UNC Basketball Fantasy Match-Up: 2010-11 vs. This years Tar Heels

Feb 20, 2014; Chapel Hill, NC, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels guard Marcus Paige (5) reacts in the second half. The Tar Heels defeated the Blue Devils 74-66 at Dean E. Smith Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

It’s always fun to compare teams from the past to teams of today. While these match-ups would never take place, one can always wonder who would win if they actually did settle it on the court.

Yesterday we brought you a UNC Basketball fantasy match-up between the 2007 Tar Heels and the 2014 Tar Heels. Today we have another match-up that features two Tar Heel teams.

Let’s say the ’11 Tar Heels who reached the Elite Eight and were a game away from the Final Four squared off against this years Tar Heels. Who would win?

The answer shouldn’t surprise you.

This years team has surely come a long way from what we saw in December and early January. A team that was almost dead in the water when ACC play got started. It was a team that now finds itself fighting for the second seed in the ACC Tournament after starting off 1-4 in ACC play.

But lets not get ahead of ourselves here. This team has played well down the stretch and put together a nice 12-game winning streak that has given them much-needed momentum headed into postseason play.

The talent of the 2010-2011 team however trumps this teams talent, at least thus far.

I’m not saying this team is bad. And by no means am saying they can’t do anything in the NCAA Tournament, but the match-ups heavily favorite the ’11 team.

The ’11 team featured a dominant post game that was anchored by John Henson and Tyler Zeller. While the depth in the post wasn’t there for the ’11 team, it still could overpower what this years squad brings to the table.

I wouldn’t mind seeing Henson and Zeller take on Brice Johnson, J.P. Tokoto and Kennedy Meeks though. It would be a great thing to watch, especially with Meeks improved play down low.

Meeks would be the only one of the three to give Henson and Zeller problems down low.

One interesting match-up that would be possible is freshman Harrison Barnes going against junior James Michael McAdoo.

Barnes started hitting a stride towards the end of the year, very similar to what we are seeing from McAdoo this season. Both size up well and can score the ball. But the defensive end is where this match-up would be won. I’ll still give the edge to Barnes because of his overall better play. But this would be a match-up a lot of us would like to see.

Before I get into the guards, I’ll just say that Leslie McDonald will be apart of this years Tar Heels team for the match-up. 

McDonald would be matched up with Reggie Bullock which creates another intriguing match-up. Both can score the ball when they get into a groove but have problems on the defensive end. This one is a wash.

Now the point guard position is where it gets interesting. We all know what Kendall Marshall did at North Carolina and what he became after he got his chance. Marshall started to find his groove at the end of the season and it benefited the Tar Heels greatly.

Paige has been on a roll and is the overall better scorer. While Paige can score the ball, which this years Tar Heels need to have happen. Marshall didn’t have to score for the ’11 Tar Heels to be successful. He had enough scorers around him.

This match-up would have a big part of determining who wins this match-up and even though the advantage goes to Paige, the ’11 Tar Heels are my choice in this fantasy match-up.

The best part about this? North Carolina will walk away with a victory.