UNC Basketball: Tar Heels will await decisions from White, Little

The UNC Basketball program now turns their attention to the decisions of two important freshmen as they decide on their future

The North Carolina Tar Heels entered the 2019 NCAA Tournament as serious contenders to cut down the nets in March. But on Friday, they ran into one of the hottest teams in college basketball as Auburn drained 17 three-pointers to end UNC’s season.

This loss hurts because as previously mentioned, UNC was a legit contender to win it all. They had three seniors, two of them with national championship experience, talented freshmen and head coach Roy Williams.

But as the season is now over, the Tar Heels will await some big decisions from two of their freshmen.

Both Nassir Little and Coby White will have to decide if they want to test out the NBA Draft waters and leave UNC after one season. As it stands now, both are likely to leave UNC and head to the NBA.

Little entered the year as a Top 5 prospect out of High School but he got off to a slow start with the Tar Heels, being used as the sixth man in the rotation. It’s safe to say there was a learning curve for Little but he did provide valuable minutes down the stretch.

His play improved during the NCAA Tournament, averaging 19.5 points through the first two rounds before the flu derailed that in the Sweet 16.

The thought around Little all season long has been that he’s going to be a one-and-done in Chapel Hill. And we still feel like that’s the case, however there is some slim light of hope he decides to pull a Harrison Barnes and return for another year.

Following the loss, Little broke down what’s next for him as he talked to Inside Carolina’s Ross Martin.

“I am going to make a decision on whether I am going to stay in school or go to the NBA,” Little said via Martin’s article. “I am not sure how soon that is going to come, but I am going to make a decision some time.”

The potential is there for Little at the next level and with him projected to be a lottery pick, you have to imagine he’s leaning towards leaving.

For White, he emerged as one of the best point guards in the country during his freshman season at UNC showcasing his blazing speed, shot making ability and three-point range. White entered this year as a four-star recruit but wasn’t ranked in the Top 10 and really didn’t get much national attention.

That changed quickly.

White averaged 16.1 points, 4.1 assists and 3.5 rebounds per game for the Tar Heels and was the perfect point guard to run Roy Williams’ offense. He developed his game even more and caught the attention of the national media.

The point guard is being mocked in the lottery by some sites after his impressive run the past two months or so. But is there room for improvement?

That will be the big question surrounding White’s decision. He could very well stay one more year at UNC and improve his game even more. This is a deep draft for point guards and White is right in the mix of things.

Both players are likely to test the waters by participating in the draft combine. The key to the decisions will be if they hire agents. If a player hires an agent, they are not allowed to return to school.  If they do not hire an agent, they can still test the draft waters by participating in the combine and workouts but can opt to return.

Either way, this storyline will be one of the biggest for the Tar Heels over the next few weeks.

For more on the UNC Basketball program, please check back with Keeping It Heel.