The frontcourt rotation, particularly at center, is one element of the North Carolina Tar Heels’ roster that is still very uncertain going into the upcoming campaign.
Sayon Keita is expected to secure North Carolina’s starting center position. But the depth of the five-star recruit and foreign talent is really shallow. The only other classic center on the team is Cade Bennerman, a transfer from Northwestern who redshirted his freshman year in 2025.
I would feel much more at ease in this circumstance if Maxim Logue, who initially moved from Florida Atlantic to North Carolina this offseason, hadn’t withdrawn from the program. In fact, if head coach Michael Malone knew he had this three-man center rotation in place, I don’t think he would be looking for other center possibilities abroad. But the 54-year-old coach is right when he says that in order to solidify this team, he needs one more player in the frontcourt.
However, given that North Carolina is now in negotiations with an SEC center, it seems that Malone’s solution to this issue is not limited to European talent.
This week, there were rumors that North Carolina had contacted Florida Gators center Micah Handlogten via the transfer portal. The 7-foot-1 senior center from Huntersville, North Carolina, is awaiting the NCAA’s decision regarding a medical redshirt waiver he filed in an attempt to extend his eligibility by one year.
This past season, Handlogten averaged 4.1 points and 5.9 rebounds in 14.8 minutes per game across 34 games. Given that he played behind Rueben Chinyelu, the 2025 Naismith Defensive Player of the Year, the seasoned big man would be facing a similar circumstance.
In addition to providing the Tar Heels with the rotational players they so need in the frontcourt, Handlogten’s expertise would be invaluable in that locker room. Both Bennerman and Keita are very young, unpolished athletes with a lot of space for improvement.
Those people would benefit greatly from having a seasoned leader like Handlogten, especially Keita, who will have a lot of duties and expectations as the starting center. In an effort to strengthen a frontcourt rotation that lacks substantial depth, Malone is currently working nonstop to sign at least one additional center.
