UNC Basketball: Top Five Reasons The Tar Heels Will Be Okay in 2012
By Matt Hamm
The North Carolina Tar Heels suffered a huge blow to it’s roster losing it’s top four players. ACC Player of the Year Tyler Zeller, gone. two-time ACC Defensive Player of the Year John Henson, gone. Leading scorer and third team All-American Harrison Barnes, gone. And point guard Kendall Marshall, one of the all time great passers in ACC history, gone.
UNC lost as much as any team in college basketball. But that doesn’t mean the Tar Heels won’t be a competitive force in college basketball in the 2012 season. Here are five reasons they will be exactly that.
Stacked Perimeter: How deep is the Tar Heels perimeter? With Dexter Strickland, Reggie Bullock, PJ Hairston, Leslie McDonald and incoming freshman JP Tokoto. If everyone stays healthy, Roy Williams will have trouble keeping everybody happy with their playing time. Everybody with the exception of probably Tokoto has an equal chance of becoming a star this upcoming season.
James Michael McAdoo: McAdoo is the player Tar Heel Nation is counting on to become a superstar in 2012. Buried on the bench behind Henson and Zeller his freshman season. James Michael is ready to bust out as a sophomore. The ultra talented big man can run the floor like a guard. Finishes at the rim like a seasoned vet and can put it on the floor and penetrate the lane as well as just about any big man in the country.
McAdoo looked the part in an increased role in the postseason. Henson went down with a sprained wrist and McAdoo stepped in and showed us a glimpse of what he could become as a starter. After flirting with the NBA, McAdoo passed up a likely lottery spot for a chance to come back and be the man in Chapel Hill. The ultra talented, versatile big man will have every opportunity to shine and chances are, he’s the next in a long line of great Tar Heel bigs.
Marcus Paige: I’ve said this a million times, here goes a million and one. You never ever want to lose Kendall Marshall. But if you do, you want Marcus Paige to replace him. Paige is the perfect UNC PG, he plays a very smart, error free game. He’s good at creating for others and he’s an excellent scorer. Paige is at this point more college ready than Marshall was heading into Chapel Hill. UNC will go through some growing pains with Paige at the point, but it won’t be long before Paige makes his mark in Carolina blue.
Less Pressure: I’ve heard Roy Williams say many times that the pressure of a season like 2011 or 2008, 2009 when UNC entered the season ranked #1. Expected to win the national title, that the season isn’t nearly as fun as others. Kendall Marshall in particular came out and said the same thing along with a few other players in recent seasons. This year, UNC will be ranked in everyone’s top 10-15 to start the season. But nobody’s going to pick Carolina to win the national title, very few, if any will put them in the Final 4. A regular season loss will not be treated by the fans and media like the end of the world. It’s easy to look at them as athletes and forget, these are kids, and added pressure takes it toll sometimes.
Roster Competition: Unlike a roster packed with established stars, the 2012 roster will take shape through fierce competition. It’s a fair assumption penciling in Paige and McAdoo, probably Bullock also. The level of talent on the perimeter ensures a constant atmosphere of competition amongst the immensely talented group. The competition for minutes beside McAdoo in the paint won’t stop once a game one starter is named. Brice Johnson, Joel James and Desmond Hubert will likely be competing for that spot and playing time all season long.
The Tar Heels roster is comprised of four and five star prospects. All of which were big time stars in their high school days. Learning to compete for minutes means hustling harder, doing the little things right and playing a better mental game out on the court.