With Ian Jackson transferring to St. John’s and Drake Powell getting drafted by the Brooklyn Nets, the sophomore class is a little uncharted and a lot unfamiliar. There are two new arrivals, two returnees from last year and one player who sat last year out. It’s not the most exciting group, but you never know who could break out. That being said, let’s take a look at this season’s sophomore class.
Zayden High
After sitting out last season, you have to go back to his 2023-24 freshman year to remember
that Zayden High has a, well, high motor (no pun intended) — almost to a fault at times. His fiery energy was great to see on the court but also got him in trouble a bit.
At 6’10” and 230 pounds he is listed as a forward, but definitely could step into the 5-spot if needed, adding depth that was sorely missing last season. He’s a solid rebounder and while his career high is only four points, he notched 17 on 7-11 shooting and grabbed five boards in last weekend’s Cherokee scrimmage.
James Brown
Coming into the season, the 6’10” 240-pound Brown is mostly considered another frontcourt depth piece. He played sparingly last season but converted on 10 of his 14 field goal attempts for an impressive 71.4%.
Brown is probably most comparable in recent years to Joel James, which is certainly not a bad thing to have in your big man stash. This James has more athleticism though, and has thrown down several dunks in the preseason scrimmages, plus he’s obviously been in the weight room all offseason. The dude is jacked. And he wears cool Kareem-style goggles.
Possibly the backup center?
Jonathan Powell
A 6’6” wing, Powell surely adds height to the position, as Hubert was looking to do this offseason. He’ll most likely come off the bench and be expected to add shooting prowess. He struggled to find his shot in the latest scrimmage, going 1-4 from deep, but he still found other ways to contribute.
Last season with West Virginia, Powell hit multiple shots from beyond the arc in 19 games, with the most being five three-pointers in two games. His season high was 17 points. Jonathan (cool first name by the way) could be a hot-and-cold shooter comp for someone like Kerwin Walton (but who plays better defense).
John Holbrook
Similar to a Jackson Simmons-type, this 6’8” 230-pound forward from Hickory, NC will likely be part of the infamous Blue Steel biscuits squad, although he did have a nasty dunk in the Blue-White game that caused the celebrating bench to go nuts which is always fun.
Ivan Matlekovic
A giant from Croatia, Ivan stands 7’0” and weighs 255 pounds, adding even more length to Hubert’s roster. Not much is known about Ivan except that he played two years in the Croatian Basketball League and also for the Croatian National team. He transferred to UNC from High Point — whio did make the NCAA tournament last season — but he only played in five games there. He will be expected to be another Blue Steel hero.
Stay tuned for more roundball previews as the season approaches.
