UNC Basketball: 5 Reasons for Tar Heels Fans to Be Optimistic in 2014-15

The countdown to the first game is underway. Less than a week remains between now and North Carolina's season-opener for 2014-15.

Any new year is reason enough for a fanbase to be optimistic. However, this year's UNC squad has folks in particularly high spirits, and it's for good reason. There is a lot to look forward to and a lot to move on from.

The Carolina roster Roy Williams has put together is deep and talented. As many as 10 guys could be used on any given night. There are certain aspects of this team that have fans the most excited, though. Here are five reasons to smile about what is in store in Chapel Hill this year.

Marcus Paige Is on This Team

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I mean, have you seen this guy?

• 2014-15 AP preseason All-American
• 2014 first-team All-ACC
• led the ACC in three-point percentage and free-throw percentage
• second in offensive win shares and fourth in offensive rating while being outside the top 20 in usage rate

Marcus Paige did it all a year ago for North Carolina and did so efficiently. He will have more help in the backcourt this season, but Paige will still be one of the most threatening players in the country on any given play.

If a point guard who enables Paige to play off the ball emerges for the Heels, he could even be a concern for opponents on the wings and while he runs ragged around screens. The skill from behind the arc combined with his ability to get to the rim and connect from the foul line may be unmatched elsewhere around the nation.

It will be especially exciting to see what he is capable of with teammates who can space the floor.

That Recruiting Class

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This is the most talented trio of incoming freshmen North Carolina has added since maybe 2006.

Each of Justin Jackson, Theo Pinson and Joel Berry are 5-star talents who possess their own, useful skill set.

Jackson is a long small forward who can shoot from anywhere and get his own shot off over most wing defenders. He should space the floor and aid this offense from the start.

Pinson is a slashing hybrid guard who is able to create and get to the bucket. His athleticism and versatility make him worthy of heavy minutes right away on both ends of the floor.

Berry is the powerful, smart point guard North Carolina needs to play alongside Marcus Paige. He is strong with the ball, effective with his passes and confident in his decisions. The ideal Tar Heel lineup has Berry starting at the point.

Recruiting is never a sure thing. All three or none may live up to expectations. With that said, these are talented dudes who fit on this team, and failure seems highly unlikely.

The Roster Has Complementary Parts

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The struggles for this team last year were more a result of an incongruous roster than any specific failure by one player. The wings couldn't shoot, the guys drawing fouls couldn't hit free throws, the most talented bigs couldn't stay on the floor, the young guys were out of their element, etc.

Things should be much different in 2014-15.

UNC needed a strong point guard with a mature game to play alongside Paige, so it added Joel Berry.

UNC needed more length out of its best post options, so Kennedy Meeks slimmed down in the offseason to build up his stamina.

J.P. Tokoto and Isaiah Hicks fit better comprising different roles; the former is no shooting guard and the latter is not a small forward. So Roy Williams added scoring wings Justin Jackson and Theo Pinson.

Seemingly every move and addition to the Tar Heels makes them a team with more flow to the rotations and substitutions, as well as a roster of players that should complement each other.

The ACC Schedule Should Be a Reprieve!

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The Atlantic Coast Conference has four of the Top 10 teams in the country according to the opening AP poll rankings of the season. Syracuse at 23 gives it five of the top 25.

With UNC slated to play all of these tough conference foes, the ACC crop of games will be a grind all winter. However, that grind could feel like easy street for North Carolina based on the early, out-of-conference schedule it could be forced to deal with.

Because of the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament, all of the Heels' opponents are not yet known, but the possibility exists that UNC will have to take on Oklahoma or UCLA followed by Florida or Wisconsin.

That duet of deathly foes is paired with the other teams Carolina will definitely be facing early this season: tough mid-majors in Davidson and Butler, tough power-five teams in Iowa and Ohio State, as well as the No. 1 team in the country, the Kentucky Wildcats.

Because UNC will have to take on such tough opponents, many of whom it is much less familiar with than old rivals like Duke or Virginia, it wouldn't be a surprise to see the Tar Heels fall a couple of times this season before conference play even begins.

Yet that toughening should serve the Tar Heels in the long run, and their incoming freshmen will be well-seasoned before an ACC opponent like Louisville even comes to town.

Duke Has No Size Advantage

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Duke freshman center Jahlil Okafor is the talk of the town. At 6'11", the young man is going to anchor a formidable front line for the Blue Devils.

He will be teamed with Amile Jefferson (6'9") and spotted with Marshall Plumlee (7'0"). Duke will also have a big sub on the wing in Semi Ojeleye (6'8", 230 lbs). Fortunately for the rest of the conference, Rice transfer Sean Obi cannot join the scrum as well, as he's ineligible for the 2014-15 season.

That front line is going to be a problem for most opponents. The days of Duke dicing people with buckets of threes could be a thing of the past. However, UNC is in prime position to contend with its biggest rival in the paint.

Kennedy Meeks may have slimmed down, but he still controls his 6'9" body on the inside. Paired with the length and leaping of Brice Johnson, UNC's starters are quite the pair. And they have a number of bangers ready to spell them at a moment's notice.

Joel James and Jackson Simmons play with girth and hustle respectively, yet they get the job done. Desmond Hubert is often lost on the offensive end, but he is a block hound on defense. And sophomore Isaiah Hicks, though thin, is ready to compete at power forward after being forced into small forward duties all of last season.

It remains to be seen just how good Jahlil Okafor will be. What isn't up for debate is that UNC will have the bodies to make it hard on him and Duke down low.