The Tar Heels continue to show interest in backcourt players that have entered the transfer portal, after making contact with Isaac McKneely from Virginia, and Donovan Dent from New Mexico, Carolina has contacted local product, Nick Dorn, the transfer from Elon, per Matt Giles, who covers UNC, NC State and Duke for Sports Illustrated. Dorn is a 6-7 guard, who averaged 15.2 points, and 3.8 rebounds, who has ties to UNC, as his father, and his brother both played football at North Carolina.
Dorn becomes the first clear-cut mid-major player that UNC has expressed interest in, considering the fact that Donovan Dent, was the Mountain West Player of the Year, and ranked inside the top 10 in scoring last season. Carolina doesn’t have a great track record of bringing players in from the mid-major level, as Cade Tyson failed ever to make the transition smoothly this past season. It’s not just Cade Tyson who struggled, so did Christian Keeling, and Justin Pierce back in the 2019-20 season, both of whom came from the mid-major level.
In his career, Dorn has started 47 games and is a 12.0 point-per-game career scorer, while shooting 38% from the field, and 36% from behind the arc. He earned All-Freshman honors in the CAA, where he averaged 9.4 points per game, on 39% shooting, including 36% from behind the arc.
Elon opened the season against North Carolina, and Dorn scored 17 points, on 6-12 shooting, with 5 made three-pointers, in Carolina's 90-76 season-opening win.
While you like Dorn’s size and even his production in his sophomore season, this isn’t a player who will send shockwaves through a fan base that is going to be very critical of every move Hubert Davis and his staff make this off-season. If Dorn is the back end of the piece of a class that includes a Donovan Dent or Isaac McKneely that’s one thing, but if he ends up being to this transfer class, what Cade Tyson was to last year’s, that will spell trouble heading into the 2025-26 season.
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