UNC Basketball: Who Will Emerge on the Perimeter?
By Matt Hamm
The North Carolina Tar Heels 2012 team will be extremely deep on the perimeter. UNC loses only small forward Harrison Barnes to the NBA Draft this year. They gain incoming freshman sensation JP Tokoto and get both Leslie McDonald and Dexter Strickland back from season ending injuries. Not to mention they will still have Reggie Bullock and PJ Hairston returning. With John Henson, Tyler Zeller and James Michael McAdoo, Carolina was stacked inside this past season. Now it appears they may be even better on the wings than they were inside and that’s saying something.
Head coach Roy Williams will undoubtedly have to get creative in order to give each player enough minutes for him to be able to contribute. Trying to pick who will be the best or who will step up and have the best season out of the group is difficult. Pasting their pictures up on a dartboard and taking 10 paces might be a little more exact of a science.
Let’s look at the canidades shall we?
JP Tokoto: Let’s just get this out of the way. Tokoto is very fun to watch, he’s extremely athletic, he dunks a lot, he has a winning personality. Tar Heel Nation loves this kid, sorry guys, he’s not going to be the guy this year. He’s a freshman. Tokoto will come off the bench and be a role player, a good one, but a role player. There is too much veteran talent on the team at the wing positions for Tokoto to get enough playing time to excel. Think PJ Hairstons situation as a freshman, only worse since the 2012 Tar Heels will be even deeper on the wings.
From here it gets tricky….
Reggie Bullock: Bullock is a big time player who had to play fifth fiddle to UNCs big four last season. The former five star prospects freshman season was derailed by a knee injury and Bullock has yet to be put in a situation where he can really leave his mark as a leader on the team. Bullock will more than likely move from SG to SF this season where his 6-7 frame and rebounding abilities make him a natural fit. Bullock was known as a big time shooter who could get to the rim and create coming into college. He needs to be more aggressive asserting himself on the offensive end and look to become a leader in his junior season. I really like the game of Leslie McDonald, the value of Dexter Strickland cannot be overstated and PJ Hairston is in prime position to bounce back. With all that said, Reggie Bullock has as good of a chance as any to become UNCs next perimeter star.
PJ Hairston: Hairston had an ugly freshman season. Starting off hot and producing a couple 20 point games off the bench early in the season. PJ’s shot collapsed and he never got it back. Worse than his shooting slump was his lack of explosiveness. Coming out of HS, PJ was an athletic machine who was just as likely to dunk in your face as he was to take a three pointer. Hairston settled into such a deep slump that the freshman very rarely did anything but stand around on the perimeter and shoot spot up jump shots. His playing time was reduced down to the point of a simple role player. Hairston started to play well in the postseason, he needs to regain his form and his “swag”. Hairston can be a borderline cocky player and he needs to get back to that. I believe he will and Hairston will be a valuable player for the Heels. He’s just not going to beat out Leslie McDonald or Reggie Bullock.
Dexter Strickland: Strickland is one of the most valuable players on the rosters. Even if he is taken out of the starting lineup (which I think is the best fit) his role with the team will be huge. Incoming freshman Marcus Paige will be the lone true PG outside of walk on Luke Davis. That means Strickland will once again play a dual role, one of great importance. Dexter will not only be counted on to be the best perimeter defender on the team. He will have to log valuable minutes at the point each and every night. Strickland is a very good utility player. He’s not going to light up the scoreboard. An efficient offensive player and terrific finisher. Strickland doesn’t take shots he can’t make and he isn’t the type of player to take over offensively. I expect Strickland to be one of the Heels top six players, I just don’t see him being the star of this group.
Leslie McDonald: Ahh the wildcard, the player nobody is really talking about outside of Carolina circles. McDonald destroyed the North Carolina Pro-Am circuit last summer. Roy Williams said many times that he and Strickland were set to compete for the starting SG spot. Roy also stated that nobody around the team would have put McDonald outside of the top six players on the roster when he went down. McDonald was the teams best and most consistent three point shooter when we went down. An extremely talented athlete, when McDonald puts it all together, he should be deadly. McDonald red shirted and was able to practice with the team down the stretch. McDonald is a player I could see becoming the best player on the team out of seemingly nowhere. He has a great, team attitude, he’s worked very hard since his injury. UNC fans are going to see one determined young man when McDonald returns to the court.
In the end I see Bullock and McDonald in the starting lineup. Strickland as the teams sixth man splitting his minutes between both guard spots. Hairston will become the teams top bench scorer, helping lead what will be a very underrated second unit.
Who do you think will emerge on the perimeter for Carolina this upcoming season? Please share your thoughts with us in the comments section (for help click HERE)