Key UNC Basketball Returners You Should Watch

North Carolina Tar Heel basketball thrives off of experience from returning players year after year.

In 2005, senior Sean May and junior Raymond Felton led the Tar Heels to a national championship. In 2009, Roy Williams won his second banner with the help of three seniors and three juniors.

In the 2012-13 NBA draft, North Carolina saw four players selected in the first round, all of which returned from the previous year.

This upcoming season is no different.

Besides losing guards Dexter Strickland and Reggie Bullock to the NBA draft, the Tar Heels have excess of talent at Williams' disposal next year.

While most of the starting roles are filled, some positions are up for grabs. Now is the time for some of the younger players to come in and fill those spots that were left behind by the previous stars.

Here is a look into the important players that chose to return to play for North Carolina in 2013-14.

Leslie McDonald

Now that Reggie Bullock and Dexter Strickland aren't on the team anymore, McDonald is the guy Roy Williams will look to fill their shoes.

It's been a rough past two seasons for the now senior guard. After a much improved sophomore campaign in 2010-11, McDonald missed the entire 2011-12 year and dealt with injuries and a suspension last season.

Because he missed a few games here and there, McDonald never really found his rhythm.

Although he was the first player off the bench for Williams, he only shot 35 percent from the floor, three percent lower from his sophomore year.

Now McDonald has to lose his sixth-man role and will finally have his chance to become a starter.

If he can stay on the court for an entire season, we might be able to see why Williams brought him to Chapel Hill in the first place, which was to be an added scoring option to an already talented offensive group.

Marcus Paige

From the minute he committed to North Carolina, Paige was slotted to run the point immediately after he arrived on campus. 

Even though he was highly recruited out of high school, Paige wasn't thought of as a player to take over a game. Roy Williams likes to run a fast-paced system and mistakes will be made moving the ball up and down the court all day.

It's especially harder if you're a freshman having to learn the offense on the fly.

While Paige did struggle at times handling the rock, he did show signs of brilliance while keeping his turnovers to a minimum in a few games last season. 

If Paige can continue to improve in his second year in a Tar Heel uniform, this offense is going to be a lot of fun to watch in 2013-14.

P.J. Hairston

Unlike Reggie Bullock, Hairston chose to remain a Tar Heel for one more year and skipped going to the NBA draft.

With that, it gives Hairston an opportunity to claim this team as his own and emerge as the outright leader of the Tar Heels.

He came into his own near the end of last season, becoming the go-to scorer on the team.

Even while playing with a broken hand, his teammates looked and saw the resilience in the young man's game, and was able to stay with No. 1 seed Kansas in the NCAA tournament.

The improved play last season showcased Hairston's ability to score as he was second on the team in points per game (14.3). If he can continue to drain threes and score the way he did at the end of the 2012-13 season, expect that number to rise.

James Michael McAdoo

McAdoo is the X-factor to whether the Tar Heels have a successful season or have the "overrated" label slapped on them once again.

At the end of the 2011-12 season, many experts thought that McAdoo was a lottery pick in the NBA draft. Fast forward to present day, and his draft stock has slid about 10 picks or so.

It's not Manti Te'o range, but you get the idea.

The biggest problem for McAdoo last year was that he was playing at center when he should be at power forward. While the Tar Heels tried to play small ball, he continuously got backed down by bigger, stronger and more natural centers—like Kansas' James Withey in the NCAA tournament.

Now that Roy Williams is bringing in a couple big men to help McAdoo, he can now move back to the position he is used to playing and he can begin to thrive again defensively.

Now McAdoo does have to improve his low-post game as well. He is good out on the perimeter with his face to the hoop, but seems confused and can't make a decision when his back is to the basket.

He needs to sure that up if his team wants to be contenders in the ACC next season.