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The 2026-27 UNC men's basketball season is shaping up to be an exciting one. Longtime NBA boss Michael Malone, whom replaces Hubert Davis as head coach, brings a championship pedigree and strong recruiting profile into his first season at North Carolina.
Malone's recruiting efforts already paid off greatly, most recently with a crucial addition on Friday. The Tar Heels landed a late portal commitment from South Dakota center Cameron Fens.
A 7-foot center originally from Dubuque, Iowa, Fens is one of the many student-athletes benefitting from a recent, temporary injunction against the NCAA allowing a fifth year of eligibility.
Fens enjoyed a breakout senior campaign for South Dakota during its 2025-26 campaign, averaging career-bests of 14.4 points and 8.7 rebounds per game, while also shooting 57.9 percent from the field en route to All-Summit League First Team and All-Defensive team honors. Fens is a more traditional center, primarily operating offensive around the basket and only attempting one 3-point across his first four seasons.
All of a sudden, UNC has an extremely-deep frontcourt with Fens, senior returner and Chapel Hill native Jarin Stevenson, Northwestern transfer Cade Bennerman, plus a pair of international additions in Sayon Keita and Alexandros Samodurov. North Carolina's backcourt is fairly deep, too, with the likes of NC State transfer Matt Able and Utah transfer Terrence Brown also projected to start.
If you had initial concerns about Malone's ability to coach at the collegiate level, those concerns should be gone. Malone helped develop Nikola Jokic into the NBA's best center and now, ahead of his first collegiate game, he's developing a now-dangerous roster capable of making a deep NCAA Tournament run.
Follow us @TarHeelsWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of North Carolina Tar Heels news, notes and opinions.
This article originally appeared on Tar Heels Wire: UNC lands massive commitment from South Dakota center on Friday
Continue reading...
Malone's recruiting efforts already paid off greatly, most recently with a crucial addition on Friday. The Tar Heels landed a late portal commitment from South Dakota center Cameron Fens.
A 7-foot center originally from Dubuque, Iowa, Fens is one of the many student-athletes benefitting from a recent, temporary injunction against the NCAA allowing a fifth year of eligibility.
Fens enjoyed a breakout senior campaign for South Dakota during its 2025-26 campaign, averaging career-bests of 14.4 points and 8.7 rebounds per game, while also shooting 57.9 percent from the field en route to All-Summit League First Team and All-Defensive team honors. Fens is a more traditional center, primarily operating offensive around the basket and only attempting one 3-point across his first four seasons.
All of a sudden, UNC has an extremely-deep frontcourt with Fens, senior returner and Chapel Hill native Jarin Stevenson, Northwestern transfer Cade Bennerman, plus a pair of international additions in Sayon Keita and Alexandros Samodurov. North Carolina's backcourt is fairly deep, too, with the likes of NC State transfer Matt Able and Utah transfer Terrence Brown also projected to start.
If you had initial concerns about Malone's ability to coach at the collegiate level, those concerns should be gone. Malone helped develop Nikola Jokic into the NBA's best center and now, ahead of his first collegiate game, he's developing a now-dangerous roster capable of making a deep NCAA Tournament run.
Follow us @TarHeelsWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of North Carolina Tar Heels news, notes and opinions.
This article originally appeared on Tar Heels Wire: UNC lands massive commitment from South Dakota center on Friday
Continue reading...
