UNC Basketball shut out of top 25 player list for 2021-22 season

A top 25 players list for the 2021-22 college basketball season was released, and no UNC basketball players are featured on it.

With the 2021 NBA Draft in the rearview mirror, analysts around the sport of college basketball are already looking ahead to the 2021-22 season.

A ton of talent departed the sport, but there is still a lot of fresh new talent ready and capable to fill in the voids. For analysts, ranking players is a bit different this year, as there are some key elements that need to be considered, such as the new transfer rule, which has placed some of the sport’s top talents in brand new locations.

Kevin Flaherty of 247 Sports took an extended look, and came up with a top 25 players list heading into the new season. He also tabbed a handful of freshmen to watch over the next couple of months. Unfortunately for fans of the UNC basketball program, the Tar Heels are not represented on the list.

Not a single member the Tar Heels were mentioned in Flaherty’s article, and there was also a shortage of ACC players on the list. Not one player from the ACC made the list of 25, and only one (Paolo Banchero of Duke) was named as a freshman to watch.

Of course, rankings are what they are. Analysts try to predict their best teams and players, and in most cases, these lists are always subject to change. What is a bit startling is the lack of ACC representation on the list. There are some factors that could play into why this is the case.

For starters, the ACC did lose a lot of elite talent to the NBA Draft and the transfer portal. Other conferences have seen some of their top talents return, where as the ACC programs have seen a handful of players depart in multiple ways.

Additionally, the new-look rosters of some teams could also play a factor. Before we touch on the Tar Heels, let’s look at their biggest rival.

Duke lost star forward Matthew Hurt to the NBA. Jalen Johnson, as we all know, departed school early and was a mid-first round pick in the draft. Yes, Duke features one of the top recruiting classes in the country, but do we really know what those players will be until they actually step on the court?

For the Tar Heels, the roster is totally different, including their new head coach, Hubert Davis. North Carolina lost some key talents, such as Day’Ron Sharpe, Walker Kessler and Garrison Brooks, to name a few, but they did manage to replenish the roster with some incoming freshman recruits as well as some key transfers.

Armando Bacot and Caleb Love are very good basketball players, but both need to take a big step this season to make their case to be added on lists such as these. It’s no knock on those players, but rather a credit to how good the talent across the country is.

As mentioned earlier, these lists are always subject to change. No one should be shocked that the Tar Heels were left off the list, but should wait and see if the players can make that change throughout this upcoming season.

Continue to follow the Keeping It Heel team for all the latest news and updates regarding the UNC basketball program.