forward is capable of spacing the floor as a shooter, but UNC desperately needs Washington to be a force as a rebounder and defender. If he can make a jump in those areas, UNC will be able to raise its already high ceiling.
You can contact staff writer Rodd Baxley at rbaxley@fayobserver.com or @RoddBaxley on X/Twitter.
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