Keeping It Heel
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UNC Basketball: Tar Heels’ projected 2021-22 starting lineup

By Blake Cockrum

CHAPEL HILL, NC - DECEMBER 12: Garrison Brooks #15, Caleb Love #2, Armando Bacot #5, and Leaky Black #1 of the North Carolina Tar Heels talk during a game against the North Carolina Central Eagles on December 12, 2020 at the Dean Smith Center in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. North Carolina won 67-73. (Photo by Peyton Williams/UNC/Getty Images)
CHAPEL HILL, NC - DECEMBER 12: Garrison Brooks #15, Caleb Love #2, Armando Bacot #5, and Leaky Black #1 of the North Carolina Tar Heels talk during a game against the North Carolina Central Eagles on December 12, 2020 at the Dean Smith Center in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. North Carolina won 67-73. (Photo by Peyton Williams/UNC/Getty Images) /
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UNC Basketball
CINCINNATI, OH – DECEMBER 09: Brady Manek #35 of the Oklahoma Sooners celebrates a shot during a college basketball game against the Xavier Musketeers on December 9, 2020 at the Cintas Center in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) /

Brady Manek

Newcomer Brady Manek will join the Tar Heels’ starting unit this season after transferring from Oklahoma in mid-April. The former Sooner and four-year starter brings with him one year of college eligibility, and a lot to offer the Tar Heels on the basketball court.

A 6-foot-9, 230-pound forward, Manek’s fifth and final season of college hoops is thanks to the NCAA granting an additional year of eligibility to all student-athletes due to the Covid-19 pandemic that impacted so much of the 2020-21 season.

In Manek’s 122 games with the Sooners, 111 of which he started, he knocked down 235 three-pointers at a 37.4 percent clip. Given the Tar Heels’ inability to score from the perimeter last season, there’s little doubt why first-year head coach Hubert Davis and his staff wanted Manek on the roster.

Manek averaged 12 points and 5.6 rebounds per game for Lon Kruger’s squad from 2017 to 2021. He never recorded fewer than 10.2 points and five rebounds per game in any of his four seasons. Manek is also an improved free throw shooter — he’s converted no less than 76.4 percent of his free throw attempts in any of his last three seasons after shooting just 60 percent from the foul line as a freshman.

Manek’s inclusion in the Tar Heels’ starting lineup this season is no slam dunk, though. This spot could easily be filled by a number of players, including senior guard/forward Leaky Black or a handful of others. It’s yet to be seen if the UNC coaching staff favors the defensive prowess and familiarity with the system of a player like Black, or the offensive versatility and long-range shooting ability of the newcomer from Oklahoma.

There’s also the issue of Manek’s size and athleticism, and his ability to guard opposing wings. If Kerwin Walton can continue to shoot the ball well, and improve his defense, he’s got an opportunity to slide over to the three in favor of Manek, Black and others. In that scenario, R.J. Davis likely moves into the starting lineup at the two spot alongside Caleb Love.

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