The best thing you can say is that it was a nice end to a season. North Carolina won 20 games and got to the national championship game….of the NIT. But what was a real tough stat to see were 17 losses and a 5-11 record in the ACC. But despite six key players gone from last year's team, the expectations are still very big for this team.
Backcourt
There are some questions surrounding the backcourt. Larry Drew II will be the starter at point guard, but he wasn't that much of a scorer, only averaging 8.5 points per game. Drew's strong point was his passing, as he averaged six assists per game, and was among the league's leaders in assist to turnover ratio. Will Graves was penciled to start on the wing, but was dismissed from the team over the summer. Instead, Dexter Strickland will start alongside Drew. The sophomore played a decent amount last year, averaging five points per game. There is some good, young depth on the bench. Leslie McDonald will see a little action, but needs to improve his shooting. McDonald only shot 31% from the field last season. Two freshmen in Reggie Bullock and Kendall Marshall are expected to contribute right away. Bullock could sneak onto ACC Freshmen team by the end of the year. At 6-7, Bullock is taller than most wing players, but can really shoot the ball. Kendall Marshall, a pass-first PG, will step-in if Drew if he struggles at all at the point guard position.
Frontcourt
All of the buzz for the Tar Heels this season surrounds Harrison Barnes. Barnes is being compared to Sean Elliott, Carmelo Anthony, etc right away, which is high praise considering the career and achievements of those players. It's possible that Barnes will be a one and done player, so fans should enjoy Barnes while they can. At 6-8 Barnes' shooting and ball handling skills are those of a guard, but his desire and effort to be great may surpass his abilities, which is saying something. John Henson should continue to be a defensive force inside this year after adding some weight. Henson had 59 blocks last season, and only averaged 16 minutes per game. If his scoring improves, he could be a dominant player inside. Center Tyler Zeller will start, but has to avoid yet another freak injury. Zeller averaged nine points per game last season, and that number will rise if he can stay healthy. Another newcomer for bench depth is Justin Knox. Knox is a senior transfer from Alabama, and will probably play some power forward.
Schedule
There are four games in UNC's non conference schedule that are intriguing. The Heels go to Illinois November 30 in the ACC-Big 10 Challenge, host Kentucky December 4, host Texas December 18, and travel to Rutgers December 28. Conference wise, UNC has the usual home and away games with Duke (the game in Chapel Hill closes out the regular season).
Prediction
Roy Williams said last year that he didn't understand why there were so many expectations last year with so much turnover from the previous season. He ended up being right. This year has a similar circumstance. There are a lot of new faces on the team, and it may take them a while to gel. But the big difference is Harrison Barnes wasn't on that team. He is so highly thought of that he didn't make the first team All-ACC, but was good enough to be first team preseason All American team. I tend to think this team won't be as bad as last season, but I'm not completely sold that they are second place in the ACC team material. They will be good enough to make the NCAA tournament though.
by Will Ojanen
Fantasy Player to Watch
Harrison Barnes has the ability to lead the Heels in points, assists, and rebounds. The only caveat is the kid is a freshman and will have his ups-and-downs, but you can bet the highs will be higher than the lows will be low.
