UNC Basketball: The Biggest Tar Heel Question of All
By Matt Hamm
Now that we know Harrison Barnes, John Henson, and Kendall Marshall will be joining senior Tyler Zeller in the NBA Draft this June and freshman James Michael McAdoo will be back on campus. Most of the Tar Heels roster for the 2012-13 season is known. One of the most interesting questions is how North Carolina coach Roy Williams will construct his lineup. Where will the remaining puzzle pieces fit for the new look Tar Heels? That’s the biggest question of all.
We will have to find out if the fifty pounds he says he’s lost is enough for Joel James to keep up with Carolinas tempo to be the starter. Can Brice Johnson’s skinny frame handle the beating inside long enough night in and night out to claim a spot? If not can former three star recruit Desmond Hubert who was seldom used in his freshman season step his game up enough to be a legitimate option?
Things get very tricky on the perimeter for Carolina. UNC is very deep even with the departure of Harrison Barnes on the wings. The return of Dexter Strickland and Leslie McDonald who were both lost for the season in Carolinas injury riddled year. UNC also returns Reggie Bullock who played very well as the starting shooting guard along side Barnes when Strickland was injured. PJ Hairston a five star, superstar recruit, struggled badly all season long as he could not find a way to fit in as a freshman. Expect Hairston to work hard this off season and show his entire game as a sophomore. Freshman JP Tokoto a four star All-American comes in with tremendous upside, maybe the most in this class. His athleticism is unmatched by anybody and has drawn comparisons to Vince Carter.
The point guard position is a little clearer. The Heels have the classes top freshman PG in Marcus Paige coming in and he will assume Marshall’s role as starter. Behind him the Heels are once again thin before bringing in another stud in the 2013 class Nate Britt. But for now Dexter Strickland will play a dual role backing up Paige as he did Marshall before his injury. Playing the role of Stillman White (who is off on a 2 year Mormon mission and will return to UNC after to play his remaining three seasons) is Luke Davis. Davis was with the team last season but had to sit out after transferring from Garner Webb. Davis is more talented than White and played pretty well for GW in his freshman season. He transferred to Carolina as a walk on. It’s another situation where if Davis, their third PG was put in a situation where he had to play a significant role. He’s a nice player, but not a player Roy Williams wants to see clocking big minutes down the stretch for his team.
The girth of depth on the perimeter is eased a bit by the fact that Strickland will get somewhere between 13-20 minutes at the point each game. With a freshman starter at the point. I believe it would be best for Dexter to come off the bench where he can serve his dual role best. With both roles that Strickland plays being so vital, defensive stopper and backup PG. Roy would be smart to keep that by his side to start games and plug him in where he’s needed.
Given his size and the way he played defensively, especially down the stretch this year, I expect to see Reggie Bullock as the starting SF. All of the wings, aside from Strickland can double at both the SG and SF spots giving Roy flexibility with his lineup selections. Which will allow him to experiment more freely early in the season while he sets his rotations.
The shooting guard spot is the hardest to project on the team. If I’m right and Strickland is used as the sixth man and Bullock is the starting SF. That leaves Hairston, McDonald and Tokoto for the SG spot. Eliminating Tokoto for a few reasons, him being a freshman, his size and natural position being SF puts him behind the others. I give the advantage to McDonald, but only slightly. Hairstons freshman struggles aside, I think he will have a fantastic sophomore year whether it’s as a starter or off the bench. McDonald was playing terrific basketball this past off season. Roy Williams has been quoted several times saying Leslie was one of the six best players on the team before he got hurt. He said over and over that he had improved more than anyone else on the roster. Reports from the North Carolina Pro-Am circuit had McDonald as the best player on his team. Which by the way included Harrison Barnes and many other big time name players.
People forget that Leslie McDonald, Dexter Strickland, PJ Hairston and Reggie Bullock were ALL Five Star top 15 recruits in their class. They chose Carolina knowing they were behind players like Harrison Barnes and would have to compete with each other for playing time. This is their time to shine. Don’t be surprised when one or two, maybe more of these players becomes college basketball’s next star(s). Good luck sorting it all out Roy, it’s going to be fun to watch, and no matter what, despite all we’ve lost, it looks like Carolina basketball still has plenty of talent to go around.
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