UNC Basketball: Can anyone match Tar Heels’ size in 2020?

The UNC basketball program has as much size as its ever had under Roy Williams, listing six players at 6-foot-10 or taller.

The North Carolina Tar Heels released their 2020-21 men’s basketball roster on Wednesday, and the size they possess from top to bottom is absolutely astounding. With six players listed at 6-foot-10 or taller, the Tar Heels will be one of the biggest, if not the biggest, teams in the country this season.

In years past, and as recently as 2018, the Tar Heels lacked size to the point that they had difficulty competing with bigger teams. That was abundantly clear in their 2018 NCAA Tournament second round game against Texas A&M. The Aggies weren’t a supremely talented team, but they had more than enough size in their front court to thwart anything that the Tar Heels tried in or around the painted area.

North Carolina had just two regular rotation players that stood taller than 6-foot-8: Garrison Brooks and Sterling Manley. At the time, Brooks and Manley were inexperienced freshmen that combined for just 25 minutes off the UNC bench and less than 10 points per game. Brooks wasn’t the refined scorer and defensive stopper that he is today, and his contributions just weren’t enough at that time. The same goes for Manley, who we’ve barely seen on the court in the years since that 21-point drubbing from the Aggies.

Instead, the Tar Heels relied on 6-foot-8, 240-pound Luke Maye in the low post, something that played right into the Aggies’ favor. Sure, the Tar Heels also had 6-foot-8 Cameron Johnson, but Johnson’s game isn’t predicated around post play, but rather on knocking down shots beyond the perimeter or slashing inside the arc for a quick mid-range jumper. All the guard play in the world couldn’t save the Tar Heels that season, at least not from an opponent that boasted three starters that ran 6-foot-9, 6-foot-10 and 6-foot-10.

That shouldn’t be a problem for the Tar Heels this season, as Brooks returns to Chapel Hill for his final year of eligibility. Along with Brooks comes the lofty expectations that have him looking like a shoe-in for first team All-ACC, and a preseason favorite for ACC Player of the Year. He’ll be joined by Armando Bacot, who showed a tremendous amount of promise as a freshman, despite having his ups and downs. He’s got lots of upside, and is poised for a breakout sophomore campaign.

Those two are accompanied in the UNC front court by freshman bigs Day’Ron Sharpe and Walker Kessler, who measure 6-foot-11 and 7-foot-1, respectively. Brooks and Bacot will get more minutes, but the Tar Heels will have viable options on the bench to come in and take over for the two starters when they need a rest or if shots aren’t falling. Add to that Manley and Walker Miller, a pair of 6-foot-11 bigs that could eat up some minutes off the bench in a crunch or in garbage time.

I’m not sure if any team in the country can match up with the Tar Heels’ size this season. Especially when you consider that they’ve got just one player shorter than 6-foot-1, and have a likely starting lineup that runs 6-foot-4 (Love), 6-foot-4 (Harris), 6-foot-8 (Black), 6-foot-10 (Brooks) and 6-foot-10 (Bacot).

Things are looking up in Chapel Hill this season; quite literally.

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