UNC basketball pulls another ACC standout in transfer portal

Hubert Davis had to hit the transfer gate hard to get UNC basketball back on track and the Tar Heels now have a second ACC addition to brag about.

In what has been a crucial offseason containing big challenges for UNC basketball, head coach Hubert Davis is doing what he can to make sure the Tar Heels get back on track.

Obviously, the decisions of Armando Bacot and RJ Davis to return to Chapel Hill amid the transfers of Caleb Love, Puff Johnson and Tyler Nickel, among others, helped the Heels quite a bit, but Davis was bound to be aggressive in the transfer portal, already landing two players ranked in the Portal’s Top 100 in the transfer of Brown Paxton Wojcik and an ACC transfer in Jae’Lyn Withers from Louisville.

Now there is another ACC transfer joining UNC basketball.

Notre Dame transfer guard Cormac Ryan made a commitment to North Carolina on Thursday after a recent visit with Davis, as reported by Inside Carolina.

UNC Basketball Lands Notre Dame Cormac Ryan Transfer In Portal

Ryan entered the NBA draft but left his return eligibility open, which is expected to happen before the May 31 deadline to withdraw his name. Plus, he adds a much-needed skill set to the Tar Heels as Davis reshapes the roster.

During the 2022-23 season for a struggling Notre Dame team, Ryan averaged 12.3 points, 4.0 rebounds, 1.3 steals and 2.5 assists. However, UNC hopes the 6-foot-5 guard can recapture the shooting he showed as a junior at South Bend when he converted more than 40% of his 3-point attempts.

As a soft-shooting perimeter player, Ryan gives the Heels a big offensive boost they clearly lacked last season en route to missing the NCAA Tournament, especially if he can shoot like he did as a junior – although his 34.4% 3-shooter last year still wouldn’t hurt.

Now the big question is what’s next for Hubert Davis and UNC basketball, as they’re probably still not done in the transfer portal. With visits scheduled with Stanford’s Harrison Ingram and Florida State’s Matthew Cleveland, there’s always room to add another immediate-impact player to a roster that will look drastically different from a year ago.

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