Tar Heels add 3-point shooting big man Brady Manek from Sooners

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — North Carolina has added Oklahoma transfer Brady Manek.

The school announced Thursday that the 6-foot-9 graduate is joining the Tar Heels after spending the past four seasons as a Sooners starter under now-retired coach Lon Kruger.

Manek provides the Tar Heels with an experienced big man who can step outside to stretch defenses. Manek averaged in double figures each year for Oklahoma, peaking at 14.4 points in 2020 before averaging 10.8 points last year.

Manek also shot better than 37% from behind the arc in his Oklahoma career, making 235 3s to rank fifth in Oklahoma history. His arrival should bolster the outside shooting of a team that didn’t shoot well from 3-point range last season, while also helping offset some of the losses from a once-deep frontcourt.

“Brady is the perfect player for what we wanted and what we needed,” new Tar Heels coach Hubert Davis said.

The Tar Heels had seen freshman Day’Ron Sharpe opt to enter the NBA draft, freshman Walker Kessler announce plans to transfer to Auburn, and Garrison Brooks transfer for his final season at Mississippi State, where his father is an assistant coach. Rising junior big man Armando Bacot is testing the NBA draft waters and it’s unclear whether he’ll return to the Tar Heels.

Manek joins Virginia forward Justin McKoy as incoming transfers for Davis, who took over this month after the retirement of Hall of Famer Roy Williams.