UNC head coach Michael Malone has secured the commitment of 7-foot Greek forward Alex Samodurov. The 21-year-old has extensive FIBA and EuroLeague experience.
The big man from Panathinaikos B.C. withdrew from the 2026 NBA Draft to reunite in Chapel Hill with fellow Greek prospect Neoklis Avdalas, another former Panathinaikos player who transferred to UNC earlier this offseason.
Samodurov offers size, mobility, rim protection, and floor-spacing potential. He had limited minutes in the EuroLeague this season with Panathinaikos.
The Greek forward won bronze at EuroBasket 2025 for Vassilis Spanoulis’ national team. In the EuroLeague with Panathinaikos, he averaged 2.6 points in six minutes per game across 13 appearances. Meanwhile, in the Stoiximan GBL, he is averaging 4.0 points in 17 games so far.
Michael Malone Played Important Role in UNC Landing Terrence Brown
On Saturday, Terrence Brown officially signed with the North Carolina Tar Heels in Chapel Hill. Brown shared that Michael Malone played a major role in his decision to sign with UNC over Kansas and Kentucky.
“He’s just a straightforward and caring person,” Brown said. “How much of a heart he has is what I feel goes unnoticed. He’s an intense coach that’s all about winning and I love that. I know that he’ll push me to my limit, and that’s what I need from a coach to help me go to the next level. He has a real attention to detail because he obviously knows what he’s talking about.”
“For sure, he had a big impact on me going there,” Brown added. “And then the culture there was cool. The assistants have won national championships there – Coach [Sean] May and Coach [Pat] Sully [Sullivan]. It’s a culture and family, that’s what made me lean towards them.”
What impressed Brown was Malone preparing a film for him so that even his assistant coaches could note what he saw in him.
“It stood out to me, because we were watching film and he has all my clips ready to go,” Brown said. “He’s pointing out each thing, he knows my passing reads, and my scoring reads… he knew everything about my game and said how much he liked it.”
Such an in-depth insight about him convinced Brown that playing under Malone would be best for him.
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