Starting to hear rumors. Possible late re-class? Tar Heels have a chance for the 2024/2025 season?
Julius Halaifonua, 7-foot, 290-pound center from New Zealand - Possible 2024 Reclass
- Thread starter DaSheed
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Only thing I've found is unc & hd have made contact with him and uk, zaga, gtown among many others .....
The connection to UNC is now fact. Rumors about reclassifying.
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I'd love to add another center to the current roster, even though we've been emphatically told that won't happen.
We are indeed communicating with him and a few other international Bigs for 25.
At this point, as far as I know, reclass talk is coming from fans.
Yeah man. He really has a soft touch and moves well with a decent handle for such a young big. And seems to carry his weight well. That's what I kept hoping Mando would have shown over his career. Water under the bridge but that young man looks like a great get for someone.
He was a star at the NBA Global Games recently. He was quoted as saying, “I think I'm gonna have to make a big decision and do a lot of research in the next couple of weeks." This guy may be the missing link for the Tar Heels this season if he decides to reclassify
Julius Halaifonua interview. Can’t help but like this guy
Julius Halaifonua interview. Can’t help but like this guy
Would we expect him to play this coming season or just a Depth piece with a bigger role in the future…How old is the kid?
In an interview with On3 he said Hubert has talked with his coach, but that he has yet to personally talk with anyone at UNC. Has that changed?
BOTH Oz, legs to BOTH and frankly, could be game changing. 7'1" and 290lbs and built a bit like Luke on a longer frame (not saying he shoots like Luke did, just saying his 290lbs are proportioned well). Kid has the trifecta of length, bulk, and raw strength that we lost when Bacot used his last game of eligibility. This could get really exciting! The ONE thing I trust when it comes to a reclass guy is good size for position, this kid has really good size and a good amount of developed skill, multiple scoring back to the basket scoring moves.
I really think he would play this coming season, especially when we face bigger front lines.
Also hearing that Mullins and Moreno may be a package deal and BOTH have offers and strong interest in UNC, they have scheduled UNC visits on the SAME weekend! !
Anyone else find it interesting that certain insiders told us we were definitely done when we got Lubin? Then the whole roster arrived on campus, we had some scrimmages, we had some practices, and now those same sites are saying we are interested in getting a 2025 center to reclass.
So either the staff got a major wake-up call once the whole roster was in Chapel Hill, and realized our center options are not adequate for our team goals. Or the staff was not actually done with the roster when they added Lubin.
So either the staff got a major wake-up call once the whole roster was in Chapel Hill, and realized our center options are not adequate for our team goals. Or the staff was not actually done with the roster when they added Lubin.
No. They said we were done in the portal and we were. The international market operates on a different time-table. We have been scouting foreign Bigs for the next two classes, but if one starts talking reclass and others are interested, well, you snooze - you lose.
I think a red shirt for the Godfather and bring in Julius would be a good idea for both
I think that might be good for both, but I don't expect it to happen. UNC doesn't usually redshirt for development in bball and these days, it would be a rare individual that would accept a RS and not want to transfer! JB looks like he is willing to work his tail off and wait his turn, but I don't know about taking the RS and accepting that he definitely won't play next season.
Nice dream scenario though!
Nice dream scenario though!
3 for me HUGE reasons why this kid (at least in my thinking) would be a fantastic addition for this coming season (reclass).
1) He gives us that big strong body that we simply do not have right now. It isn't just height, it is raw strength and bulk as well, it is the ability to finish thru contact. You watched last season how often we had to have Bacot defend big centers, many times without help. It is hard to give up 40lbs as a center to your opponent.
2) To play next season the kid would have to reclass. I am not usually ready to expect much from a reclass. But 7'0" and 290lbs that runs the court is not the same as a reclass that is of average size. For example, a guy that shot great in high school may not shoot all that well as a reclass guy, takes a lot to adjust to college level athletes defending you. This kid has really good size for a college center and as I expect that 290lbs will trim down rather quickly to around 275 or so, he can be a day 1 force to deal with. We have Bama early this coming season, bama is going to throw the 7" kid we wanted at us, scares the heck out of me to think JWash may have to defend him for extended periods.
3) He is a Euro kid, typically, especially their big men are well schooled in skills, more so than those coming out of AAU ball in the states. Our home grown kids tend to get by on their size and athletism but the skill items lag. Coming from this kind of back ground suggests he is more ready than others may be as typical college freshmen. And I absolutely LOVE the thought that we could rekindle a Euro connection we had at one time with guys like Rodel, Addy, Bucknell. You see these euro guys going to schools like Zaga for example and play well, especially the big guys. I would LOVE to see us have a 3rd door option outside of high school and portal transfers.
This may be the perfect addition that would go directly to the one serious concern many of us have for this coming season. If we get this kid honestly, Brown should red shirt, very doubtful he would play in any event but adding this kid I think should lock Brown in to a red shirt. Why burn a season of eligibility if y9ou are not going to play anything but mop up minutes, even if bringing in this kid makes you want to transfer, why burn a season of eligibility for your next team if you are not wiling to wait and work for you time. Realize this now, this kiwi kid is not Will Shaver, this kid has real ability and huge upside.
1) He gives us that big strong body that we simply do not have right now. It isn't just height, it is raw strength and bulk as well, it is the ability to finish thru contact. You watched last season how often we had to have Bacot defend big centers, many times without help. It is hard to give up 40lbs as a center to your opponent.
2) To play next season the kid would have to reclass. I am not usually ready to expect much from a reclass. But 7'0" and 290lbs that runs the court is not the same as a reclass that is of average size. For example, a guy that shot great in high school may not shoot all that well as a reclass guy, takes a lot to adjust to college level athletes defending you. This kid has really good size for a college center and as I expect that 290lbs will trim down rather quickly to around 275 or so, he can be a day 1 force to deal with. We have Bama early this coming season, bama is going to throw the 7" kid we wanted at us, scares the heck out of me to think JWash may have to defend him for extended periods.
3) He is a Euro kid, typically, especially their big men are well schooled in skills, more so than those coming out of AAU ball in the states. Our home grown kids tend to get by on their size and athletism but the skill items lag. Coming from this kind of back ground suggests he is more ready than others may be as typical college freshmen. And I absolutely LOVE the thought that we could rekindle a Euro connection we had at one time with guys like Rodel, Addy, Bucknell. You see these euro guys going to schools like Zaga for example and play well, especially the big guys. I would LOVE to see us have a 3rd door option outside of high school and portal transfers.
This may be the perfect addition that would go directly to the one serious concern many of us have for this coming season. If we get this kid honestly, Brown should red shirt, very doubtful he would play in any event but adding this kid I think should lock Brown in to a red shirt. Why burn a season of eligibility if y9ou are not going to play anything but mop up minutes, even if bringing in this kid makes you want to transfer, why burn a season of eligibility for your next team if you are not wiling to wait and work for you time. Realize this now, this kiwi kid is not Will Shaver, this kid has real ability and huge upside.
Biggest reasons I see are we do not have a true 5 ready to play. Wash is a true 4 that has a decent inside/OUTSIDE game and he has the length but not the size needed to defend the bulky 5's inside .. and he's the best 5 we have ATM. JH may not have "muscular" size yet but I noticed in a lot of his videos he has a nice fade from contact and finishes with a great touch. To bad the vids show offense and not much defense .. but 7' 290 is formidable for most. I think he would make UNC a FF team this season .. jmo
Easy now. We do have a 5 and this kid is still developing and needs to learn to play against guys who he isn't a head taller than.
Hope we get him, and he can potentially help this season, but he isn't necessarly a day-one starter.
We will agree that Wash is a decent 5 option in most games .. and you know that I am and have always been one of JWahes biggest fans, but it seems we might disagree that his best, or more natural position is as a very versatile 4 both NCAA and pro. The problem I see is that we are really paper thin at the true 5 when it comes to size (bulk) and JH is an incredibly attractive option to me. But I will defer to you as a coach as to his suitability to provide quality minutes early in his college career. To me JH (in the vids I've seen) is already more polished (offensively) than Bacot ever was and he has a couple extra inches and another 50 or so lbs. Just from my untrained eyes he won't be long for college and we would be very fortunate to have him available at UNC for however long he wanted to stay. jmo
Oh, he has worlds of potential and good coordination, but he's gonna need to work his way into playing against guys closer to his size and strength. Mando would give him a lesson right now, but there's a lotta ceiling there.
Thing is gary, we don't need him as a starter but 2 things to me are vital. First, is who do we look to when Jalen sits? Do we go small with Lubin or JWit or untested with High? Both to me are concerning options and as big a Jalen fan as I am, Jalen is not as tested as I would like, 8mins a game last season.
The other concern this kid would really help in is that it would give Jalen a big body center to go against in practice that both can and should better prepare Jalen for battling those kind of bodies in games.
Yes, we can win with the guys we have but believe it will take a different approach on both ends and I don't really see Hubert going to such an approach. I mean, no matter how many times I have called for us to really push tempo on BOTH ends of the court we still tend to end up in a half court offense when ever Cadeau sits. Bacot has been the big body inside for years, the guy that the ball tried to go thru basically since Hubert took over as coach and now we do not have that big body guy to rely on.
The ball has been going thru our Bigs for decades! Hubs wants to push pace more than anyone on here. When EC sat, who was going to push that pace? I would rather the coach respond to his personnel than to force a system on peeps not ready to execute it! I'm getting a little tired of every discussion being mired in the false narrative that coaching decisions were so dang bad last year!
Well, that's why we brought in Lubin, who can hold his own vs bgger guys. But yeah, this NZ kid would at least give us a (literally) big body as he develops.
BTW, since his reclass is official we'll know pretty dang soon, as there's a really short OV window. Here's hoping...
I keep hoping we'll hear a visit being set up. Kentucky fans are so sure he's going to pick them. It's just odd because UK seems set at center, while we can offer a much better shot at playing time.
Kinda like dook .. surprised they haven't jumped in ...they seem to follow on our heels offering kids
Peeps that say we don't have enough to field a successful frontcourt are either not bball savvy, aren't paying attention, or have an agenda! It is also patently false to say we didn't land a portal 5. We missed on exactly 2 frontcourt peeps and I maintain we will ultimately be very happy we did!
This kid would be an awesome developmental big body, however!
This kid would be an awesome developmental big body, however!
Tha puke kid, Malauchi, did look impressive! He shoots and moves well. He will be a problem but he is still learning his ball instincts so I expect us to be able to handle him. For some reason Flagg doesn't scare me at all even though he is very talented!
First week of Aug is the visit window so we'll know soon enough
I’ve heard the same thing from someone close to Mullins. Originally there were 3 of them wanted to play together from their AAU team. The third player I heard was leaning towards PU, but I noticed Moreno didn’t have PU in his top 8. But all 3 had IU, which IU has some deep NIL pockets. Hopefully Mullens and Moreno are fine with just them two pairing up at UNC!
What does this have to do with Halaifonua's ??? Do I have ADD or you?
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