In just over four and a half months, North Carolina basketball will start the 2024-25 season with a new-look squad hoping to help the Tar Heels make a deep run in March Madness.
UNC won the ACC regular-season title and snagged a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, finishing with a 29-8 record last season.
In the months since the Tar Heels’ Sweet 16 loss to Alabama, fourth-year coach Hubert Davis has lost three starters and added two players from the transfer portal to join a trio of freshmen.
Cade Tyson (Belmont) and Ven-Allen Lubin (Vanderbilt) joined the roster via the portal. Ian Jackson, Drake Powell and James Brown are arriving in Chapel Hill as part of the 2024 recruiting class to join several returners, including star guards RJ Davis and Elliot Cadeau.
Here’s what the starting lineup could look like when the Tar Heels tip off the 2024-25 season in early November.
UNC basketball starting lineup prediction
Here’s an early starting lineup prediction for UNC to start the 2024-25 season.
Elliot Cadeau
UNC’s top facilitator as a freshman, Cadeau’s comfort will increase in his second season alongside veteran guard RJ Davis. Cadeau, 19, averaged 7.3 points and 4.1 assists per game last season. He led the Tar Heels with 150 assists, the most by a freshman since Marcus Paige in 2013. But Cadeau missed 43 of his 53 attempts from 3-point range last season. He’s elite at finishing around the rim and finding teammates, but his outside shooting has to improve.
RJ Davis
The return of Davis keeps UNC in the conversation among the national contenders. The reigning ACC Player of the Year was a first-team All-American guard after averaging a league-best 21.2 points. The fifth-year senior drilled 39.8% of his 3-pointers last season and won the Jerry West Award as the top shooting guard in the nation. His leadership and scoring are vital for a program that lost a trio of veteran starters from last year’s team.
Ian Jackson
After Cadeau and Davis, head coach Hubert Davis will have a plethora of lineup options. Hubert Davis can opt for a three-guard lineup or roll with some bigger bodies to boost the defense and rebounding around his two returning guards. But Ian Jackson, a top-10 recruit from New York, will be hard to keep off the floor. “Captain Jack” is a 6-foot-5 guard known for pushing the pace and providing pressure as a defender. He’s expected to be among the most talented freshmen in the nation.
Cade Tyson
As a 6-foot-7, 205-pound wing, Tyson is a bit undersized to slide down to the four. But the Tar Heels need shooting and the Belmont transfer provides plenty as a 44.1% shooter from beyond the arc. After losing two of its top three outside shooters from last season, UNC needs Tyson’s knack for knocking down shots. They also need the junior to provide a rebounding boost. Tyson improved his rebounding in each season at Belmont, averaging 5.9 rebounds per game last season with the Bruins.
Jalen Washington
Perhaps no player on UNC’s roster will enter the season with more pressure than Washington, who will be tasked with helping to fill the gaps left by Harrison Ingram and Armando Bacot. Washington averaged 3.9 points and 2.6 rebounds in 8.4 minutes per game as a sophomore. The 6-foot-10 forward is capable of spreading the floor as a shooter, but UNC desperately needs Washington to be a force as a rebounder and defender. If he can take a leap in those areas, UNC can raise its already-high ceiling.
Staff writer Rodd Baxley can be reached at [email protected] or @RoddBaxley on X/Twitter.
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Predicting UNC basketball’s starting lineup for 2024-25 season opener
