Latest news with #Veesaar
USA Today
24-04-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Two incoming UNC basketball transfers ranked highly in 247Sports' final portal rankings
Two incoming UNC basketball transfers ranked highly in 247Sports' final portal rankings Can UNC transfer portal additions Henri Veesaar and Kyan Evans live up to their offseason hype? The North Carolina Tar Heels' 2025-2026 basketball roster will look very different from last season's, highlighted by the fact two projected starters come from the transfer portal. RJ Davis ran the show for UNC over the last five seasons, but he is out of eligibility. Elliot Cadeau is now at Michigan, while Drake Powell just declared for the NBA Draft – but kept his college eligibility open. North Carolina nabbed its starting center in 7-foot center Henri Veesaar, who comes over from Arizona and brings some much-needed height in the post. The Tar Heels also found their starting point guard in Kyan Evans, who helped lead Colorado State to the Round of 32, in this year's NCAA Tournament. 247Sports thinks highly of UNC's Veesaar and Evans additions, with both ranked in the Top 150 of 247Sports' final transfer portal rankings. Veesaar rings in at 30th in 247Sports' rankings, with Isaac Trotter projecting North Carolina's new big man to develop into a superstar. "Henri Veesaar has a real shot to be a flat-out star next year after massive changes to his body," Trotter said. "The 7-footer packed on 35 pounds, stepped in for the injured Motiejus Krivas and delivered a breakout sophomore season at Arizona. Veesaar is a dangerous roller who can make quick reads. He could get out-physicaled at times in the paint, but overall, Veesaar was a good-to-great rim protector. He really helped change the complexion of Arizona's offense with his ability to stretch the floor for 3-pointers. Veesaar isn't much of a post-up wagon yet, but that's coming. He does everything else at a high level." Evans just clips the Top 100, with Trotter pointing to his 3-point shooting and finishing abilities, as the top reasons for Evans' ranking. "Efficiency was the name of the game for Kyan Evans," Trotter said. "The 6-foot-2 sophomore guard shot over 40% on both catch-and-shoot 3s and off-the-dribble 3s. Colorado State started running him off staggers or pindowns, and he was up to the challenge. Oh, and he really started to find his groove attacking long closeouts, slicing to the rim and finishing at a high level. Evans was balling by the time March Madness rolled around. There are some concerns. He played next to a superstar in Nique Clifford who generated lots of attention. Colorado State's intricate offense also maximized his strengths perfectly. He's not a tried-and-true point guard, but he has a clip and Evans is super competitive." We're currently in baseball season for the Diamond Heels, followed by football, but UNC's basketball additions make me want to fast-forward to November. Follow us @TarHeelsWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of North Carolina Tar Heels news, notes and opinions.
USA Today
12-04-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Pair of incoming UNC basketball transfers ranked in ESPN Top 100
Pair of incoming UNC basketball transfers ranked in ESPN Top 100 How good can Veesaar and Evans be for UNC this coming basketball season? The North Carolina Tar Heels are being a lot more aggressive in the college basketball transfer portal this offseason, already nabbing two starters and a possible third. UNC's most impactful portal addition is 7-foot center Henri Veesaar, who brings some much-needed height to a program that lacked it last year. North Carolina also added 6'6" shooting guard Jonathan Powell, plus its projected starting point guard in Kyan Evans. The Tar Heels lost a couple guys to the portal, most notably guards Ian Jackson and Elliot Cadeau, the latter of whom committed to Michigan. I'll miss the star guard duo, but I'm also confident UNC is bringing in winning pieces to help improve itself. In ESPN college basketball insider Jeff Borzello's Top 100 transfer portal player rankings, Veesaar landed at 14th and Evans slotted in at 85th. Check out what Borzello had to say about Veesaar, the Arizona transfer who nearly led his former team to a Sweet 16 upset of Duke. "Veesaar's emergence, over the second half of the season, was a key factor in Arizona turning things around after a slow start. He finished the season averaging 9.4 points and 5.0 rebounds, but hit double-figures in seven of eight games in the month of February." Now look at what Borzello said about Evans, who started in Colorado State's backcourt alongside Nique Clifford during a near-run to the Sweet 16. "Evans was terrific in the NCAA tournament against Memphis, going for 23 points and four assists in the first-round win. He was a key factor in Colorado State's surge toward the end of the season, averaging 10.6 points and 3.1 assists while shooting 44.6% from 3." Jackson is ranked ninth on Borzello's portal list, while Cadeau is 33rd. Borzello praises Jackson as an explosive scorer, plus Cadeau as a gifted passer. Follow us @TarHeelsWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of North Carolina Tar Heels news, notes and opinions.
Yahoo
07-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Arizona center Henri Veesaar to enter NCAA transfer portal
Photo by Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images The emergence of Henri Veesaar as a versatile big man and key part of Arizona's rotation was arguably the biggest surprise of the 2024-25 season, not to mention a source of hope for the future. Turns out that may be for a different team's future. Advertisement Veesaar has reportedly put his name into the NCAA transfer portal, the third Wildcat to do so since the UA's season ended in the Sweet 16. The 7-foot Veesaar had a breakout year for Arizona, his third with the program. The redshirt sophomore averaged 9.4 points, 5.0 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.1 blocks in 20.8 minutes per game, starting five times but mostly coming off the bench. Veesaar, a native of Estonia who missed the 2023-24 season with an elbow injury, had 16 double-figure scoring games including 13 against Duke in the Sweet 16. His career high was 22 against ASU in the home finale. A foot injury to fellow big man Motiejus Krivas in December opened the door for Veesaar to take on a bigger role in the frontcourt, either in place of or in taken with Tobe Awaka. His pay drew rave reviews from opposing coaches, some of whom referred to him as an NBA prospect. Advertisement Veesaar joins guard KJ Lewis and center Emmanuel Stephen as Arizona players in the portal. Along with guard Caleb Love and forward Trey Townsend, who are out of eligibility, the Wildcats are down to six scholarship players remaining from a team that went 24-13, tied for third place in the Big 12 and then reached the conference tournament final before making the Sweet 16 for the third time in four seasons under Tommy Lloyd. More from
Yahoo
07-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Here are the players UNC men's basketball has picked up in the transfer portal
Here are the players UNC men's basketball has picked up in the transfer portal CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (WNCN) — Over a week and a half into the current transfer portal window, the North Carolina Tar Heels are starting to make some moves. Head coach Hubert Davis said last week that his priority is to get bigger, as lack of size proved to be an issue for UNC this past season. Davis also said he's also looking for consistency — which eluded the Tar Heels during a roller coast 2024-25 campaign that saw them just barely getting into the NCAA Tournament — and discipline. Advertisement Transfer portal tracker: Here are the NC State, UNC, Duke men's basketball players leaving their programs UNC has already lost junior big man and sophomore point guard Elliot Cadeau to the transfer portal, with the latter already announcing a commitment to Michigan. A handful of players on the Tar Heels' target list have already or are expected to make official visits to campus over the coming days. The transfer portal closes on April 24. Here's the running list of transfers who have committed to playing for UNC next season, along with their position, date of commitment and most recent program. UNC transfer commitments Jonathan Powell, guard — April 1 (West Virginia) The 6'6″ wing, who spent his freshman year with the Mountaineers, reportedly committed to the Tar Heels Tuesday without having made a visit to Chapel Hill. This past season, Powell played in 32 games — 23 of which he started — during which he averaged 8.3 points and 3.1 rebounds. He was second in the Big 12 in three pointers made by a freshman with 62, and he finished with the conference's fourth-lowest turnover rate. Powell has three seasons of eligibility remaining. Henri Veesaar, center — April 4 (Arizona) On Friday, UNC got their biggest target, according to Inside Carolina. At 7'0″, the sophomore from Estonia fills the Tar Heels need for size. Veesaar played in 37 games for the Wildcats, whose season just ended last week against Duke in the Sweet 16. Despite only starting five of those games, the big man ended the season as Arizona's fourth leading scorer, averaging 9.4 points to go along with 5 rebounds and a team-leading 1.1 blocks per contest. Veesaar has two years of eligibility left. Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Queen City News.
USA Today
04-04-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
UNC basketball lands prediction for a top transfer portal target
UNC basketball lands prediction for a top transfer portal target UNC appears to be trending for a big transfer portal target The North Carolina Tar Heels have one commitment so far in the transfer portal this offseason, but more could be looming as Hubert Davis and his staff are looking for several targets. While there's a dead period due to the Final Four, the Tar Heels appear to be making progress with some targets. One of those top targets is Arizona center Henri Veesaar. The 7-footer is one of the top centers in the transfer portal and with UNC desperately needing to land a center, he's become a priority. The Tar Heels hosted Veesaar for a visit on Wednesday ahead of the dead period but have yet to land a public commitment. However, one recruiting expert believes the Tar Heels are the favorites to land him. Travis Branham of 247Sports has logged a crystal ball prediction for Veesaar in favor of the Tar Heels, doing so on Friday. That's great news in terms of a recruiting expert offering his insight. It's not a guarantee he lands with UNC but for someone like Branham to log that crystal ball is a big deal. If UNC can land Veesaar, it would be a huge boost for the Tar Heels and they can add to their depth along with Ven-Alen Lubin who got better as the season went on. Follow us @TarHeelsWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of North Carolina Tar Heels news, notes and opinions.
