Hubert Davis has previously compared the transfer portal to free agency; an offseason in which players hold all the cards and, thanks to COVID, are not penalized by having to sit out a year should they choose to switch programs. If their current situation is not immediately satisfying, they are free and clear to take their talents elsewhere.
In Hubert’s tenure as head coach of the North Carolina Tar Heels, ten players have been sucked into the transfer portal (eleven if you include the latest from this season), looking for greener grass, a new opportunity, and more playing time. As the ominous portal opens up once again, let’s check in on the players who moved on from the Carolina Blue.
Dawson Garcia
The 6’!! Minnesotan left UNC midseason in 2022 siting family issues which must have truly been the case since he ended up enrolling close to home at the University of Minnesota. It seems to have worked out well for him as he led the team in scoring at 17.6 points per game and reigned in 6.7 boards per game. However, the Golden Gophers failed to make the Big Dance and lost in the second round of the NIT to Indiana State.
Anthony Harris
The young guard showed flashes in his brief stint as a Tar Heel, but his time there was plagued with injuries. Eventually Harris transferred to Rhode Island where he is still not fully enrolled due to academic woes. He did not play in 2022-23 or 2023-24 and the path forward seems unclear. Hopefully he can get back in the classroom and on the court soon.
Andrew Platek
Platek finished out his college basketball career as a sixth-year senior at Siena in 2022-23. He started all 32 games for the Saints and averaged 10.4 points per game. He is currently playing overseas in Azerbaijan.
Kerwin Walton
After a promising freshman season, Walton saw his minutes significantly diminished in year two due to his inefficiency on the defensive end and subsequently decided to transfer to Texas Tech. After coming off the bench last season, Walton started 26 games this year and played an average of 24.5 minutes per game. He averaged 8.5 points and 2.4 rebounds per contest while shooting 47.8% from three point range. The Red Raiders lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament to NC State.
Tyler Nickel
Sharpshooter Nickel looked the part of a blooming star in his freshman year before bailing to Virginia Tech where in his sophomore season he started seven of the Hokies’ 33 games but played plentifully in all as their sixth man, averaging 24.3 minutes per game. He shot 39.9% from deep and scored at an 8.8 points per game clip. In the Hokies’ one matchup with the Tar Heels, Nickel scored 14 points and hit four from behind the arc. Alas, Virginia Tech lost in round two of the NIT to Ohio State and Tyler has since been sucked back into the transfer portal so we’ll see where he lands next.
Justin McKoy
After transferring in from Virginia and a forgettable two years in Chapel Hill, McKoy made his way through the portal to the University of Hawaii. He had the best season of his career, starting all 34 games for the Rainbow Warriors and averaged 12.4 points and 6.1 rebounds per game. Hawaii finished the season with a 20-14 record but lost to UC Davis in the semifinal of the Big West conference tourney.
Dontrez Styles
In my humble opinion, this is the one that got away. I always thought he had a lot of potential but was never given the right opportunity in the Iron Five rotation of the two seasons prior to this most recent one. Styles left UNC to play for Georgetown where he averaged 12.8 points per game and 5.8 rebounds in his junior year. He started all 32 games for the Hoyas who ended their season with an ugly 9-23 in a first round Big East Tournament loss to Providence. Dontrez was also spotted in DC supporting his former teammates in the ACC tourney which was cool to see.
Puff Johnson
Cam Johnson’s little brother returned to their home state of Pennsylvania as he enrolled at Penn State. Puff played 19.6 minutes per game mostly coming off the bench and averaged 7.3 points and 3.1 rebounds per game, shooting 33.3% from long range.
D’Marco Dunn
Dunn joined his teammate Puff in Happy Valley to play for Penn State. For his junior season he averaged 6.8 points per game in an average of 18.2 minutes played and shot 36.6% from three. The Nittany Lions’ season concluded with a 16-17 record and a loss in the Big Ten Tournament second round to Indiana
Will Shaver
The 6’10, 270-pound center from Birmingham returned to his hometown and enrolled at UAB. He played limited minutes, only 4.9 per game, and averaged one point, one rebound per outing for the Blazers. UAB made the NCAA Tournament as a 12-seed but were taken out in the first round by San Diego St.
Caleb Love
I’m not gonna get into the ‘why’ it happened; leaving that dead horse alone. But yes as everyone knows, Caleb transferred to Arizona for his senior season. Bottom line: it worked out great for both Caleb and RJ as they each won Player of the Year in their respective conferences. Love dropped 18.0 points per game, wrangled 4.8 rebounds, and dished out 3.4 assists while shooting a career-best field goal percentage of 41.3%. The highly-anticipated showdown between Caleb and his former teammates unfortunately never happened as both teams lost in the preceeding Sweet 16 round.
So far this season, only James Okonkwo has entered the transfer portal but it’s likely only a matter of time before more follow suit. Hopefully, someone you are excited to see develop does not take the portal plunge. The most likely candidates are Seth Trimble, Jalen Washington, and Zayden High but maybe Hubert can keep them all in the stable. A lot will happen in the long offseason so stay tuned to see who’s out who’s in.
