Veesaar Leads UNC Basketball Past Wake, 5-Star PG Beckham Black Offered, Football Transfer Portal Updates
Plus: Hansbrough and Pope to the Hall, Petrino hired, 500th Smith Center win, Women's Basketball's rough day in South Bend, Olympic Sports roundup
UNC Basketball’s defensive deficiencies reared their head again in a narrow win over Wake Forest, 5-star point guard Beckham Black received a UNC Basketball offer, there was major movement in the Football transfer portal, Tyler Hansbrough and Eddie Pope are headed to the NC Sports HOF, and Women’s Basketball had a rough showing against Notre Dame. On to the updates…
🏀 Basketball
No. 17 UNC recorded the program’s 500th victory in Smith Center history on Saturday against Wake Forest, but to the Tar Heels it felt like a losing effort after blowing a 15-point lead and hanging on for an 87-84 victory.
Henri Veesaar led UNC with 25 points and Caleb Wilson scored 22, but it was Carolina’s defense that proved problematic for the second straight Saturday, allowing the Deacs’ starting guards to combine for 56 points and shoot 12-of-23 from beyond the arc. Expect more of the same from opponents going forward unless the Tar Heels can tighten up on their perimeter defense.
North Carolina freshman forward Caleb Wilson has been named to the Wooden Award Midseason Top 25 list.
“Wilson is the first Tar Heel freshman ever to score 20 or more points in six consecutive games, he leads the ACC in rebounds and double-doubles and is first in the nation among freshmen in both categories.”
Congratulations to UNC Basketball’s (and the ACC’s) all-time leading scorer, Tyler Hansbrough, who was elected to the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame this past week. Hansbrough joins former UNC Men’s Soccer standout Eddie Pope as part of the 2026 class.
On a personal note, please indulge me as I also congratulate (and thank) my former high school wrestling coach Jerry Winterton, who is also a part of the 2026 HOF class. Over 29 seasons at Cary (NC) High School, Winterton’s teams produced 19 state titles with an overall record of 620-16 (.975).
Kudos to former UNC guard and 2005 national champion Jackie Manuel, who has been named to the Silver Waves Media 100 Most Impactful Mid-Major Assistants list as an assistant coach at American University.
In “where are they now” news, Seth Trimble’s brother J.P. Tokoto is playing his 11th professional season with Start Lublin in Poland following previous international stops in Australia, Israel, Spain, and Germany.
And 2017 national champion Kennedy Meeks is continuing his overseas career after signing this past week with the Saitama Broncos of the Japanese B League.
🏈 Football, Recruiting & Transfer Portal
It’s finally official. Bobby Petrino was announced this past week as UNC Football’s new offensive coordinator. “Petrino joins the Tar Heels after spending the past two seasons at Arkansas, where he served as offensive coordinator and interim head coach for the final seven games of 2025.”
Petrino brings with him a reputation as a brilliant offensive mind and will have some new players to work with as the transfer portal continues to churn.
Here’s who’s in and who’s out for the Tar Heels over the last week via the transfer portal:
