UNC Basketball: Lineup possibilities for the Tar Heels

With no lack of talent on the roster for Roy Williams, he has many different starting lineup possibilities for the UNC Basketball program he can go with ahead of the season opener on Tuesday, November 6

There is no question that Carolina will once again have one of the deepest teams in the country, and joining them are three talented freshmen who will look to make immediate impacts.

With that though, there are three returning starters, all seniors who have already cemented themselves in the starting lineup, but who will join them?

Let’s dive a little deeper into the rotation and possible different starting lineups that the Tar Heels could use and will use throughout the season.

Opening Night Starting Lineup:

C- Garrison Brooks (So. 6’9; 215)

(2017-18 Stats: 5.4 ppg 3.5 rpg 14.6 mpg / 2018-19 Proj: 7.1 ppg 5.9 rpg)

F- Luke Maye (Sr. 6’8; 240)

(2017-18 Stats: 16.9 ppg 10.1 rpg 2.4 apg / 2018-19 Proj: 16.4 ppg 10.5 rpg 2.5 apg)

F- Cameron Johnson (Sr. 6’9; 215)

(2017-18 Stats: 12.4 ppg 4.7 rpg 2.3 apg / 2018-19 Proj: 15.8 ppg 5.3 rpg 2.4 apg)

G- Kenny Williams (Sr. 6’5;185)

(2017-18 Stats: 11.4 ppg 3.7 rpg 2.4 apg / 2018-19 Proj: 12.8 ppg 3.9 rpg 2.6 apg)

G- Seventh Woods (Jr. 6’2; 185)

(2017-18 Stats: 1.1 ppg 0.7 rpg 1.0 apg / 2018-19 Proj: 5.9 ppg 1.8 rpg 3.2 apg)

Starting Lineup Come ACC Play:

F- Luke Maye (Sr. 6’8; 240)

(2017-18 Stats: 16.9 ppg 10.1 rpg 2.4 apg / 2018-19 Proj: 16.4 ppg 10.5 rpg 2.5 apg)

F- Nassir Little (Fr. 6’7; 205)

(2017-18 Stats w/ Orlando Christian Prep: 20.0 ppg 9.1 rpg / 2018-19 Proj: 13.1 ppg 5.2 rpg)

F- Cameron Johnson (Sr. 6’9; 215)

(2017-18 Stats: 12.4 ppg 4.7 rpg 2.3 apg / 2018-19 Proj: 15.8 ppg 5.3 rpg 2.4 apg)

G- Kenny Williams (Sr. 6’5;185)

(2017-18 Stats: 11.4 ppg 3.7 rpg 2.4 apg / 2018-19 Proj: 12.8 ppg 3.9 rpg 2.6 apg) 

G- Seventh Woods (Jr. 6’2; 185)

(2017-18 Stats: 1.1 ppg 0.7 rpg 1.0 apg / 2018-19 Proj: 5.9 ppg 1.8 rpg 3.2 apg)

There is a lot of talk, as there should be, about Coby White and Nassir Little as starters, but let’s look at Roy Williams history at Carolina and starting a freshman.

In Williams’ Carolina tenure, there is only one freshman to start every game during his first year. If you said Bobby Frasor, you were right.

Frasor started every game his freshman year during the 2005-2006 season. Now that doesn’t mean that all other freshmen under Williams never start, it just means that they usually don’t start at the beginning of the season.

When it comes to playing point guard in the Carolina system, it takes freshmen guards almost a whole season to adjust to the responsibility and demand of playing the lead guard in Chapel Hill.

After two whole years for Seventh Woods, a healthy offseason has him slated, in my mind, to lead the Heels out on the court on Tuesday.

Though White started the exhibition on Friday against Mt Olive, and showed flashes of the of player that he will be for the Tar Heels, Woods did a better job getting the offense into their sets and getting others involved.

With Cam Johnson and Kenny Williams already in the starting lineup, it is imperative to have shooting off the bench when those two are off the floor. With White, he would provide the Tar Heels with a huge scoring punch off the bench, and shooting that Carolina will need when those other two wings are off the floor.

For the frontcourt, the Mt Olive game showed that Brooks is ready to take on the starting role for the Heels. Leading the team with 16 points and 14 rebounds, his ability to get on the boards is something that is needed for the Tar Heels.

Manley will still have an important role on the team and may even sneak into the starting lineup at one point or another during the season.

Death/Closing Lineup:

F- Luke Maye (Sr. 6’8; 240)

(2017-18 Stats: 16.9 ppg 10.1 rpg 2.4 apg / 2018-19 Proj: 16.4 ppg 10.5 rpg 2.5 apg)

F- Nassir Little (Fr. 6’7; 220)

(2017-18 Stats w/ Orlando Christian Prep: 20.0 ppg 9.1 rpg / 2018-19 Proj: 13.1 ppg 5.2 rpg)

F- Cameron Johnson (Sr. 6’9; 215)

(2017-18 Stats: 12.4 ppg 4.7 rpg 2.3 apg / 2018-19 Proj: 15.8 ppg 5.3 rpg 2.4 apg)

G- Kenny Williams (Sr. 6’5;185)

(2017-18 Stats: 11.4 ppg 3.7 rpg 2.4 apg / 2018-19 Proj: 12.8 ppg 3.9 rpg 2.6 apg)

G- Coby White (Fr. 6’5; 185)

(2017-18 Stats w/ Greenfield School: 31.4 ppg 10.0 rpg 8.1 apg / 2018-19 Proj: 9.6 ppg 2.3 rpg 2.2 apg)

Though I don’t think White will start for the Heels, I do believe he will see close to 20 min a game and be the lead guard when closing out games.

What separates him from fellow point guard Seventh Woods, is his ability to score the ball.  A prolific scorer throughout high school, White has shown early on in practice and scrimmages of just how good he can be.

For Little, his versatility and skill set allows him to guard multiple positions, which will be crucial and a great asset when switching on ball screens.

Not only will the defensive skill set be relied on late in games, his ability to create mismatches on the offensive end will lead to easy buckets for the Heels.

Final Thoughts:

With about 13 guys who will see minutes in almost every game, there will be multiple lineups with players playing many different positions.

One guy who will end up seeing a couple starts throughout the year either due to injury or other reasons, is Sterling Manley. The sophomore will probably play more often with a smaller lineup than the two traditional bigs, but he will still see time alongside Maye and Brooks.

A fun backcourt on the floor at the same time is that of Seventh Woods and Coby White. With a healthy offseason for Woods, and him showing glimpses of his athleticism and quickness being back, he and White would be extremely disruptive in a full court press to speed up the game.

Leaky Black is a guy who, along with Nassir Little, can play and guard multiple positions and will give Roy Williams multiple options in terms of maneuvering the lineup. At the end of the day, Black will be a guy who will stuff the stat sheet every game.

Andrew Platek and Brandon Robinson will continue to see spot minutes because of their hustle and hard work, but I don’t see either making MAJOR contributions this year – still a year away for Robinson.

Finally, don’t expect any huge explosion from Brandon Huffman like we saw in the Bahamas. His role will be limited to a few minutes here and there when there is foul trouble or blowouts.

Though there are so many players and only five players on the floor at a time, Coach Williams has a difficult task ahead of him in figuring out who to play when and where, but it’s a good problem to have.