Debate: Should UNC Recruit a Point Guard for 2014?

This weekend on Keeping It Heel Radio Matt, Haley, and myself debated on the need of recruiting a point guard in 2014. Matt interjected his opinion on Keeping It Heel last weekend, and I thought I’d share my two cents this week.

This question really revolves around one person: Stilman White. Yes the short white kid that surprised everyone with how good he actually is when Kendall Marshall was injured in the NCAA tournament. I never doubted that White was good, obviously he plays for the University of North Carolina so something had to be going for the kid. He was also heavily recruited by BYU. However, he exceeded my expectations by a large margin and proved himself to many fans and coaches when he got the chance of a lifetime to start for the Tar Heels in the tournament.

This year we have Marcus Paige coming in to replace Kendall Marshall. Paige is really good, however we still have not seen him play at the collegiate level yet. If he is as good as he looks on high school film, I believe he will be a good player no doubt, but he won’t be here for longer than two seasons at the most.

Next season comes Nate Britt, another stellar guard. Depending on Paige and his draft plans, Britt will start or be his backup. Either way, Britt doesn’t seem to fit the one-to-two year style of playing and looks like someone who will stay for three or four seasons to develop as a player.

The next season we have a couple of options depending on these players decisions: 1) Paige, Britt, White 2) Britt, White, 3) Paige, White 4) White 5) none of the above. There is no guarantee that Stilman White will return to UNC upon completion of his mission. There is also no guarantee that Paige will be as good as he looks on paper and may stay all four years to develop his game if things don’t go so well for him at first.

So the question is, again, Does UNC need to recruit a point guard for 2014? I say no! I don’t see White leaving UNC upon his return and I see Nate Britt staying for another year at the minimum. That gives us the Britt/White due at PG with Britt starting.

However what if Britt nor Paige stay longer than one season? Does Roy have enough confidence to let White start? I like Stilman and he impressed me, but I personally would then start looking to find a PG to recruit at the last minute if that were the case. Odds are that won’t be the case. I also want to point out that if Stilman White is our only point guard for some odd reasons when he returns, Roy will need to find at least a walk on to back up White.

If you ask me, I still wouldn’t throw out the idea of looking to recruit Joel Berry. He may be good enough to start when he gets here, but we will need a player who can use bench time to develop his game for the 2015 season to start. Can you imagine how explosive Joel Berry would be if he came to Chapel Hill and used his freshman year to develop to become a start his sophomore season?