UNC Basketball: The Best & The Worst Case Scenarios For Carolina

So much uncertainty fills the air of Chapel Hill for the North Carolina Tar Heels basketball future.  Will John Henson, Harrison Barnes, Kendall Marshall return next season?  Could freshman James Michael McAdoo who blossomed at the end of the season split so early?  All we know now is Tyler Zeller and Justin Watts are graduating.  Stillman White is packing his bags for two years to go on his Mormon mission.  The stars of the team are contemplating their futures.  And a talented recruiting class awaits with Carolina now also pursuing Alex Oriakhi who is now transferring from Connecticut.

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With so much uncertainty, let’s take a look at the best and worst cases for Carolina.

Best Case

The stars stay and Oriakhi adds his veteran presence to the lineup.

PG: Kendall Marshall, Marcus Paige, Dexter Strickland

SG: Dexter Strickland, Leslie McDonald, Reggie Bullock

SF: Harrison Barnes, PJ Hairston, JP Tokoto

PF: James Michael McAdoo, Brice Johnson, Desmond Hubert

C: John Henson, Alex Oriakhi, Joel James

This team would be ridiculous.  It would be a difficult task keeping everybody happy with only so many minutes to go around.  Roy Williams would have the opportunity to rest his stars.  Players like Brice Johnson, Joel James and JP Tokoto would likely have to take a back seat and play limited roles in their freshman years.  It would be very fun and interesting to see who rose to the top and won the starting shooting guard spot and who would ultimately nail down the most playing time.  This is pretty unlikely to happen with at least one or two underclassmen sure to go pro.  But it’s fun to dream.

Worst Case

Everyone leaves and Oriakhi chooses to transfer to Kentucky instead of Carolina.

PG: Marcus Paige, Dexter Strickland

SG: Dexter Strickland, Leslie McDonald, Reggie Bullock

SF: PJ Hairston, JP Tokoto

PF: Brice Johnson, Desmond Hubert

C: Joel James

In this case UNC was be severely lacking leadership and the frontline would be very inexperienced.  The team could end up with multiple freshman starting.  Players like Brice Johnson and Joel James may not be ready for major minutes.  Retaining McAdoo and Henson or bringing in Oriakhi could be vital for Carolina.

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