North Carolina lands at No. 25 in ESPN’s way-too-early top 25

ESPN released its way-too-early top 25 college basketball rankings, and North Carolina made the cut.

The Tar Heels come in at No. 25, taking the last spot in the rankings. For reference, UNC was in a similar spot last season, as many way-too-early top 25 lists slotted the Tar Heels at No. 25.

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ESPN’s Jeff Borzello was high on NC State transfer guard Matt Able, who he says will be the most impactful newcomer for Carolina.

This is what Borzello had to say about North Carolina along with his projected starting lineup:

Neoklis Avdalas was ranked higher in our transfer rankings and Terrence Brown was one of the top power-conference scorers in the country last season, but we’re going with Able as the player to watch. He’s a former top-25 recruit who averaged only 8.8 points at NC State as a freshman but was still knocking on the door of the draft’s first round because of his size, potential and shooting ability. We’re betting on him taking the next step under coach Michael Malone.

Projected starting lineup:

Terrence Brown (19.9 PPG at Utah)Matt Able (8.8 PPG at NC State)Neoklis Avdalas (12.1 PPG at Virginia Tech)Jarin Stevenson (8.1 PPG)Alex Samodurov (international)

Landing at No. 25 in ESPN’s way-too-early rankings won’t generate the same buzz as a top-10 nod, but it does signal that North Carolina’s reshaped roster has caught national attention.

It’s also worth mentioning that the Tar Heels still have top international prospect Sayon Keita, five-star forward Maximo Adams and four-star wing Kevin Thomas coming off the bench, along with holdovers such as Isaiah Denis and Jaydon Young in this projected starting lineup.

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So while North Carolina opens at No. 25, that ranking is subject to change over time — especially once the season begins.

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This article originally appeared on Tar Heels Wire: North Carolina lands at…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/north-carolina-lands-no-25-133021836.html

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Publish date : 2026-07-02 13:30:00

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