UNC Basketball: Tar Heels fall in ESPN’s Way-To-Early Top 25 rankings

Where does ESPN currently rank the UNC basketball program in their Way-To-Early Top 25 for the 2021-2022 season?

We are still a few months away from the start of the 2021-2022 college basketball season which tips off in November. However, that doesn’t stop major sports networks from making their early preseason predictions.

Jeff Borzello of ESPN released his latest “Way-To-Early” Top 25 rankings. The UNC basketball program did fall a few spots since Borzello last released his rankings, but Hubert Davis’ team still finds itself among the top 20 teams listed.

After being No. 18 on the initial rankings, North Carolina now sits at No. 20. Here’s what Borzello had to say regarding the Tar Heels:

"The Tar Heels are going to be one of the bigger storylines entering next season, with legendary coach Roy Williams retiring and longtime assistant Hubert Davis taking over. The personnel will dictate this somewhat, but it appears that Davis is already looking to change the system and style somewhat from the two-big schemes Williams ran for years. The departures of Garrison Brooks, Day’Ron Sharpe and Walker Kessler have forced Davis’ hand a bit, but instead of pursuing a true post player as a sidekick for Armando Bacot, he went out and landed Oklahoma transfer Brady Manek. Manek certainly isn’t the prototypical Carolina big man; he’s a stretch-4 who has attempted more than five 3-pointers a game over the last two seasons. The key on the perimeter will be the freshmen taking a step forward, particularly Caleb Love. Love showed real flashes of his five-star talent during his first season in Chapel Hill, but he didn’t do it consistently. If he can cut down on the turnovers and improve his decision-making and 3-point shooting, Carolina will be significantly better."

With the departure of Roy Williams, all eyes will be on Davis and the Tar Heels this season. With a new-look roster and coaching staff, it will remain to be seen how Davis will operate in his first season at the helm.

Davis will likely look to not only maintain some North Carolina traditions and culture that has been custom in Chapel Hill, but will likely look to make his own imprint as he takes over as the program’s head coach.

As Borzello noted, there’s a good possibility that the Tar Heels will shy away from Williams’ two-big schemes. After losing a handful of talented big men to the NBA Draft and the transfer portal, Davis will have to find out what works best for the roster of players he currently possesses.

It’s also safe to say that the Tar Heels will put even more of an emphasis on shooting the ball at a high level. Along with the returning pieces, Davis and staff were able to bring in transfers Brady Manek and Justin McKoy, two versatile players who definitely can help fix the Tar Heels previous shooting woes.

Although there’s a lot of change in Chapel Hill, the UNC basketball program is still expected to be one of the best teams in the country once again. It will remain to be seen what Davis and his first Tar Heel squad can accomplish this upcoming season.

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