UNC Basketball 2019-20 Player Preview: Christian Keeling

We continue our 2019-20 UNC basketball player previews with senior guard Christian Keeling and what to expect in his first year with the Tar Heels.

Jeremiah Francis | Cole Anthony | Armando Bacot | Anthony Harris | Rechon Black | Sterling Manley | Walker Miller | Andrew Platek | Brandon Huffman | K.J. Smith

Very rarely does Roy Williams like to bring in graduate transfers, only four in his time as the head coach for the UNC basketball program, but two of them came this offseason.

One of those newcomers is Christian Keeling. Known for his scoring ability, Keeling was one of the most prolific scorers at Charleston Southern during his career. In his three years, he scored more points (1,666) than any other player in program history, finishing his CSU career fifth all-time in scoring.

Now, a step up in competition, the 6-foot-3 guard looks to replace some of the scoring and more importantly shooting, that was lost when the Tar Heels said goodbye to four starters and five of the top six scorers from the Sweet 16 team.

2018-19 Season In Review

The do-it-all guard led his Charleston Southern team in points, rebounds, assists, three’s, made free-throws, blocks, steals, and minutes played. To say he was a stat sheet stuffer was still an understatement.

Highlighted by a triple-double, the first in CSU history since 1987, with 20 points, 11 rebounds, and 12 assists, Keeling led the team in scoring in 21 of the 34 games.

With 33 games in double-digits, his consistency is what separated him from many other players around the league. Not only was he consistent in his scoring, but also how prolific he was on the offensive end. Out of 33 of those double-digit games, 15 of them were above 20 points, with a season-high of 33 against Middle Tennessee State.

Though he is known for his scoring and shooting ability, his rebounding ability can’t be overlooked.

With nine double-digit rebound games, he had a career high of 15 and set a single season school record with 206 total defensive rebounds.

Overall he averaged 18.7 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 2.8 assists per game last year.

What to expect in 2019-20?

While Cole Anthony will, and has, receive most of the recognition heading into the season, Keeling could have a big year and will need to in order for the Tar Heels to reach the goals they have in place.

Cam Johnson is no longer sporting the Carolina Blue, and that is the role, to a bit of a lesser extent, that Keeling will play. As a career 35 percent three-point shooter, Keeling has made 151 threes, including 81 last season. With no Johnson on the wing, Keeling will slide perfectly into the role of that spot-up shooter.

Though Keeling can shoot it off the dribble too, with Cole Anthony having the ball in his hands for the majority of the game, Keeling will need to knock down the open looks to help this offense reach its full potential.

It will be a big adjustment going from the Big South to the ACC, so it may take a while to adjust but shooting is one thing that will always translate no matter where you play, so fully expect that to be the major contribution that Keeling has for the Carolina program.

Bold Prediction

It is widely known that the Tar Heels need scoring, and a lot of it. Keeling needs to be that guy to go hand in hand with Anthony.

With multiple playmakers on the floor with Anthony, Leaky Black and Justin Pierce, who averaged 4.1 assists last year, Keeling will start where he left off last year and be the spot-up shooter the Heels need.

Not only will Keeling shoot a high percentage from deep, but he will take a run at Justin Jackson’s UNC single season record of 105 made threes.

Last season Keeling had 10 games where he had one or less made three, whereas Jackson had 12 games at that mark when he set the record. Now that Keeling will not be the main go-to scorer for his team and opposing defenses will be fixated on Anthony, it should give Keeling more opportunities for clean looks.

If Keeling does get close to that Jackson record, it could mean good things for the Tar Heels and how far of a run in the NCAA Tournament they go on. And I mean really good things.