Rebuilding Year for UNC Tar Heels? I Don't Think So

BuckPride53 — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 10:36:19 -0500

They lost just about everything. A four-year All-American and player of the year. The best point guard in the nation. One of the best shooters in the nation. An all-around stat stuffer. Four starters and the four top scorers on the team. Three first-round picks and a second-round pick.

Common practice would assume that this is a rebuilding year for the UNC Tar Heels. But the Heels don't follow common practice. They again field a solid team made up of experienced veterans, maturing sophomores, and ultra-talented freshmen.

Seniors Deon Thompson and Marcus Ginyard will lead this team both on the court and off.

Thompson will most likely be the leading scorer and maybe the leading rebounder for this club. He has taken his momentum from the summer of USA basketball and has translated it onto the college court.

Ginyard will be the defensive stalwart and is looking like a top perimeter scorer for a team who will rely on its post players for most of the scoring. His jump shot looks greatly improved in the two games I saw against Florida International and NC Central.

Also, Will Graves, who was kicked off the team last year for violating team rules, is back and in the starting lineup. He is a great athlete and a good shooter who can make a difference. There seems to be a change in him and he looks like he's playing extremely hard.

The ''maturing sophomores'' I'm talking about are forward/center Ed Davis, point guard Larry Drew, and center/forward Tyler Zeller.

Davis is probably the best NBA prospect on this team. He has bulked up this summer and has developed a solid 6'10", 215 frame. He will continue to benefit from Strength-and-Conditioning Coordinator Jonas Sahratian's workout plans.

His defensive game is outstanding and his offensive game is coming along, especially since he has developed a good jump-hook shot. I can't say enough about this kid. He has a great motor,outstanding athleticism, and he plays hard all the time.

Larry Drew will ultimately determine how far the Heels go this year. As always, UNC will run, run, and run some more and Drew must conduct the offense. Graduated, Ty Lawson knew when to slow it down and play a half-court game, which is one of the things that made him so great. Drew must learn to do that and he has looked good so far. He impressed me in the game against Florida International.

Zeller is going to be the sixth man on this team and will provide matchup nightmares as a seven-footer who can run the floor. Tyler has a solid all-around game and is always playing hard.

These players will be helped by a great recruiting class that includes John Henson, Dexter Strickland, Leslie McDonald, and Travis and David Wear.

Henson is maybe the best athlete of his recruiting class but will need to put on weight if he's going to bang inside with the big boys in the ACC. He, too, will be a big matchup problem because of his athleticism. I can see him being a good player by the end of the year and a great one next year if he sticks around.

Strickland is a good combo guard who can run the floor very well. He is very quick and can drive to the basket with ease. He will be a solid guard off the bench who can spell either Drew, Ginyard, or Graves.

Leslie McDonald is a big guard (6'5", 215) with big-time potential. He is not polished yet and was at times out of control in the early games. But with time and great coaching, he will become a very solid player over the course of the season.

The Wear twins intrigue me greatly. They are fundamentally sound, good athletes, and tireless workers. They may never be great for UNC, but they will both be physical bigs who will outwork opponents for rebounds and loose balls. They play good defense and their offensive games are both encouraging for freshmen.

Now, with all this said, this doesn't look like a team whose "rebuilding." They look like a team who, though they may go through some growing pains, will make a run for a 19th (and third straight) Final Four appearance. They have the players, the coaching, and the system to take them there.

Read more UNC Basketball news on BleacherReport.com

Roy Williams Keeps North Carolina On Top Time and Time Again

Jacob Motley — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 01:16:16 -0500

Roy Williams returned to his alma mater in hopes to lead the North Carolina basketball team in a way that would honor his mentor Dean Smith.

I will not go as far as to say Roy Williams is surpassing his idol in supreme coaching status; to do so would be hard to say about a legend like Dean Smith. But two national titles in five years and to have the recruiting classes lined up the way Roy has it right now is down right unfair.

He led a 2005 North Carolina team to a national title, but then heard the buzz that he could never do it with his own recruits. He proved the critics wrong as he recruited guys that would be one of the best all-time North Carolina teams and win yet another national title in 2009.

As if two titles in five years wasn't enough, Roy Williams is doing everything he can to keep the banners falling inside the Dean Dome.

For the 2009-2010 season he recruited a class ranked second nationally, which is filled with the likes of five McDonald's All-Americans. John Henson, Dexter Strickland, Leslie McDonald, and the Wear twins are all seeing solid playing time this season.

Then people began saying that while the frontcourt was loaded, there was a major void in the backcourt for the young heels.

Is that so?

Roy Williams then signs two top-ranked gaurds in Reggie Bullock and Kendall Marshall for the 2010-2011 season. These two will be more than capable to load up the point guard and shooting guard positions.

Is that not enough, Roy? It doesn't seem so.

Harrison Barnes sealed what should be a North Carolina team on a completely different level than the rest of the nation next year. The No. 1 ranked recruit signed to North Carolina in another heartbreaking loss for Duke; Coach K continues to struggle in the recruiting battle with his cross-town foe.

Wait, Roy isn't done. For the 2011-2012 season he already has verbal commits from another pair of diaper-dandies. James McAdoo and P.J. Hairston are both ranked in the ESPN top 25 for 2011.

It is no better feeling than being on North Carolina's side the past several years, and what will be some succesful years to come. If Roy Williams has anything to do with it, it seems North Carolina won't be going anywhere anytime soon.

Roy Williams does not rebuild, he re-loads.

Read more UNC Basketball news on BleacherReport.com

Bleacher Report - UNC Basketball

Rebuilding Year for UNC Tar Heels? I Don't Think So

Roy Williams Keeps North Carolina On Top Time and Time Again