UNC Basketball: Early bold predictions for 2021-22 season

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CHAPEL HILL, NC – NOVEMBER 08: Assistant coach Hubert Davis of the North Carolina Tar Heels against the Oakland Golden Grizzlies during play at the Dean Smith Center on November 8, 2013 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. North Carolina won 84-61. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images) /

UNC will win 20+ games

The past two years have been considered down years for the Tar Heels under Roy Williams despite the team making the NCAA Tournament in 2020-21. However, those teams heavily relied on freshmen to come in and make an impact.

The one thing that this team won’t have to do is solely rely on freshmen. Instead, the Tar Heels will return Caleb Love, R.J. Davis, Kerwin Walton, and Puff Johnson as sophomores plus senior Leaky Black as well as expecting Armando Bacot to come back. The Tar Heels also added Justin McKoy and Brady Manek from the transfer portal.

UNC’s lineup is shaping to be a solid one, especially if Bacot does return. They should have a solid bench as well, welcoming in freshman D’Marco Dunn and Dontrez Styles to the rotation.

There’s no doubt that Davis will have his hands full early on but loading up on those non-conference games will be key before getting into ACC play as the conference is expected to be good next season. And it’s also worth mentioning that he has big shoes to fill in terms of replacing Roy, so the expectations will be high.

I think this UNC team is going to be better than some think and can win 20+ games in Davis’ first year.

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