North Carolina Adds Another 2027 NBA Draft Prospect to 2026-27 Roster

The Tar Heels and head coach Michael Malone have assembled an impressive roster ahead of the upcoming season.

Apr 1, 2025; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Nuggets head coach Michael Malone in the second quarter against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Ball Arena. | Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

The North Carolina basketball team had a solid season in 2025-26.

The Tar Heels notched a 24-9 record, but fell in the first round of the NCAA Tournament following an injury to star freshman and potential top-four draft pick Caleb Wilson.

UNC's early departure from March Madness led to the team parting ways with head coach Hubert Davis, a former Tar Heels' standout and first-round pick in the NBA Draft. To replace Davis, North Carolina brought in Michael Malone, who previously coached the Denver Nuggets and won an NBA title with the team.

Since taking the reins in Chapel Hill, Malone has put together an impressive roster that features multiple 2027 NBA Draft prospects.

Most recently, North Carolina landed a pledge from Alexandros Samodurov, a Greek prospect who withdrew from the 2026 NBA Draft.

The 21-year-old averaged just 2.6 points per game in the EuroLeague this season playing for Panathinaikos, one of the top teams in Europe that features former NBA players like Omer Yurtseven, Kenneth Faried, Richaun Holmes, Cedi Osman and Juancho Hernangomez.

Samodurov's longest appearance of the season came in January and saw the 6-foot-11 big man notch 11 points, 3 rebounds, a steal, a block and zero turnovers while shooting 4-of-4 on 2-point attempts and 1-of-3 from beyond the arc in 17 minutes on the floor.

In total, Samodurov averaged around 6 minutes on the court per game, shooting 10-of-11 on 2-point attempts in 13 appearances.

International prospect Sayon Keita, a five-star recruit, is also set to play for Malone and the Tar Heels in the upcoming college basketball season.

Listed at 7-feet tall with a reported 7-foot-5 wingspan, Keita is originally from Mali, but spent the past two seasons playing for FC Barcelona in Spain. In the EuroLeague, Keita played alongside former NBA players Willy Hernangomez and Tomas Satoransky, averaging 2.5 points and 1.5 rebounds while shooting 58.3% from the field in 8.7 minutes per game across six contests.

Keita also appeared in seven games for FC Barcelona in Liga ACB, Spain's top professional basketball league.

Keita and Samodurov should be solid replacements for Henri Veesaar who declared for the 2026 NBA Draft.

Maximo Adams, a five-star recruit in the 2026 cycle, was pledged to UNC prior to Malone taking over, and has since reaffirmed his commitment. Adams is rated the No. 25 overall prospect and No. 8 small forward in his recruiting class, according to 247Sports' composite rankings.

Alongside the aforementioned trio, the Tar Heels also added Neoklis Avdalas after one season at Virgina Tech and Matt Able after one year at NC State. Both Avdalas and Able have the potential to be first-round picks in the 2027 NBA Draft with strong sophomore campaigns for North Carolina.