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UNC Basketball 2021-22 Player Preview: Justin McKoy

By Blake Cockrum

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA - DECEMBER 07: Justin McKoy #4 of the Virginia Cavaliers in the first half during a game against the North Carolina Tar Heels at John Paul Jones Arena on December 7, 2019 in Charlottesville, Virginia. (Photo by Ryan M. Kelly/Getty Images)
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA - DECEMBER 07: Justin McKoy #4 of the Virginia Cavaliers in the first half during a game against the North Carolina Tar Heels at John Paul Jones Arena on December 7, 2019 in Charlottesville, Virginia. (Photo by Ryan M. Kelly/Getty Images) /
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Our UNC basketball 2021-22 player previews continue with one of the Tar Heels’ bright young newcomers in small forward Justin McKoy.

D’Marco Dunn | Dontrez Styles | Creighton Lebo | Puff Johnson | Dawson Garcia | R.J. Davis | Kerwin Walton | Caleb Love | Anthony Harris | Duwe Farris

One of the newest members of the Tar Heels in 2021 is 6-foot-8, 220-pound small forward and former Virginia Cavalier Justin McKoy. After spending his last two seasons in Charlottesville, McKoy made the decision to enter the NCAA transfer portal en route to an eventual commitment to the Tar Heels.

Thanks to the NCAA granting an extra year of eligibility this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic, McKoy will actually be able to play three seasons at North Carolina if he so chooses. With that in mind, McKoy was a spectacular pick-up for first-year UNC head coach Hubert Davis. While McKoy definitely isn’t a player that I would refer to as a “project,” he does have work to do in order to make his way into a starting role in Chapel Hill.

Having said that, I absolutely expect McKoy to be a North Carolina starter at some point in his career, and I could see it happening as soon as next season. That, of course, depends on the personnel at UNC following this season. Leaky Black will likely be gone, and Armando Bacot and Caleb Love could be as well, so there will definitely be room for advancement following the 2021-22 season.

Season Review, 2020-21

McKoy averaged 3.5 points and 3.3 rebounds per game while shooting better than 48 percent from the floor and 33.3 percent from three-point range. He also connected on 80 percent of his free throw attempts, though it’s worth noting that it was a terribly small sample size of each. McKoy only shot the ball 58 times for the season, with just nine of those coming from beyond the arc. And his accuracy at the foul line looks far less impressive when you consider that he attempted just 10 free throws.

Now, that’s not to say that he can’t put up similar or even better number in his first season with the Tar Heels, because he is a very capable offensive player. But it may well be McKoy’s defense that UNC fans end up appreciating the most. After all, he was a member of one of the nation’s best defensive units for the past two years, and couples that experience with solid size and athleticism.

What to Expect in 2021-22

I don’t expect McKoy to make his way into the Tar Heels’ starting lineup at any point during his first go-round in Chapel Hill, but I do anticipate him being a difference-maker off the bench. As one of Hubert Davis’ first players off the pine, McKoy should provide a spark both offensively and defensively for the Tar Heels, though it may be the latter that earns him the majority of his playing time in year one at UNC.

Bold Prediction

McKoy will shoot in the high-30 percent range from beyond the three-point arc this season, and that alone will help him get off the bench and into games. Once you add in his ability to play effectively on both ends of the court, McKoy will be one of North Carolina’s most reliable and productive reserves.

Next. Harrison Barnes' red-hot start continues. dark

Check back with Keeping It Heel for the rest of our player preview series, and everything on the UNC basketball program.

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