The New Look UNC Tar Heels-Athletic and Dangerous
By Matt Hamm
Harrison Barnes, Kendall Marshall and John Henson all declared for the NBA draft early. Tyler Zeller and Justin Watts are graduating and Stillman White is leaving Chapel Hill and going on a two year Mormon mission. The 2012-13 North Carolina Tar Heels will have a much different look under head coach Roy Williams. But it’s not all depressing news and this Tar Heel team will be a force.
UNC will be a completely different team than what they were this past season. Both in the way they look on the court and the strategy they will have to employ. This past season the Tar Heels had without question the most dominate front line in college basketball. With Tyler Zeller, John Henson and Harrison Barnes in front of reserve James Michael McAdoo the Heels sported four different players all rated as top 15 projected NBA Draft picks.
McAdoo is now the lone returning player of that bunch and the team will rely on him to build on his postseason performance that had him contemplating going pro himself. McAdoo is an ultra athletic and talented player who’s performance was hindered by a lack of playing time throughout the regular season that saw the freshman struggling to adapt to his role on the team.
When John Henson went down with a sprained wrist in the ACC Tournament and missed three games, McAdoo shined in his expanded role. His talents on both ends of the floor began to show as his confidence grew. From snatching up steals and taking the ball coast to coast for thunderous slams. To facing up and taking his man to the basket and knocking down mid range jumpers with guard like skills. McAdoo showed us just a glimpse of what’s to come.
I watched a lot of McAdoo in his high school days. Aside from Kevin Garnett never before had I seen a big man dominate like McAdoo. Anyone that witnessed KG as a high school player can attest that his physical domination was almost unfair at the HS level. McAdoo dominated in every phase of the game. The most athletic player on the court even in the HS All-American games, it has been obvious since the kid’s HS freshman season that he was going to be special. Only he didn’t have a chance to be until late last season. I am 100% confident with the statement that James Michael McAdoo will not only be one of the best players in the ACC next season, he will be one of the best in the entire nation.
With McAdoo as their best player the Heels will take on another identity led by their perimeter attack. UNC lost Barnes but will gain three players in his place. Leslie McDonald and Dexter Strickland were set to battle this season for the starting shooting guard spot before McDonald injured himself in the North Carolina summer pro-am. Strickland was then lost early in the season and the Tar Heels were left without their best two SG options (not to mention their top backup point guard).
The Heels turned to Reggie Bullock who was coming off a season ending injury of his own that derailed his freshman year. The former five star recruit started off a bit rusty offensively and had to tighten up his perimeter defense. After settling in as the new starter, Bullock did a fantastic job.
He stepped up his defensive efforts and became one of the teams more reliable defenders. Late in the season, especially in the tournaments, Bullock’s game began to open up on both ends of the floor. With Henson out, Bullock became a force on the boards and even better defensively. On offense, he started to show the type of confidence a big time player should have. His sweet stroke resulted in him becoming the reliable three point shooter he was tabbed to be. Bullock hit a huge shot against Creighton in the Sweet 16, proving when given the opportunity, he can be a big time player.
The injuries to Strickland and McDonald also opened the door for freshman PJ Hairston. Aside from a couple of big games early in the season. Hairston struggled mightily to find his rhythm. The classes best shooter ended up barely cracking 30% from the field and shot just 27% from down town. As his struggles got worse and worse, his playing time diminished. Until the injury to Kendall Marshall, at that point, Roy Williams had no choice but to give every perimeter player in the rotation more minutes. Hairston started to come out of his shell in the postseason. He didn’t break out like McAdoo, but he showed glimpses that he will be the player he was recruited to be when he gets the opportunity to play extended minutes.
The upcoming season the Tar Heels will have all of those players back on the perimeter along with incoming freshman JP Tokoto. Despite the obvious hit in talent due to the early departures to the NBA, the Heels field the deepest and most talented group of perimeter players in the nation. Tokoto’s athleticism is unreal, anyone who watched the Jordan Brand Classic can attest that his game has grown tremendously since his junior season in HS.
Tokoto has put on a ton of muscle in his upper body. His speed, agility and lateral movement has seen outstanding growth, evidence was watching Tokoto guard top recruit Shabazz Muhammad in the JBC. Tokoto won’t necessarily have a big role, Roy only has 80 perimeter minutes and with Tokoto, Strickland, McDonald, Bullock and Hairston the freshman’s biggest contributions will likely have to wait at least another year. Despite the fact that we might not see much of him this upcoming year. The excitement I get from watching this kid rise up and dunk the basketball hasn’t been felt by this Tar Heel since the days of Vince Carter.
The rest of the freshman class is exciting as well. Point guard Marcus Paige will replace Marshall as Carolinas leader at the helm. The Heels will again be in a difficult situation at the point with Strickland as the main backup and walk on transfer Luke Davis as this years version of Stillman White. That means big minutes right away for the Iowa player of the year. Paige is very similar yet very different from Kendall Marshall. Paige is a threat to score as soon as he gets off the bus. With a quick release he is a very dangerous catch and shoot and pull up jump shooter. He can create his own shot anytime he wants from anywhere on the court.
His athleticism won’t scare anybody, but neither did Marshall’s. Like Marshall, Paige is not a killer athletic machine, he is a cerebral assassin. His basketball IQ is as good if not better than anyone in the class. As the top PG recruit, Paige can be expected to make a major impact right away in his freshman campaign. It’s impossible to replace Kendall Marshall, but if your going to pick anyone to try and do it, it’s Marcus Paige.
Then there’s the big men of this class, Brice Johnson, and Joel James. It’s no secret that the Heels were pursuing Connecticut transfer Alex Oriakhi before he committed to Missouri. Ideally, Roy would like a veteran starting next to McAdoo in order to develop Johnson and James. Both four star recruits, there were initial concerns that Johnson was too skinny and James was too large. Anybody that has got a glimpse of Joel James lately won’t be pointing him towards the closest Jenny Craig. James has dropped around 50 pounds since his junior season. His offensive game has grown more than expected, as someone who was very worried about whether or not James could run with Carolinas high octane, transition offense, I can’t wait to see this kid on the court.
James has developed a nice mid range jump shot and has started to develop some nice interior post moves. Despite losing the 50 or so pounds, Joel is no little man and will not pushed around inside. He’s ready to come in and contribute right away on the boards and the defensive end while his offensive game continues to develop.
The higher rated prospect of the two, Brice Johnson has the higher ceiling, but probably won’t contribute as much early in his career. At 6-9, Johnson weighs just 210lbs and has to continue to work hard on his body. His long, slender frame reminds me a lot of a young John Henson. Johnson is a terrific shot blocker and plays like a veteran protecting the basket. His offensive game at this point is a bit soft. He’s very athletic, a member of the track team, Johnson can run the floor for days, and should be fun to watch in transition.
One thing all the incoming freshman have in common is a great attitude. All of them seem to understand that expectations are always high at Carolina and excuses are not welcome. The returning veterans also seem to have a common chip on their shoulders. Comments from players like Bullock, Hairston and McAdoo show that they not only believe they can win without last seasons “Big 4”. They seem rather irritated at the assumed notion around college basketball that UNC will take a big dive next season.
Here’s what Tokoto and Johnson had to say about the upcoming season.
"“We’re all going to need to be ready sooner,” said Johnson, a forward at Edisto (Cordova, S.C.). “That’s fine with me, though. Bring it on. I’m ready. I’ve just got to gain weight.”"
"“I’m about 210 now, but I’m going to get it up,” Johnson said. “I eat a large pizza and a half of another large in one sitting, so I’m going hard at it. Either way we’re going to be ready. All of us. I don’t want fans to drop their standards. We will show people next year. We’re going to be a force.”"
"“We’re going to have to be ready to step right in and produce,” said Tokoto, a bouncy forward at Menomonee Falls (Menomonee Falls, Wis.). “We’ve still got plenty of talent, but I think we may get called on a little earlier than most people thought we would.”"
The 2012-13 version of the North Carolina Tar Heels will not play the same type of basketball. They will rely on their shooters and depth on the perimeter to get things done offensively. There go to players will be known as shooters and face up slashers rather than back to the basket, seven foot, trees. There will undoubtedly be bumps in the road, but I can guarantee you this, it’s going to a whole lot of fun to watch.
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