Keeping It Heel
Fansided

UNC Basketball: Tar Heels’ projected 2022-23 starting lineup

By Blake Cockrum

CHAPEL HILL, NC - FEBRUARY 16: Caleb Love #2, Brady Manek #45, R.J. Davis #4, Armando Bacot #5, and Leaky Black #1 of the North Carolina Tar Heels line up and talk during a game against the Pittsburgh Panthers on February 16, 2022 at the Dean Smith Center in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Pittsburgh won 76-67. (Photo by Peyton Williams/UNC/Getty Images)
CHAPEL HILL, NC - FEBRUARY 16: Caleb Love #2, Brady Manek #45, R.J. Davis #4, Armando Bacot #5, and Leaky Black #1 of the North Carolina Tar Heels line up and talk during a game against the Pittsburgh Panthers on February 16, 2022 at the Dean Smith Center in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Pittsburgh won 76-67. (Photo by Peyton Williams/UNC/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
4 of 6
Next
UNC Basketball
CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA – JANUARY 15: Leaky Black #1 of the North Carolina Tar Heels moves the ball against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets during their game at the Dean E. Smith Center on January 15, 2022 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The Tar Heels won 88-65. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images) /

Leaky Black

The best on-ball defender and arguably the best overall defender in all of college basketball returns to Chapel Hill next season in the form of fifth-year senior Leaky Black.

Black recently announced his decision to come back for his final year of college eligibility, one afforded to him by the NCAA due to the 2020 season that was heavily impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. Having Black back in Carolina blue this fall will ensure that the Tar Heels have both a lockdown defender on the court and a trusted locker room presence off of it.

Never before had we seen Black play at the level he did last season when he shut down — or at least held in check — just about every opponent he was given the assignment of guarding. Not only that, but from time to time his offensive contributions came into play as well. The Tar Heels don’t need Black to score much, but when he adds that to an already lethal defensive prowess, they become even more dangerous.

For one more season, Black will get the assignment of locking up on the opponent’s best offensive threat or the one that’s hottest coming into that particular game. His length, speed, and versatility as a defender give Hubert Davis and company matchup options on that end, as he can stymie players of varied sizes and skillsets.

Home/UNC Basketball