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UNC basketball rumors: Huge transfer portal target set for visit

By Cody Williams

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - APRIL 04: Head coach Hubert Davis of the North Carolina Tar Heels reacts on the sidelines in the first half of the game against the Kansas Jayhawks during the 2022 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament National Championship at Caesars Superdome on April 04, 2022 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - APRIL 04: Head coach Hubert Davis of the North Carolina Tar Heels reacts on the sidelines in the first half of the game against the Kansas Jayhawks during the 2022 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament National Championship at Caesars Superdome on April 04, 2022 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /
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UNC basketball has already hit the transfer portal hard, but Hubert Davis has a visit with a big fish the Tar Heels could land.

It’s definitely been a mixed bag for UNC basketball in the 2023 offseason after the disheartening season that saw the Tar Heels miss out on the NCAA Tournament and forego an invitation to the NIT.

On one hand, there have been major departures with Caleb Love, Puff Johnson and Tyler Nickel, among others, entering the transfer portal. The other hand, however, has stars Armando Bacot and RJ Davis elected to return to North Carolina for the 2023-24 season.

There has been some additional good news as head coach Hubert Davis works to fill out the roster by way of the transfer portal, landing commitments from Jae’Lyn Withers from Louisville and Paxson Wojcik from Brown. But now Davis is reportedly trying to reel in a true big fish.

On Wednesday, it was reported that Stanford transfer Harrison Ingram, a former 5-star recruit, has set his first in-home visits in his recruiting out of the portal, a list that includes UNC basketball.

UNC basketball rumors: Tar Heels set visit with top transfer portal target Harrison Ingram

In addition to North Carolina, Ingram is set to have in-home visits with Baylor, Texas A&M and Xavier before making his own visit to Kansas.

Ingram is ranked as the No. 25 player in the transfer portal by 247Sports but, with his former 5-star pedigree, has become one of the top names on the market this offseason, as evidenced by the programs already involved in trying to land the forward.

The 6-foot-7 forward has been solid in his young college basketball career, averaging 10.5 points, 6.2 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 0.8 steals in 29.5 minutes per game for the Cardinal over 65 games played. However, the lack of step taken from his freshman 2021-22 season to this past year was somewhat disappointing, so now he’s looking for a fresh start.

UNC has a clear need for the length and versatility of Ingram with the departures of Leaky Black and Pete Nance, leaving their rotation of forwards quite thin. Adding a player with his skills and upside would be a huge boost for a Tar Heels team that, frankly, needs one badly after the way the 2022-23 season transpired.

Of course, it’s still early and there are big-name programs aside from North Carolina in the mix right now. But it’s a good sign for the Tar Heels that they are getting in the door with Ingram early.

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