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Both the Duke Blue Devils and North Carolina Tar Heels have had fairly eventful offseasons, but that of the Blue Devils is going a bit smoother.
Duke has received return announcements from Cayden Boozer, Caleb Foster, Sebastian Wilkins, and Patrick Ngongba, while also adding former Belmont forward Drew Scharnowski and former star Wisconsin guard John Blackwell via the portal. The Blue Devils haven’t seen any shocking departures either.
Mar 27, 2026; Washington, DC, USA; Duke Blue Devils head coach Jon Scheyer reacts in the first half during a Sweet Sixteen game of the East Regional of the men’s 2026 NCAA Tournament at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images | Geoff Burke-Imagn Images
On the other hand, the same can’t be said for the Tar Heels. After letting go of head coach Hubert Davis, UNC brought in Michael Malone. As most new head coaching hires do, it led to a mass exodus of portal entries from the program. North Carolina has lost eight of its top ten scorers from a season ago, as Henri Veesaar has recently declared for the 2026 NBA Draft.
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However, UNC has put in some solid work in the portal thus far, landing a few marquee additions to keep the team’s expectations afloat heading into next season. Between Duke’s and North Carolina’s portal pickups, that paves the way for the best guard matchups in college basketball coming in the rivalry next season.
Mar 19, 2026; Portland, OR, USA; Wisconsin Badgers guard Braeden Carrington (0) and guard John Blackwell (25) react during the second half of a first round game of the men’s 2026 NCAA Tournament against the High Point Panthers at Moda Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images | Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images
John Blackwell vs. Terrence Brown Will Be Cinema
Brown committed to UNC via the portal from Utah, and like Blackwell, he is one of the best scorers in college basketball.
As a junior at Wisconsin, Blackwell averaged 19.1 points, 5.1 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 1.1 steals a night on 43.0%…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/portal-sets-elite-duke-unc-181500400.html
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Publish date : 2026-04-24 18:15:00
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