Where To Now?

It’s official. Between Tyler Zeller graduating, and Harrison Barnes, Jon Henson, and Kendall Marshall leaving UNC for the NBA—the Tar Heels will lose four fifths of their starters. James Michael McAdoo will be considering jumping to the league too, but his father expects him to be back in a Carolina blue uniform again next season.

That being said, the question for these guys is: how will they fare in the NBA? That question is permanently hitched to what team drafts them.

Chad Ford’s Top 100 list places Harrison Barnes as the number eight pick. Detroit Pistons would thereby be in position to take him. This wouldn’t be a terrible place for him to end up. At 6’8’’, Harrison Barnes would add some much needed-size to their front court. Being a slashing small forward who can also stop-and-pop would help Detroit’s situation tremendously. They play in a top heavy conference. The Chicago Bulls are the only real force in the Central standings (alongside Indiana, Cleveland, and Milwaukee.) That means that Barnes could come into town and have a direct impact in their wins column. He would also have a huge ally in point guard, Rodney Stuckey, who averages 14 PPG and 4 APG and who is their best player. Harrison would get the ball in spots he could score.

At number 11 is Tyler Zeller going to the Golden State Warriors. At 7’ and 250, with a great passing ability, and an array of moves in the post, he too could make an immediate impact. He would alleviate some of the front court pressure to big-man David Lee. Lee averages 20 and 10 and is an absolute banger so Tyler could compliment that well. Monta Ellis drops nearly 22 a game and NC native Stephen Curry drops 14 and dishes over 5 assists per outing. They like to run, are 7th in the league in assists, and could be a perfect fit for quick moving big man Zeller. It could be a great team to pad his stats for.

Chad Ford is projecting Jon Henson to join UNC alumni Tyler Hansbrough and Danny Granger in Pacers land. Ranked eighth in rebounds and sixth in points allowed, Henson could reinforce the front line with his rebounding ability and defensive mindset. Indiana is 16th in points per game but near the bottom in assists. Jon is a strong passer down low and could lead to easy buckets for Tyler the merciless. They are second in a fairly weak conference behind the Chicago Bulls and look to make a push with Henson in the fold.

Kendall Marshall is projected as a number 17 pick to the NY Knicks and, honestly, is a bit of a head scratcher for me. First let me address something. The fact that the Cousy award winner is anticipated to be drafted after the incredibly cocky ball-hog freshman Austin Rivers (who is nothing short of class-less “old money”) is absolutely laughable to me. Venting aside, the Jeremy Lin-sanity virus has infected the basketball world—much less the basketball Mecca. There’s also Baron Davis who is a veteran guard behind Lin. Why would they choose Marshall? He’s a great player and not turn-over prone like Lin…but why pick a player for a position that is pretty full? Do the NY Knicks want to join the NY Jets in having another Tim Tebow-backup controversy by picking Marshall to start before Jeremy Lin? The better option would be for him to drop to 19 and get picked up by the horrendous Charlotte Bobcats. Kendall Marshall and Kemba Walker would be a pretty nice up-and-coming front court.