Why Henri Veesaar is so crucial to Hubert Davis’ UNC basketball roster overhaul

Henri Veesaar didn’t linger in the transfer portal this spring. In less than five days, the Arizona transfer had committed to UNC. He didn’t visit anywhere else. He didn’t need to.

It’s not that his decision was rushed, but rather, he was so sure in his fit at North Carolina. Veesaar asked former Tar Heels guard Caleb Love, who he played alongside at Arizona last season, his thoughts of the program. He also bombarded Steve Robinson, the former assistant coach at UNC and later at Arizona, with questions.

By the time Veesaar got to Chapel Hill in early April for his visit, after reviewing plenty of UNC tape of course, he had one crucial question for senior guard Seth Trimble: are you coming back?

“Because I was like, ‘I’m coming here,’” Veesaar shared at ACC Tipoff in Charlotte on Tuesday. “I need to know that you’re coming back too.”

This isn’t just one more stop for Veesaar on his way to the NBA, although he certainly hopes North Carolina will help his development. He’s part of an intentional rebuild — the largest roster overhaul of Hubert Davis’ tenure — focused on positional size and versatility. At 7-foot, 225 pounds, the Estonia native has the agility and shooting acumen of a wing with the touch of a stretch big.

Davis has called Veesaar a “huge benefit.” Guard Kyan Evans called him a “freak.” And most crucially, after a disappointing 23-14 finish for UNC, Veesaar represents an intentional push toward more positionless play.

“He’s not just tall,” Trimble said in September. “He’s not just a 7-foot foreign guy... he can really just dunk the ball. I can really throw it up to Henri. He’s gonna go get it. He’s such a dynamic roller.”

“This is it’s something that not a lot of bigs have,” Trimble added, “and it’s going to create a lot of opportunities for us. It’s going to open up our games a lot, and he’s going to be able to create and just feed off himself for that.

Size matters

There’s a picture in Davis’ office of the UNC head coach boxing out Michael Jordan and Dennis Rodman when he was with the New York Knicks. His box out technique, in Davis’ own opinion, is fantastic. Perfect, even.

“There is no way that I got the rebound,” Davis said. “There’s just no chance. And so, obviously, that helps out to have that type of size out there.”

If there’s one idea Davis repeated ad nauseum in Charlotte, it’s this: size matters. This is nothing new for Davis, who has long maintained that rebounding is the number one determining factor in winning.

Davis said in September offensive rebounding was “nothing near where we wanted to be” last season. The Tar Heels, whose roster only boasted two players at 6-10 or taller, averaged 9.78 offensive boards a game last season, good for 15th in the ACC and 240th in the nation.

This year, UNC boasts six players 6-10 or taller in Zayden High, James Brown, Caleb Wilson, Jarin Stevenson, Ivan Matlekovic and, of course, Veesaar.

“I always want size,” Davis said Tuesday. “We have more size this year than last year... it was something that we were really happy in terms of our roster, that not only were we able to get size in the front court, we got positional size.”

North Carolina can now roll out lineups that border on absurdly large. Veesaar relished in relaying the various options to the gathered media in Charlotte: Trimble at the one, Jonathan Powell or Luka Bogovac the two, Stevenson at the three, Wilson or High at the five.

“That’s a really big roster,” Veesaar said, emphasizing his point. “Like, big. Really big lineup.”

Veesaar’s vision

As intentional as Davis was in his roster overhaul, it’s safe to say Veesaar was equally detailed in his analysis of how he would fit into the team.

The Arizona transfer watched plenty of film before visiting Chapel Hill. He wanted to see the style of guard play and predict how he may fit in.

He had some points of emphasis for his new teammates once on campus. Veesaar specifically approached Trimble about the guard’s 3-point percentage, which dropped from 41.9% in 2023-24 to 26.6% last season.

He knew, if Trimble didn’t increase his percentage this year, it would create trouble for him on the pick-and-roll.

“I was like, ‘I can’t have you [opponents] under,’” Veesaar said. “I can’t have them go under the ball screens. I need them to go over.”

Since Veesaar arrived at UNC, he and Trimble have gotten in the habit of shooting together after practice. Trimble said it was the first time an incoming transfer has pulled him for extra work.

The same attention to detail in practice extends to Veesaar’s own goal setting. Because he knows what he’s here for.

That much was evident in his visit.

“Just seeing the floors that are put in our gym from the national championships that they won,” Veesaar said. “You’re like, ‘That’s pretty awesome. We need to get there too.’

I want to have that chance. I don’t have many years left, but I definitely want to get there.”