Rank ‘Em: Tar Heel Basketball Freshman and Sophomores… The Youth!
Jan 10, 2015; Chapel Hill, NC, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels guard Nate Britt (0) and forward Kennedy Meeks (3) fight for the ball with Louisville Cardinals guard Chris Jones (3) in the second half. The Tar Heels defeated the Cardinals 72-71 at Dean E. Smith Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports
Second Tier (What you see is what you get)
So this might seem a little confusing to some of you. The second tier players in many of your minds aren’t better than the two young men in tier three. As Kevin Hart once said, “Let me explain..”
So what this is basically saying is that these guys in this spot are exactly what they are. I don’t see a lot of room for growth beyond what they are at this time. That’s not to say I can’t be proved wrong, but in my humble opinion I think what you see is what you get.
Nate Britt – #0
Britt has played alright this season as a back-up to the Heels backcourt. In 16 minutes a game he’s scoring 6 points, getting 1.7 assists, and 1.5 rebounds per game. What is most impressive about Britt is his free throw shooting.
Currently shooting just south of 90% at .894 he’s a reliable option for the Heels late in games. For the season he’s connected on 42-of-47 at the stripe. The problem is, as a point guard you need to do more than that to really stand out as a great player. He’s a solid collegiate player, but I think that when Marcus Paige decides to leave, whether it’s this year or next year, he’ll get passed by Joel Berry and stay similar to the role he’s got now.
Isaiah Hicks – #22
Hicks has made an improvement from year one to year two and I feel that should be noted. With double the minutes from his freshman year, he’s more than doubled his production. He’s currently scoring 6.5 points, grabbing 3.1 rebounds, and shooting 51% from the field this season. He has one gaping hole in his game, which ironically is the thing I targeted for Nate Britt as a positive: free throw shooting.
Hicks is an abysmal 59% at the line this year. 27-of-46 attempts is, in my opinion, unacceptable of a forward* at ANY level, let alone the flipping’ ACC. Hicks is my dark horse to prove my theory wrong on this tier as far as “what you see is what you get”. As it stands now, I think we’ve seen what we’re going to see out of the sophomore.
* Editor’s note: An earlier version of this article had guard in place of forward here. This has been fixed.