Greek center Alexandros Samodurov has been heavily linked with North Carolina, and it appears increasingly likely the 6-foot-11 forward will commit to the Tar Heels, though nothing is official.
Samodurov, 21, declared for the NBA draft but is also considering college. He plays for Panathinaikos in both the Greek Basketball League and the EuroLeague, averaging 5.1 points and 1.7 rebounds in 29 games while shooting 76.9% on 2-pointers and 26.7% from 3-point range (8-for-30).
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Last summer, he played in FIBA EuroBasket for the Greek national team, averaging 4.9 points and 4.6 blocks in nine games. He also has an indirect connection to UNC as a longtime friend of Neoklis Avdalas, who recently joined the Tar Heels via the transfer portal after playing with Samodurov at Panathinaikos in 2022-23.
247Sports analyst David Sisk said on the “Heel Report” podcast that he believes North Carolina is in strong position.
“I think he will [commit to North Carolina],” Sisk said. “I asked twice about him to different coaches. One said, ‘Until we know — and we haven’t been told anything, we haven’t got anything official — until he makes it official, he’s not committed.’ Another [coach] was like, ‘We’re working on it, man. We’re working on [it].’ So I do think he will, and you just have to be patient with this. It’s going to take a little bit of time.”
Sisk said he expects Samodurov to add scoring and floor spacing if he ends up in Chapel Hill.
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“I like him,” Sisk said. “I just think he will add some scoring in that post spot. I think he is going to be able to stretch [the floor] a little bit. I don’t think it adds to what they need as far as the physical presence inside, but I do think it’s something that they need because if you look at what they’ve got right now, we don’t know if they’ve got a big who can stretch out, can step out and stretch it.”
He added that the need for shooting at the four and five spots is a major reason Samodurov has become such an important target.
“We know how important it was that Henri [Veesaar] could do it last year,” Sisk said. “I think they’ve got to have that guy who can step out and shoot the ball. I think [North Carolina] has the guards, especially [Terrence] Brown, who are going to put the ball on the floor and get to the rim. And the way [Michael] Malone runs his offense, if they run all the zoom stuff like I think they’re going to do, everybody’s just going to switch and stay under everything. You’ve got to have some guys who can shoot the ball and stretch it.”
For now, Samodurov sits at the center of a high-stakes decision that could reshape North Carolina’s frontcourt. Whether he follows the professional path full time or joins Avdalas in Chapel Hill, the Tar Heels have positioned themselves as a serious contender — and the longer the process goes, the more confident those around the program seem to be about where it will end.
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This article originally appeared on Tar Heels Wire: UNC basketball: Tar Heels closing in on Alexandros Samodurov?
