With how wild the transfer portal has been in college sports, it's hard to keep up. Key players seem to be transferring nonstop as they try to chase a championship or simply want to improve their draft stock. In other cases, players like Cade Tyson realize the grass may be greener outside of North Carolina.
After his first impression, that may hold. Hubert Davis was able to bring Tyson to UNC after he spent his first two seasons at Belmont. The former Bruins guard headed to the Tar Heels as one of the most highly touted transfers, only for him to get lost in the shuffle.
Niko Medved on Cade Tyson: We always talk about “fit matters”…it just didn’t work out for him. If you remember a few years ago, he was one of the top transfers in the transfer portal. Different stories, but it even reminded me a little of the Nique Clifford kid we had, for… pic.twitter.com/I2Wx5GUjz4
— GopherHole.com (@GopherHole) October 17, 2025
In his junior season as a Tar Heel, Tyson averaged just 7.9 minutes per game. Davis's game plan didn't include the 6'7'' 195-pound guard who was coming off a sophomore season where he averaged 16.2 points per game. Every number of his hit rock bottom at UNC, including his average of just 2.6 points per game.
To no surprise, Tyson wanted out. He put his name in the portal and drew immediate attention. After settling on Minnesota, Tyson was able to head to another new conference and received a much-needed reset. After his performance against North Dakota State, Davis is looking back on where things went wrong.
Imagine if Minnesota gets this version of Cade Tyson for in insanely low price/buy in bc of one bad year at UNC…
— Ryan Hammer (@ryanhammer09) October 17, 2025
16 ppg on 46% from 3. All MVC top level shooter in the country version https://t.co/WlIXI8cSeh pic.twitter.com/rwxFsJGX5i
Tyson's viral performance had UNC social media on fire as he finished with a career-high 28 points, shooting 9/13 from the field, including 6/9 from three. He added two rebounds and drilled all four of his free throws, a percentage that was just 56.3% with the Tar Heels.
"Free from the shackles of Chapel Hill," one fan wrote. Another chimed in, "What the **** was Hubert doing with this kid last year lol?"
Can we permanently set aside one roster spot for UNC washouts going forward?
— Frank III (@609ZE) October 17, 2025
This individual wrote, "Can we permanently set aside one roster spot for UNC washouts going forward?" That sparked a response from a Duke fan, "#ExtendHubertAgain."
Some fans were quick to defend Hubert as Tyson put up similar numbers against LaSalle last season. It's far too early to tell if Tyson can put up these numbers in B1G play, one of the toughest conferences in the nation.
In 15 ACC games at UNC last year Cade Tyson had 31 total points. He made more 3s last night against NDSU (6) than he did in 15 ACC regular season games (5)
— Mike B (@M_Bulger19) October 17, 2025
And UNC gave him a bag. Lmfao. https://t.co/vX8Wf4V0IU
One fan was blown away by Tyson's performance after reminiscing on UNC's decision to pay him $700K. In the NIL era, this has become the new normal. Teams like Minnesota are now able to "buy-low" on players like Tyson, as this fan put it.
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