All Tar Heels

Hubert Davis Would Love This UNC Transfer Back

After a stellar performance with Minnesota, regret has begun for Hubert Davis and UNC.
Jordon Lawrenz|
Mar 21, 2025; Milwaukee, WI, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels head coach Hubert Davis during the first half of a first round NCAA men’s tournament game against the Mississippi Rebels at Fiserv Forum. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-Imagn Images
Mar 21, 2025; Milwaukee, WI, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels head coach Hubert Davis during the first half of a first round NCAA men’s tournament game against the Mississippi Rebels at Fiserv Forum. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-Imagn Images | Benny Sieu-Imagn Images

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North Carolina Tar Heels

With how wild the transfer portal has been in college sports, it's hard to keep up. Key players seem to be transferring nonstop as they try to chase a championship or simply want to improve their draft stock. In other cases, players like Cade Tyson realize the grass may be greener outside of North Carolina.

After his first impression, that may hold. Hubert Davis was able to bring Tyson to UNC after he spent his first two seasons at Belmont. The former Bruins guard headed to the Tar Heels as one of the most highly touted transfers, only for him to get lost in the shuffle.

Tyson as a Tar Heel

In his junior season as a Tar Heel, Tyson averaged just 7.9 minutes per game. Davis's game plan didn't include the 6'7'' 195-pound guard who was coming off a sophomore season where he averaged 16.2 points per game. Every number of his hit rock bottom at UNC, including his average of just 2.6 points per game.

Mar 4, 2025; Blacksburg, Virginia, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels guard Cade Tyson (5) looks to shoot the ball during the second half against Virginia Tech Hokies at Cassell Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Brian Bishop-Imagn Images | Brian Bishop-Imagn Images

To no surprise, Tyson wanted out. He put his name in the portal and drew immediate attention. After settling on Minnesota, Tyson was able to head to another new conference and received a much-needed reset. After his performance against North Dakota State, Davis is looking back on where things went wrong.

Tyson's viral performance had UNC social media on fire as he finished with a career-high 28 points, shooting 9/13 from the field, including 6/9 from three. He added two rebounds and drilled all four of his free throws, a percentage that was just 56.3% with the Tar Heels.

"Free from the shackles of Chapel Hill," one fan wrote. Another chimed in, "What the **** was Hubert doing with this kid last year lol?"

This individual wrote, "Can we permanently set aside one roster spot for UNC washouts going forward?" That sparked a response from a Duke fan, "#ExtendHubertAgain."

Some fans were quick to defend Hubert as Tyson put up similar numbers against LaSalle last season. It's far too early to tell if Tyson can put up these numbers in B1G play, one of the toughest conferences in the nation.

  • "Imagine if Minnesota gets this version of Cade Tyson for in insanely low price/buy in bc of one bad year at UNC..." This fan added. Another wrote, "In 15 ACC games at UNC last year Cade Tyson had 31 total points. He made more 3s last night against NDSU (6) than he did in 15 ACC regular season games (5)."

One fan was blown away by Tyson's performance after reminiscing on UNC's decision to pay him $700K. In the NIL era, this has become the new normal. Teams like Minnesota are now able to "buy-low" on players like Tyson, as this fan put it.

  • "If there were any doubts about how Cade Tyson would perform after a down year at UNC, he has answered them pretty quickly tonight," another added. If Tyson can keep turning heads and playing at this high of a level, there's no doubt UNC will have to rethink things with their transfers moving forward.

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Jordon Lawrenz
JORDON LAWRENZ

Jordon Lawrenz serves as the Eastern United States College Recruiting beat writer On SI. Jordon is an accomplished writer covering the NFL, MLB, and college football/basketball. He has contributed to PFSN’s and Heavy’s NFL coverage. Having graduated from the University of Wisconsin - Green Bay with a Sports Communication and Journalism degree, Jordon fully embraced the sports writing lifestyle upon his relocation to Florida.