UNC Basketball: Lineup options for Tar Heels in 2019-20

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CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA – FEBRUARY 11: Sterling Manley #21 of the North Carolina Tar Heels reacts during the second half of a game against the Virginia Cavaliers at the Dean Smith Center on February 11, 2019 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Virginia won 69-61. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images) /

The big lineup

G – Cole Anthony
G – Leaky Black
F – Garrison Brooks
F – Sterling Manley
C – Armando Bacot

Roy Williams would’ve loved to have this kind of personnel against Texas A&M in the 2018 NCAA Tournament. Instead, North Carolina got shelled by a much bigger Aggies squad whose front court towered over the Tar Heels’ en route to a 21-point second round loss.

These five players, though, would give North Carolina a quintet formidable for just about any opponent. Even Cole Anthony is 6-feet-3-inches tall and 185 pounds, and he’s the point guard. Leaky Black is essentially a 6-foot-7-inch point guard that can cause serious mismatches against other guards — forwards, too — particularly with his length on the perimeter.

In this iteration of the Tar Heels’ lineup, Garrison Brooks is the shortest member of a front court trio that runs 6-foot-9 (Brooks), 6-foot-10 (Bacot) and 6-foot-11 (Manley). Each of the three bigs are capable scorers, and each has the ability to impose their will on the defensive side of the ball with their tremendous length. There are few teams in college basketball that can compete with size like that.

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