UNC Basketball: First “All-Roy” Team

Barnes 40 Zeller 44 Henson 31 photo from uncbball.tumblr.com

Over the next three days, Keeping It Heel will reveal its First, Second and Third “All-Roy” Teams for Carolina Basketball. “All-Roy” teams are modeled after the All-American and All-ACC teams, but they are made up of only players from Roy Williams’s 11 season at UNC. Keeping It Heel selected the 15 best players from Roy Williams tenure and put them on three teams. The teams will be revealed over the course of this week on KeepingItHeel.com. Made sure you give your opinion on our “All-Roy” teams in the comments and on Facebook and Twitter!

Today Keeping It Heel has the first team All-Roy team from the last 11 season of Carolina basketball. Its no mistake that all five of these Carolina basketball stars have won National Championships for UNC. These players were all the leaders of their respective teams and had great stats and awards to back up their ranks. Also we want to note that while Tyler Zeller doesn’t fit the traditional bill of Guard/Forward, he still deserves a spot on this team for his career performance at Carolina.

First Team “All-Roy”

Guard: Ty Lawson

Career Stats: 105 games played, 51.7 FG%, 79.8 FT%, 13.1 points, 2.9 rebounds, 5.8 assists, 15.7 career win shares
Awards: 2008-09 2nd Team All American, 2009 Bob Cousy Award Winner
Accomplishments: Three year starter, 2009 National Champion

Lawson was one of the most talented points guards to play at Carolina and probably the fastest. Lawson led the Heels to the 2009 National Championship along with Wayne Ellington and Tyler Hansbrough, who also made first team All-Roy. If I’m making a team from scratch with only UNC players from the last 11 years, Lawson is my starting point guard.

Guard: Raymond Felton

Career Stats: 101 games played, 42.3 FG%, 12.5 points, 4.1 rebounds, 6.9 assists, 11.3 career win shares
Awards: 1st in the ACC in assists in 2004-2005, 2005 Bob Cousy Award Winner
Accomplishments: Three year starter, 2005 National Champion

While Felton has gotten into some legal trouble lately, lets put that aside for now and focus on him as a basketball player only. Felton was a talented point guard who was the first in the line of Tar Heel point guards to win the Bob Cousy award. Also, he led the Heels to a National Championship in 2005 along with Sean May and Rashad McCants. He isn’t really a traditional two guard, but deserves a spot on this team.

Guard/Forward: Tyler Zeller

Career Stats: 117 games played, 54.3 FG%, 77.5 FT%, 12.8 points, 6.7 rebounds, 15.6 career win shares
Awards: 2011-12 2nd Team All American, First in Games Played in the ACC 2010-11 and 2011-12
Accomplishments: Four years at Carolina, 2009 National Champion, 2011 ACC Regular Season Champions

After looking at Zeller’s career numbers, win shares and overall resume, I had to carve out a spot for the Tar Heel forward on the first team All-Roy squad. Zeller was a dominant offensive force and defensive stopper while also winning a couple ACC championships and a National Championship at Carolina. Zeller is probably the worst fit of any player on the All-Roy team looking at positions, as he was mostly a 4 or a 5 at UNC, but he deserves a spot on the first team.

Forward: Tyler Hansbrough

Career Stats: 142 games played, 53.6 FG%, 79.1 FT%, 20.2 points, 8.6 rebounds.
Awards: Four time All-American, 2007-2008 College Player of the Year
Accomplishments: Four year starter, 2009 National Champion

Hansbrough needs no introduction. He was a lock on this team right from the start, and his stats and awards back up his placement. He also won a 2009 National Championship with Lawson and Ellington in his senior season.

Forward: Sean May

Career Stats: 77 games played, 51.3 FG%, 71.7 FT%, 15.8 points, 10 rebounds, 12.2 career win shares
Awards: 2004-2005 NCAA tournament Most Outstanding Player, 2004-2005 2nd team All-American.
Accomplishments: Three year starter, 2005 National Champion

Yes, May didn’t have the greatest pro career, but he was one of the greatest forwards to play for Carolina under Roy Williams. He really shined his junior season, leading the Tar Heels to the 2005 National Championship with Raymond Felton, Jawad Williams, Rashad McCants and others. May deserves a spot on this team for his leadership and strong play in his three years at UNC.