Losing Elliot Cadeau to the transfer portal was a big blow for the North Carolina Tar Heels, who lack a true point guard heading into their 2025-2026 basketball season.
UNC still has Seth Trimble, who wants to come back, but he’s more of a combo guard. Trimble can run PG duties in a pinch, but he needs a running mate, similiar to what Cadeau and RJ Davis had the past two seasons in Chapel Hill.
With the transfer portal officially opening on Monday, March 24, North Carolina’s best shot at finding a true point guard will come from outside the program.
Good news: the Tar Heels have their eye on one of the transfer portal’s most-coveted players. Earlier on Wednesday, TarHeelIllustrated reported that UNC is in contact with New Mexico junior Donovan Dent, the portal’s top point guard and reigning Mountain West Player of the Year.
The Lobos upset Marquette in their Round of 64 NCAA Tournament matchup, with Dent scoring 21 points to lead his teammates.
Former New Mexico star & MWC Player of the Year, Donovan Dent is the top PG in the portal, & #UNC has been in touch with him, our @CoachDavidSisk has confirmed…………..https://t.co/uR1j58DsbL
Dent averaged 20.4 points per game this year, which ranks 12th in the country. Dent is also quite the passer, with his 6.4 assists per game ranking 13th in the country.
Cadeau improved markedly from North Carolina’s 2023-2024 campaign to this past year, averaging 9.4 points and 6.2 assists per game, with his passing totals rankings amongst the country’s best. Turnovers were an issue at times for the sophomore from West Orange, but aggressive, driving point guards like Cadeau are bound to commit multiple per game.
If the Tar Heels somehow land Dent, I’m confident we’ll see a domino effect in other top transfer portal recruits following him to Chapel Hill.
