UNC Basketball: Who's Overachieving, Underachieving in 2014-15?

With the nonconference portion of its schedule almost complete, North Carolina is approaching the halfway point of the 2014-15 season. At 9-3, the Tar Heels have had an up-and-down run so far but are trending upward as ACC play is about to begin.

Individually, there have been some players faring much better than hoped, while others have struggled to live up to expectations.

Who is overachieving, and who is underachieving? Click through to see our assessment of UNC's 10 most-used players.

Joel Berry II

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Overachieving

As the least heralded of North Carolina's three freshman recruits, Joel Berry figured to get less work compared to Justin Jackson and Theo Pinson. The 6'0" point guard took a little while to find his role, but over the past five games, he's coming into his own by serving as a complementary piece of the backcourt.

For the season, Berry is playing 10.8 minutes per game and averaging 3.4 points with 1.3 assists. He's shooting only 38.2 percent from the field, and he's made just three of 18 three-pointers, but in the last five games, he's made nine of 15 shots and is averaging 5.6 points per game.

Berry's role is to spell either Nate Britt or Marcus Paige at the point or play alongside Paige when UNC moves him off the ball to maximize his shooting. He's averaged 13.2 minutes over the last five, during which the Tar Heels have gone 4-1.

Nate Britt

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Overachieving

Similar to how freshman Joel Berry II is being used, Nate Britt's role has been to play alongside Marcus Paige or come in for him at the point. He's doing about as well in this position as last season, but because of Berry, he's playing less.

Britt averages 14.6 minutes per game, down from 20.9 in his freshman season. The 5'11" sophomore averages 5.5 points (he scored 5.1 in 2013-14) and 1.4 assists after dishing out 2.4 assists last season. Never known for his shooting, Britt is hitting only 35.3 percent from the field, though when he's gotten to the line he's been stellar.

He's made 22 of 23 free throws for a team-best 95.7 percent. Britt missed his first try of the season and has hit every one since.

Isaiah Hicks

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Overachieving

With North Carolina's added emphasis on being deep and aggressive in the frontcourt, Isaiah Hicks has benefited by seeing his playing time nearly double. And the 6'8" sophomore forward has responded with across-the-board improvement.

Hicks averages 6.7 points and 3.2 rebounds in 14.4 minutes per game. Last year, he played only 7.3 minutes and scored 1.2 per contest.

Hicks is coming off of a career game in Saturday's 89-58 win over UAB, scoring 11 points on 3-of-4 shooting while going 5-of-6 from the line. It was his third game with double-digit scoring this season and one of eight in which he's made at least 50 percent of his shots.

Justin Jackson

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Underachieving

From a season-long statistical standpoint, Justin Jackson has had a pretty good freshman year. But the 6'8" forward came in with a lot of hype, and while he's had some good games, he's also had some stinkers, and that overall lack of consistency has made it a crapshoot what to expect from Jackson so far.

Jackson is averaging 9.8 points and 3.3 rebounds and is playing 23.3 minutes per game, fourth-most on the team. He's scored as many as 18 in a November win at Davidson but then went through a four-game stretch earlier this month in which he averaged only 6.0 per game and shot 32.3 from the field.

His shot selection and accuracy have been very spotty, sitting at 44.6 percent from the field and only 22.2 percent (6-of-27) from three-point range. Jackson made two out of three from outside against UAB, his first made threes since Nov. 28.

Joel James

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Overachieving

Joel James is the fourth of four big men that UNC splits its minutes between, with the 6'10" junior often replacing Kennedy Meeks as the bulk down below. He's playing only 8.7 minutes per game, but those have been very productive minutes from a hold-down-the-fort standpoint.

James is shooting 56 percent, a huge leap from 38.8 percent last season. This has enabled him to contribute a career-best 3.1 points per game, including 11 against UNC-Greensboro and eight in the big win over Ohio State at the CBS Sports Classic in Chicago.

James has also been careful with the ball in his hands, committing only six turnovers in 104 minutes of action.

Brice Johnson

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Overachieving

Depending on the approach he takes to the game, Brice Johnson either has a monster impact or he's been almost nonexistent for UNC this season. There's been far more of the former, though, which is why he is among the most improved players for the Tar Heels.

Johnson is averaging 11.8 points and 7.0 rebounds per game, both career highs, doing so despite averaging only 21.3 minutes per game. His on-court time has ranged from 12 to 28 minutes, and that usually correlates to how involved he is in the offense.

A 55.6 percent shooter, the 6'9" junior forward has shot 64.7 percent over the last five games, as he's averaged more than 10.2 field-goal attempts. Before that, he had eight or fewer shots in five of seven games.

Kennedy Meeks

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Overachieving

By far North Carolina's most improved player from last season to this one, 6'9" sophomore Kennedy Meeks has had a huge impact on the team's push to be a dominant force in the paint. Slimmed down and with better stamina, Meeks is playing more and contributing much more than he did during his freshman season.

Meeks ranks second on the team in scoring at 13.3 points per game, and he leads the Tar Heels with 9.4 rebounds per game. He averaged 7.6 points and 6.1 rebounds last season, but because of fatigue, he could only stay on the court for a little more than 16 minutes per contest.

Meeks is crashing the boards with authority, with 41 offensive rebounds to help him to record five double-doubles, highlighted by an 18-point, 13-rebound performance in the Battle 4 Atlantis win over Florida. He also leads the team in shooting at 61.9 percent, which ranks 13th in Division I.

Marcus Paige

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Underachieving

With North Carolina having the same record after 12 games as it did a year ago, yet with many players performing better than last season, someone had to have provided enough of a backslide to explain the similar ledger. Marcus Paige holds that dubious distinction, as the junior guard has struggled to match last season's success.

Paige's numbers were expected to dip a bit because the Tar Heels had more offensive options, and he's scoring 13.6 points per game after averaging 17.5 a year ago. But it's more than just a drop in scoring, as he's taking only 1.4 fewer shots per contest; instead, it's the shots he's trying to take that is causing the issues.

Almost exclusively a jump-shooter now, the 6'1" Paige is hitting only 35.8 percent of his field goals and 34.2 percent from three-point range. He was a 44 percent shooter a year ago, when he drove more and drew contact in the paint, yet this season, the attempt to try and be UNC's main distributor and go-to scorer has led to struggles.

When he's able to slide over to the 2 spot, with either Berry or Britt at the point, Paige is able to get open looks. He's coming off of back-to-back 16-point games, but in those, he's still made only 40 percent of his shots and just four of 14 from outside.

Theo Pinson

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Underachieving

Freshman forward Theo Pinson came to UNC this season with the reputation of being a stout defender who could provide some off-the-bench scoring punch. He's done his part on the defensive end, contributing 12 steals while playing 14.4 minutes per game, but his work on the offensive end still leaves a lot to be desired.

The 6'6" Pinson is averaging only 3.2 points per game while shooting an abysmal 32.5 percent from the field. He's made only five out of 17 three-pointers and just eight of 23 from inside the arc, still in search of a consistent shooting touch.

Pinson tied his career high with seven points along with two rebounds and three assists—his 2.3 assists per game has been a bright spot—in the Saturday win over UAB, but overall, it's been a slow-to-develop season for the freshman wing.

J.P. Tokoto

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Underachieving

J.P. Tokoto has a very unique role on the Tar Heels team this season, serving as almost a point forward at times when Paige looks to get his shot and needs someone to run the offense out of a one-guard, four-forward lineup. Tokoto has handled this role well, seeing his assist numbers jump from 3.0 last season to 4.2, but otherwise, the 6'5" junior has had difficulty with the ball in his hands.

Tokoto is shooting only 39.3 percent, down from 48.9 percent as a sophomore, and his scoring has dropped from 9.3 to 8.6 points per game. With more possessions running through him, Tokoto has also had trouble holding onto the ball, as he's committed a team-high 32 turnovers.

Tokoto is the one player on UNC's roster whose performance has tailed off toward the end of nonconference play, as he's averaged just 5.8 points per game and shot 34.8 percent from the field in the past four contests.

Follow Brian J. Pedersen on Twitter at @realBJP.