The UNC Basketball program cracked the Top 10 in this preseason poll released last week
As we begin to wrap up the month of September, the college basketball season continues to inch closer and closer. Soon, the North Carolina Tar Heels will begin practice in preparation for the upcoming 2018-19 season.
A new era of UNC Basketball will be ushered in as we said goodbye to both Theo Pinson and Joel Berry, who graduated in the Spring. The Tar Heels welcome in a very talented recruiting class with Nassir Little, Coby White and Rechon Black.
Along with that recruiting class, UNC will return Luke Maye, Kenny Williams, Cam Johnson, Sterling Manley, and Seventh Woods. All five of them played significant minutes last season for the Tar Heels.
Following a disappointing loss to Texas A&M early in the NCAA Tournament, the Tar Heels are hoping that this season goes a little better than last.
They will open the year on the road at Wofford against a Terriers team that beat them in Chapel Hill last season. UNC’s non-conference schedule is tough, with games against Kentucky, Michigan, Stanford, Gonzaga, Texas and either Michigan State/UCLA depending on the result in the Las Vegas Invitational.
The Tar Heels will have their chance to leave their mark on college basketball and the polls before they even begin conference play. But going into the season, one publication appears to be pretty high on UNC.
SportingNews released its annual preseason college basketball rankings with a recent update and there’s some love for the Tar Heels.
Mike DeCourcy ranked his Top 25 teams in the preseason and has UNC at No. 6 as of now. Here’s what DeCourcy had to say about the Tar Heels:
"Here’s the honest truth about this roster: If the point guard situation gets sorted out, and if Manley or Brooks can become a legit big man alongside Maye, this team has a better shot at winning it all than four of five of the teams ranked ahead."
DeCourcy has a good point about the point guard position and the post play. As of now it appears that Seventh Woods is in-line to win the starting spot at point guard but White could challenge him early during training camp. I expect to see both getting significant minutes throughout the year as the team’s primary ball-handler.
As for the post play, the thing to watch is the development of Manley and Brooks. Both players showed flashes of improving as the season went on last year and if they can really play well this year, UNC has a legit shot of winning it all.
Kentucky took the top spot in the rankings followed by No. 2 Kansas, No. 3 Gonzaga, No. 4 Duke and No. 5 Virginia to round out the Top 5.
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