UNC Basketball: Hubert Davis lands former UVA forward Justin McKoy

After officially accepting the head coaching position earlier this week, Hubert Davis has landed his first Tar Heel. Today it was announced that former Virginia Cavaliers forward Justin McKoy will transfer to UNC, adding some much-needed depth to a roster that has a lot of question marks.

McKoy is a 6’8, 215 lb forward from Cary, North Carolina. He is going into his junior year after playing his first two seasons under Tony Bennett, and averaged 3.5 points and 3.3 rebounds during that time. This past season he averaged 11.3 minutes on the court, and he took a sizable jump in shooting efficiency. McKoy averaged 48.3% shooting from the field, and knocked down 33.3% of his three-point attempts.

When discussing the news with Inside Carolina, McKoy had this to say about how he thinks his game has developed:

“I’ve gotten a lot better offensively,” he told Inside Carolina. “My shot has gotten a lot more consistent. I can put it on the floor. The two main things I’d say I’ve really improved on are my lateral quickness – I can guard multiple positions on the floor - and then my rebounding.”

Streaking the Lawn’s Caroline Darney says that McKoy is a high-energy guy that should be really good at cleaning the boards. He had several six-rebound games during the 2020-21 season, which is impressive considering how little time he averaged on the court. When looking at his per 40 minutes stats, his rebounding average jumps up to 11.6 boards per game, which is something that we have the potential of seeing should UNC’s roster stay in its currently blown up state. As of right now, McKoy and Leaky Black are the tallest players on the team now that Garrison Brooks, Sterling Manley, and Walker Kessler are in the transfer portal. Armando Bacot could potentially be returning, and we are still waiting to get additional information about Kessler, but if the roster was confirmed today we would likely see McKoy playing a hybrid power/center role in a small lineup.

Realistically, the acquisition of Justin McKoy is the first of a few moves that we should expect Hubert Davis to make this spring. I look forward to seeing how the newest Tar Heel molds with the roster, and I also look forward to seeing what move Davis will make next. What do you think of UNC’s latest addition to the roster? Let us know in the comments below.