North Carolina basketball rumors: Why Tar Heels could bow out of Juke Harris bidding war vs. Tennessee, Michigan

Since hiring Mike Malone to replace Hubert Davis, North Carolina has yet to balance out its losses in the college basketball transfer portal. They remain in play for former Wake Forest guard Juke Harris, one of the top available players remaining on the market, but could soon withdraw from that conversation, with Michigan and Tennessee also in pursuit.

The Tar Heels would love to land Harris, but the transfer portal closing on Tuesday could have them changing course to land another game-changing guard, On3 Sports’ Pete Nakos suggested.

“North Carolina remains in the mix for the Wake Forest transfer, but the Tar Heels likely have a cutoff date for how long they will wait on a decision,” Nakos wrote. “With a need at wing, they don’t want to miss out on NC State’s Paul McNeil or Matt Able just to lose out on Harris.”

Nakos suggested that North Carolina is also the third wheel of a three-legged race for Harris in the college basketball transfer portal. Malone is competing with Michigan’s Dusty May and Tennessee’s Rick Barnes for the high-volume scorer, who is reportedly asking for $3 million. May and Barnes both seem to be pursuing him more aggressively than Malone is.

While the Tar Heels would love to add Harris, they simply need to add volume in the portal. As of Tuesday morning, Malone has landed just one commitment from the portal — former Virginia Tech guard Neoklis Avdalas.

North Carolina lost Seth Trimble, Derek Davis, Zayden High, Luka Bogavac and Kyan Evans to the college basketball transfer portal after Davis’ firing. They are also losing leading scorer Caleb Wilson to the 2026 NBA Draft, while waiting on an official decision from Henri Veesaar.

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