UNC Men’s Basketball 2025-2026

[stankeylegjones]

I asked this same question days ago… this board has no answer.

Do we know of others who've already taken courses at an international university, and if so, as many as Luka has? Also, if Ross is correct, it sounds like Luka's camp hasn't been responsive to UNC's requests. All of these things could make his situation different than (some, many, all?) others, and why it's hard to be able to compare situations.

Edit: Which seems odd too, because I'd assume UNC would be in direct communication with the university, and not going through his camp. Right?

 

[Zoo_View]

I don’t give a shit whether the Balkan kid plays or not.

I no longer give a shit about D1 revenue sports. Yeah……I might post about a game or team or season or coach……

The reality is that I. Do. Not. Care.

$10 million coaches? Million dollar players who are NOT Antawn Jamison or James Worthy or Jeff Saturday or Steve Hale?

I’ll cheer for the non-revenue sports.

 

[duluoz]

I don’t give a shit whether the Balkan kid plays or not.

I no longer give a shit about D1 revenue sports. Yeah……I might post about a game or team or season or coach……

The reality is that I. Do. Not. Care.

$10 million coaches? Million dollar players who are NOT Antawn Jamison or James Worthy or Jeff Saturday or Steve Hale?

I’ll cheer for the non-revenue sports.

This seems like kind of a tantrum but I’m starting to agree with the sentiment.

I’m finding it hard to care about this eligibility stuff, and tonight I watched about 10-15 mins of the first half and flipped over to World Series pregame, and never flipped back.

Hopefully I snap out of it but since the NBA has become a far more compelling place to put my energy these days, I’m not sure I will.

 

[akillesheel]

I asked this same question days ago… this board has no answer.

Illinois cleared their guy, Mihailo Petrovic, like two days ago. played in the same league as Luka.

 

[hedge]

I don’t give a shit whether the Balkan kid plays or not.

I no longer give a shit about D1 revenue sports. Yeah……I might post about a game or team or season or coach……

The reality is that I. Do. Not. Care.

$10 million coaches? Million dollar players who are NOT Antawn Jamison or James Worthy or Jeff Saturday or Steve Hale?

I’ll cheer for the non-revenue sports.

Friend of mine from Alabama who went to grad school at Carolina (where I met him) texted me a few weeks ago asking me my take on Belichik and Carolina football in general (really college sports in general), I told him didn’t know and didn’t really care. We tried to do this 15 years ago with Butch Davis and were on the cusp of being at least a respectable program. Respectable on the field, I mean, but then the pious had their last gasp and turned the ram into a sacrificial lamb.

We should’ve just remained a bespoke basketball school and enjoyed our honor and glory but even that is a romantic and fleeting notion these days. It’s purely professional now and that’s fine, will not be surprised if we or any other school pops up and wins a National championship in football or basketball in any random year going forward.

I still like to watch and I’ll still pull for Carolina and go to games but my expectations are almost nil at this point. Not as much fun as it was but it is what it is. Told him I thought Drake Maye is going to be an all timer in the NFL, he could’ve gone to any school and asked any price but he chose Carolina for all the good old sentimental “Carolina Way” reasons. I’ll cling to that and follow his career with genuine interest and appreciation (and, I anticipate, pleasure), that should carry me to the doorstep of 80, kinda doubt I’m going to be giving much of a fuck about college sports by then, if I’m still alive and there are still college sports or even colleges by then..

 

[OGtruthhurts]

the 'carolina way' in regards to revenue sports has always been a huge con job but makes alumni feel all warm and cozy inside. to still pretend that athletes going to class is important is beyond pathetic but not surprising. unc is very much like the ncaa its all about the visual

 

[donbosco]

the 'carolina way' in regards to revenue sports has always been a huge con job but makes alumni feel all warm and cozy inside. to still pretend that athletes going to class is important is beyond pathetic but not surprising. unc is very much like the ncaa its all about the visual

You are asserting that Dean Smith orchestrated a "con job" during his career at Carolina?

 

[wmheel1287]

I don’t give a shit whether the Balkan kid plays or not.

I no longer give a shit about D1 revenue sports. Yeah……I might post about a game or team or season or coach……

The reality is that I. Do. Not. Care.

$10 million coaches? Million dollar players who are NOT Antawn Jamison or James Worthy or Jeff Saturday or Steve Hale?

I’ll cheer for the non-revenue sports.

Yeah, pretty much there myself. To me, if I'm going to watch a team full of professionals, I may as well watch it played at the highest level. There's a reason I don't go to minor league baseball games. If college football and basketball have no connection to the university other than the university cuts them a check, I just don't see much point in it.

 

[OGtruthhurts]

You are asserting that Dean Smith orchestrated a "con job" during his career at Carolina?

absolutely but i realize that hurts your carolina way feelings. dean had the phony portuguese classes to keep his athletes eligible not to mention the nice mercedes that jordan sported around campus.

 

[Mulberry Heel]

Friend of mine from Alabama who went to grad school at Carolina (where I met him) texted me a few weeks ago asking me my take on Belichik and Carolina football in general (really college sports in general), I told him didn’t know and didn’t really care. We tried to do this 15 years ago with Butch Davis and were on the cusp of being at least a respectable program. Respectable on the field, I mean, but then the pious had their last gasp and turned the ram into a sacrificial lamb.

We should’ve just remained a bespoke basketball school and enjoyed our honor and glory but even that is a romantic and fleeting notion these days. It’s purely professional now and that’s fine, will not be surprised if we or any other school pops up and wins a National championship in football or basketball in any random year going forward.

I still like to watch and I’ll still pull for Carolina and go to games but my expectations are almost nil at this point. Not as much fun as it was but it is what it is. Told him I thought Drake Maye is going to be an all timer in the NFL, he could’ve gone to any school and asked any price but he chose Carolina for all the good old sentimental “Carolina Way” reasons. I’ll cling to that and follow his career with genuine interest and appreciation (and, I anticipate, pleasure), that should carry me to the doorstep of 80, kinda doubt I’m going to be giving much of a fuck about college sports by then, if I’m still alive and there are still college sports or even colleges by then..

Same here. College sports as a whole has been on a downhill slide for a while, but since covid it's gotten much worse, imo. I'm not saying that players didn't need to be paid, but the almost complete lack of rules and Wild West atmosphere has turned college sports into an almost purely mercenary enterprise where schools just pay some hired guns to play for a year or two and leave without ever really buying into the school or its traditions - whatever university they're playing for is just a minor-league stop on the way to the NBA or overseas pro ball. The days of a Drake Maye or RJ Davis type who come and stay for three or four years because they loved that particular school are fading, especially now that they can just transfer if they don't get the playing time they want.

The new megaconferences being formed are unwieldy and geographically absurd - Oregon in the Big 10, West Virginia in the Big 12, Stanford or SMU in the ACC - and they just serve to dilute traditional rivalries that made the college game great. As somebody who started watching UNC and ACC sports in the late seventies and early eighties I definitely don't think college sports are as interesting or entertaining as they used to be - I do miss the smaller and more geographically compact and logical conferences that we used to have, although I understand why for financial reasons conferences are either breaking up or basically merging into megaconferences, even though it makes little sense from a geographic standpoint.

 

[mpaer]

I still hang out some on the Shark Tank-they were nice enough to let us hang out when we were homeless a few days . I am the resident Carolina fan-hated of course by many.
They are very poud of being "The School for One and Dones. Number 1 .That they are.
It is kind of an empty pride compared to the pride either team's fans had back in the day

 

[Enigma94]

I don’t give a shit whether the Balkan kid plays or not.

I no longer give a shit about D1 revenue sports. Yeah……I might post about a game or team or season or coach……

The reality is that I. Do. Not. Care.

$10 million coaches? Million dollar players who are NOT Antawn Jamison or James Worthy or Jeff Saturday or Steve Hale?

I’ll cheer for the non-revenue sports.

My care factor is down as well, but it has nothing to do with the money. I'm fine with the players getting paid whatever they can when there's billions sloshing around the sport. My issue is more about player movement and the utter lack of roster continuity. It's incredibly difficult to even follow your own team any more and damn near impossible to know anything about the other teams in the ACC/NCAA.

 

[CFordUNC]

My care factor is down as well, but it has nothing to do with the money. I'm fine with the players getting paid whatever they can when there's billions sloshing around the sport. My issue is more about player movement and the utter lack of roster continuity. It's incredibly difficult to even follow your own team any more and damn near impossible to know anything about the other teams in the ACC/NCAA.

That’s exactly where I am, as well. In a perfect world I would like to think that a full cost of attendance scholarship is sufficient compensation, but it’s hard to fault the players for seeking outright financial compensation when head coaches are getting $10M+ (and $50M+ to get fired), coordinators are getting $1M+, athletic administrators are making upper six or even seven figures, etc.

What I cannot stand about college sports is the transfer portal and the lack of contracts. If players are going to get paid like professionals- and that’s fine if they are- then they need to be treated like professionals with contracts, buyout clauses, performance incentives, etc. You don’t get to get paid like a professional and then move around whenever it suits you like an amateur, IMO. As others have said, the lack of roster continuity and the knowledge that you’re never going to have the same roster year over year, or sometimes even game over game, is maddening.

 

[finesse]

I keep telling myself that things will get better after a transition period. We're never going to have what we had but I'm hoping we'll reclaim some of it. I just don't want us to throw away too much in the interim that we'll regret.

 

[wmheel1287]

That’s exactly where I am, as well. In a perfect world I would like to think that a full cost of attendance scholarship is sufficient compensation, but it’s hard to fault the players for seeking outright financial compensation when head coaches are getting $10M+ (and $50M+ to get fired), coordinators are getting $1M+, athletic administrators are making upper six or even seven figures, etc.

What I cannot stand about college sports is the transfer portal and the lack of contracts. If players are going to get paid like professionals- and that’s fine if they are- then they need to be treated like professionals with contracts, buyout clauses, performance incentives, etc. You don’t get to get paid like a professional and then move around whenever it suits you like an amateur, IMO. As others have said, the lack of roster continuity and the knowledge that you’re never going to have the same roster year over year, or sometimes even game over game, is maddening.

If you want something to be proud of, look at our baseball program. Roster shuffling has become nearly as common in college baseball across the country as it has in other sports. Look at our major talents though...Jason DeCaro still here for his junior year when he's been one of the best starters in the nation for 2 years in a row? Do you know how much money those kids are turning down to stay here and play for Scott Forbes, Scott Jackson, and Bryant Gaines? Scott Forbes is the best college baseball coach in the country. He does more with less than any other coach by a mile. We fund our program like we are New Mexico State but we compete like we are Louisiana State.

 

[Peppers49]

My care factor is down as well, but it has nothing to do with the money. I'm fine with the players getting paid whatever they can when there's billions sloshing around the sport. My issue is more about player movement and the utter lack of roster continuity. It's incredibly difficult to even follow your own team any more and damn near impossible to know anything about the other teams in the ACC/NCAA.

In a way this is kind of the first year that UNC fans have really had to face the new reality of roster movement.

As frustrating as Mack’s teams were, his rosters still had continuity (although to his discredit he’s a big part of why we had to hit the portal so heavily this season so the chickens were coming home to roost there eventually either way). On the basketball side we’ve had some notable transfers both ways, but the core of the rosters still had homegrown talent. Bacot in 2024 and RJ in 2025 finally filtering out felt like the last remnants of the old era (all due respect to Trimble; he’s just not at that level as a player). I know basically nothing about all of our new guys besides their high level player profiles. Definitely makes it harder to get as invested.

 

[OGtruthhurts]

If you want something to be proud of, look at our baseball program. Roster shuffling has become nearly as common in college baseball across the country as it has in other sports. Look at our major talents though...Jason DeCaro still here for his junior year when he's been one of the best starters in the nation for 2 years in a row? Do you know how much money those kids are turning down to stay here and play for Scott Forbes, Scott Jackson, and Bryant Gaines? Scott Forbes is the best college baseball coach in the country. He does more with less than any other coach by a mile. We fund our program like we are New Mexico State but we compete like we are Louisiana State.

yes sir. wonder how he feels about unc blowing 20 mil a year on bb and fam and receiving one of the worst teams in the country?

 

[mpaer]

Do we know of others who've already taken courses at an international university, and if so, as many as Luka has? Also, if Ross is correct, it sounds like Luka's camp hasn't been responsive to UNC's requests. All of these things could make his situation different than (some, many, all?) others, and why it's hard to be able to compare situations.

Edit: Which seems odd too, because I'd assume UNC would be in direct communication with the university, and not going through his camp. Right?

When I did some education background checks back in the day we used a large firm that did this for lots of employers. Now I admit I did not ever do this for an international candidate. Where I was the Office of the Physician director or the Nursing Director handled their international candidates........

 

[CFordUNC]

If you want something to be proud of, look at our baseball program. Roster shuffling has become nearly as common in college baseball across the country as it has in other sports. Look at our major talents though...Jason DeCaro still here for his junior year when he's been one of the best starters in the nation for 2 years in a row? Do you know how much money those kids are turning down to stay here and play for Scott Forbes, Scott Jackson, and Bryant Gaines? Scott Forbes is the best college baseball coach in the country. He does more with less than any other coach by a mile. We fund our program like we are New Mexico State but we compete like we are Louisiana State.

Amen. By far my favorite program on campus these days!

 

[C-Money]

That’s exactly where I am, as well. In a perfect world I would like to think that a full cost of attendance scholarship is sufficient compensation, but it’s hard to fault the players for seeking outright financial compensation when head coaches are getting $10M+ (and $50M+ to get fired), coordinators are getting $1M+, athletic administrators are making upper six or even seven figures, etc.

What I cannot stand about college sports is the transfer portal and the lack of contracts. If players are going to get paid like professionals- and that’s fine if they are- then they need to be treated like professionals with contracts, buyout clauses, performance incentives, etc. You don’t get to get paid like a professional and then move around whenever it suits you like an amateur, IMO. As others have said, the lack of roster continuity and the knowledge that you’re never going to have the same roster year over year, or sometimes even game over game, is maddening.

Exactly. The transferring to a new school every year is what is killing college basketball and football.