It's been an interesting week for North Carolina fans. First, the Tar Heels made the 2026 NCAA Tournament as a 6-seed after an injury to Caleb Wilson led to a 5-4 finish to the regular season and ACC Tournament. They had a 15-point lead with under 10 minutes to play against VCU in the first round and blew it, getting knocked out of the tourney in the first round for a second straight year.
It was rumored that North Carolina was going to move on from Hubert Davis following five seasons, but there was no news until Tuesday evening as the Tar Heels decided to move on from him.
And this might actually directly affect Michigan State.
No, Tom Izzo isn't going to leave for North Carolina, but the Davis firing could lead to one of Michigan State's top 2026 recruiting targets reopening his recruitment and decommitting from the Tar Heels.
Five-star small forward Maximo Adams was down to a few schools, including Michigan State, before he decided to pick Davis and North Carolina. He probably expected the Tar Heels to be a national title contender this season and for Davis to keep his job with one of the best teams in the country for 2026-27, but that's clearly no longer the case.
That could work out in Izzo's favor.
Can Michigan State poach Maximo Adams?
North Carolina is a big enough name that it could hold onto Adams even with a coaching change. He's obviously going to wait until the Tar Heels pick a new coach and decide then.
If he values relationships with coaches more than the name on the front of the jersey, then he might consider reopening his recruitment and giving Izzo a call, or vice versa.
The only issue I see is that there may not be enough playing time in East Lansing for him, but if he's expecting a transfer or two, he might opt to pursue the talented small forward.
In case you don't remember, there were some experts who believed that there was a solid chance that Adams was going to pick Michigan State. He spoke highly of Izzo and seemed to love his official visit to East Lansing back in September, but North Carolina won him over in October.
Michigan State finished as a runner-up to North Carolina, but this coaching change could open the door for Izzo in the event that Adams asks for a release from his NLI.
Adams would be an elite addition to an already-loaded Spartan class, joining Carlos Medlock Jr., Jasiah Jervis, Ethan Taylor, and Julius Avent. The five-star North Carolina signee is the No. 21 overall recruit and sixth-best small forward in the 2026 class. He would fit Izzo's system like a glove.