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UNC Basketball 2021-22 Player Preview: Kerwin Walton

By Zack Pearson

Jan 12, 2021; Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels guard Kerwin Walton (24) shoots as Syracuse Orange forward Quincy Guerrier (1) and forward Marek Dolezaj (21) defend in the first half at Dean E. Smith Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 12, 2021; Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels guard Kerwin Walton (24) shoots as Syracuse Orange forward Quincy Guerrier (1) and forward Marek Dolezaj (21) defend in the first half at Dean E. Smith Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports /
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Our 2021-22 UNC Basketball player preview series continues on as we take a look at sophomore Kerwin Walton.

D’Marco Dunn | Dontrez Styles | Creighton Lebo | Puff Johnson | Dawson Garcia | R.J. Davis

A new era of North Carolina Tar Heels’ basketball is set to be ushered in this November with Hubert Davis taking over as head coach for Roy Williams. Davis inherits a team that was bounced in the first round of the 2021 NCAA Tournament but does bring back some key players plus welcomes in a two-man recruiting class and three new transfers.

Among those returnees is sophomore Kerwin Walton. The Minnesota native didn’t begin last season as a starter but that changed rather quickly as he impressed with his three-point shooting abilities.

Now, going into this season Walton is considered UNC’s best outside shooter and will be a key if the team wants to make a legit run.

Season Review, 2020-21

Walton was by far UNC’s best three-point shooter last year and earned a starting spot just in time for conference play. Though he started off slow, then got hot, he eventually did cool off at the end of the season. Still, it was a productive campaign for the former four-star recruit.

In 29 games, Walton averaged 21 minutes while shooting 44 percent from the field and 42 percent from the three-point line. He averaged 8.2 points, 1.7 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game in his first season. He also showed the ability to be able to be a solid defender as well.

Walton can flat out shoot it but he’d also benefit from having a distributing point guard, something UNC hopes both R.J. Davis and Caleb Love are better at. Overall, it was a good freshman year campaign for Walton and now UNC has high expectations moving forward for him.

What to Expect in 2021-22

Coming off that good freshman year, the expectations are high for Walton. The hope is that he takes that next step and becomes an even better shooter not only from the three-point line but everywhere on the court.

Walton should likely be a starter this season as he’s still UNC’s best shooter and has the chance to develop into their best scorer overall too. He’s going to be a big key to UNC’s success especially because the Tar Heels have shot poorly over the past few years from beyond the arc. They need to fix that and it begins with Walton being a consistent shooter from deep.

I think Walton will have another good season here and UNC should lean on him early on to drain perimeter shots and be a knock-down shooter.

Bold Prediction

This may not be super bold but I think Walton can be the best three-point shooter in the ACC and get his average to about 13 or so points per game this season. UNC will certainly take that production as it would mean a big step forward in his development.

Next. UNC predicted to finish third in ACC. dark

For more on Walton and other UNC Basketball players, please make sure to check back with Keeping It Heel.

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