Projected early UNC Tar Heels starting lineup, depth chart for 2024-2025 season

The North Carolina Tar Heels staff have been doing everything they can to make up for the departures on the 2023–2024 roster.

UNC star Armando Bacot is out of eligibility after five seasons that featured many lows but greater highs that UNC fans will remember for a lifetime. Transfers Cormac Ryan and Paxson Wojcik have also exhausted their college careers, while James Okonkwo entered the portal and made his way to Akron. Harrison Ingram placed his name in the NBA Draft, but rightfully so after displaying elite basketball prowess throughout the entire season.

Fortunately, UNC is keeping ACC Player of the Year RJ Davis for his final year of college basketball due to the COVID season that granted players at that time an additional year, if chosen to do so.

They also return Elliot Cadeau, the rising sophomore who displayed elite point guard skills after earning a starting spot, and Jalen Washington, the shooting big man who's looking to build his name into UNC stardom, along with Jae'Lyn Withers' athleticism and Seth Trimble's supreme defensive skills. Plus, rising sophomore Zayden High has a ton of potential, even though he fouled more times than Hubert Davis may have wanted him to.

It's hard not to mention Davis' highly anticipated recruiting class that features two five-stars in Ian Jackson and Drake Powell, alongside three-star James Brown, who can make some noise during his time in Chapel Hill.

Furthermore, UNC has added two transfers out of the portal, bringing in rising juniors Cade Tyson from Belmont and Ven-Allen Lubin from Vanderbilt. Tyson brings in much-needed shooting and Lubin's skillset involves being dominant in the paint even though he's listed at 6-foot-8. However, he stands at 230 pounds, holding a wide frame beneath his head.

North Carolina completed the five-for-five swap successfully, to say the least. Although there are still two scholarships left for potential transfers, the possibility of new faces looms in the air. 

Projected UNC Tar Heels starting lineup, depth chart

The starting lineup shown above of Cadeau, Davis, Tyson, Withers, and Washington provides both talent and experience on the hardwood. The backcourt tandem between the upstate guards of Cadeau and Davis is something that cannot be broken up considering the success and chemistry they created after just one season. Tyson has a ton of games under his belt, and it would be crazy not to start someone who shot 46.5 percent from three off the bench, even if it was against "weaker" competition.

The frontcourt of Withers and Washington collide for a very dynamic duo, as the former Louisville Cardinal can soar above the rim like it's nothing and Washington has the confidence to let it fly from deep. Then, of course, possessing knowledge of how Coach Davis runs the team makes everything smooth sailing.

However, the second unit involves a sweet treat of its own: highly-touted freshmen in Jackson and Powell. High and Lubin have unique playstyles that differentiate from one another, but in a good way. And Trimble, with his brute defense, comes back to the team after entering the transfer portal. Don't forget Brown; he has been hiding in the shadows but has the potential to make an impact with his size and length, along with the ability to run the floor as many great UNC bigs do.

There's still plenty of time between now and the first game of the season in November, so anything can happen. Perhaps Jackson starts over Tyson, or Allen is named the starting big man over the mainstay, Washington.

At the end of the day, it's all up to Davis, let's have him make the call.