Former Northwestern star Pete Nance announced on Twitter Saturday that he is transferring to the University of North Carolina. The Chapel Hill relocation comes after Nance spent the past four seasons with Northwestern.
Nance will use his final year of eligibility playing for a Tar Heels squad looking to make another long tournament run. The 6'10 big man averaged 14.6 points and 6.5 rebounds per game last year for a Wildcats team that finished with a losing record for the fifth consecutive season.
With UNC, Nance will help offset the loss of key starter Brady Manek, who also transferred to UNC for his final year of eligibility. After playing mostly center at Northwestern, experts forecast Nance to slot in at forward next to Tar Heels' returning center Armando Bacot.
Nance is the son of former NBA All-Star Larry Nance and the younger brother of New Orleans Pelicans forward Larry Nance Jr. He was listed as the No. 1 available player in the transfer portal in The Athletic's most recent rankings.
(Photo: Trevor Ruszkowski / USA Today)
How will he boost UNC's offense?
Brendan Marks, UNC beat writer: For starters, let's get this out there: Nance is not a Brady Manek clone. Manek arrived at UNC with a much more proven track record as a 3-point shooter, so while Nance hit 45.2 percent of his 3s last season, it was on a significantly lower volume.
That said, as someone UNC's staff believes can play both the four and the five, and who does have some floor-stretching skills, Nance is a terrific addition to the Tar Heels' frontcourt.
He can reasonably play alongside Armando Bacot, even if he spent most of his time at Northwestern playing center, and when Bacot needs a breather, Nance gives UNC the interior depth it didn't previously have.
The defensive fit is a little more questionable, but Hubert Davis showed last season that he's capable of making in-season adjustments to fit his personnel.
What are expectations for the Tar Heels next season?
Marks: The addition of Nance means North Carolina will start next season out as a top-3 team, and quite possibly as the No. 1 team in the country.
When you return four of five starters, and then add one of the top transfers available in the portal, that's what you get. UNC came within 20 minutes of winning the national title in Hubert Davis' first season, and in adding Nance, getting back to that stage only becomes more of an emphasis.
The Tar Heels will almost certainly be ACC favorites next season, and with the combination of talent and experience back in the fold, the baseline expectation will be hanging banners — plural.
ncG1vNJzZmismJqutbTLnquim16YvK57km1vcnFgZnxzfJFrZmluX2aFcLzErZxmppGjsKZ5wKelqK2emLK0edOrmKerlpq%2FbrLRqKRmpp%2BnwanDxKyrnqqeYsGwec2oqa2gXZius7vLoqWaZw%3D%3D