A tough freshman campaign, plus a season-ending knee injury, divided by a crowded backfield and what do you get? You get ranked #62 on our “ACC’s Top-100 Returning Players” Countdown.
PLAYER: Reggie Bullock
POSITION: Shooting Guard
TEAM: North Carolina
YEAR: Sophomore
TAPE: 6-7, 190
TWITTER: @DaBully35
2010-11 STATS: 6.1 ppg, 2.8 ppg, 0.6 apg (.367/.565/.296)
DEEP THOUGHTS:
As a 6-6 shooting guard, Reggie Bullock has an NBA body to go with the NBA distance on his jumper. I suspect he’ll have a better pro career than a lot of guys I have ranked ahead of him. So why is he ranked down so low? I’ll give you three reasons.
First, he’s coming off a pretty big injury. Bullock tore a lateral meniscus in his left knee. He underwent arthroscopic surgery to repair the damage. Even now in early July, he’s still not 100-percent. According to reports, he can’t cut and he’s been battling swelling.
Secondly, I wasn’t all that impressed by Bullock last year when he was healthy. The Tar Heels were expecting to get a long, athletic guard, who could create monster havoc on defense. He was also suppose to be lights out from three, who could also put it on the floor to get some points in the paint.
As a freshman, Bullock was certainly a three-point shooter (over 59-percent of his shots were threes), but he wasn’t always a three-point maker. He hit an unimpressive 29-percent from downtown.
He also didn’t impress me with his defense. He tended to stand tall and play flat-footed, allowing smaller, quicker guards to work easily around him.
Lastly, where will Bullock’s minutes come from? He struggled to be a good player and he’s coming off a severe injury that can’t be rushed, yet somehow he will need to find a place in the rotation in a crowded backfield.
The fact is, Dexter Strickland will be starting two-guard again, along side Kendall Marshall at the point and Harrison Barnes on the wing. Since there is still no legit backup at PG, Strickland will continue to play some point, but I’d argue that Bullock is the third option off the pine behind junior Leslie McDonald and incoming stud freshman, P.J. Hairston.
Don’t be surprised if Bullock’s minutes are cut, especially if Roy Williams doesn’t want to take a chance with that knee. It’s funny how it works. One day you’re a stud shooting guard coming out of high school, capable of being a 1-2 year player, then before you know it, you’re a long-term project who might never sniff the starting lineup until his senior season.
