UNC Basketball: Tar Heels Future Looks Bright
By Matt Hamm
It’s easy to get yourself caught up thinking about what might have been with the 2011 North Carolina Tar Heels. It’s easy to let your mind only think about the fact that injuries, specifically the one to point guard Kendall Marshall ruined the teams chances at a national championship. Not only that, then the team lost it’s best four players, three of them to early entry in the NBA Draft.
While those are large obstacles and things that would cripple a lot of programs. But I’d like to remind you all that the Tar Heels are not most programs. While Kentucky is getting all the glory now and their recruiting class will get most of the praises along with UCLA and Arizona. The Tar Heels will be just fine, and their mix of returning and incoming talent set the team up for sustained success. The Carolina way.
Sometimes it’s discouraging when the Heels aren’t amongst the finalist for the flashiest of prospects such as Shabazz Muhammad and Nerlens Noel. But for the most part, Roy Williams has stayed away from those types of recruits, the sure one and done’s. We talked to both Muhammad and Noel, we also talked to John Wall a couple years back, but ultimately passed. Sure UNC landed Harrison Barnes, the top recruit of his class. And yes they recruit the finest players, in current pursuit of stars like Jabari Parker, Julius Randle and Troy Williams is proof.
The Heels do not live and die by these prospects and it’s what allows for sustained success in the program. UNC is always building for the long haul, and reloading at the same time. No we didn’t land Noel or Bazz, but we did land the best PG in the class in Marcus Paige, a tremendous athlete that could end up as good of a player as anybody in JP Tokoto. And two quality big men in Joel James and Brice Johnson, four players who all earned a four star rating, landing UNC in the top seven or eight of everybody’s class rankings.
Roy Williams has done a great job of attracting a mix of players who will likely give the program three to four years. And players with the talent to go pro after just one or two. What’s it’s done is given the roster outlook over the next couple of years real hope that it will never be completely without experience and depth. Kentucky’s one and done, NBA factory is flashy, exciting and it won a national championship this season. They have put together another impressive class and continue to pursue the best of what’s available. When it’s all said and done, I prefer the Tar Heels approach. This way, we still get a ton of talent coming in each with each seasons recruiting class. But we can all look forward to players returning for a sophomore, junior and sometimes even senior seasons.
The future looks bright, despite losing Tyler Zeller, Harrison Barnes, Kendall Marshall and John Henson to the NBA. The Heels have a great recruiting class this year and in 2013 they welcome the best PG in the class yet again in Nate Britt along with a five star power forward Isiah Hicks. The team returns one of the best and deepest perimeter rotations in the country. With Dexter Strickland and Leslie McDonald returning from season ending injures. The Heels will have a lot more firepower from the wings in 2012. The team has three offers out to top players in the 2013 class and they continue to scout and recruit the best in the nation. No matter how you lay out the prospective rosters over the next couple of seasons. One thing is for sure, Roy Williams has built up enough depth to pencil Carolina in as likely contenders for the foreseeable future.
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