UNC Basketball: Predicting Tar Heels' Stat Leaders for 2016-17 Season

Despite losing a pair of well-established players, North Carolina will head into next season with plenty of veteran talent ready to take the mantle.

Most teams would not be able to recover from the loss of Brice Johnson and Marcus Paige. This tandem has led the Tar Heels for the past three years, putting up impressive numbers in a variety of categories. However, the remaining players know they will need to step up to replace the departed talent.

Unlike other teams relying on freshman unknowns, North Carolina will have proven competitors who are ready to step into the spotlight.

Although we won't know how the season will turn out until the games are actually played, UNC's experience makes it a bit easier to predict statistically. Here is a look at projected leaders in key stats for the 2016-17 season.

Points Per Game: Justin Jackson

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Paige was the "obvious" choice last year after leading the team in scoring the previous two seasons, but Johnson made a huge leap and averaged 17 points per game to lead the team. This shows while there are two leading candidates to lead the team in scoring, anyone is capable of stepping up over the course of next season.

With that said, the favorites to lead the team in scoring are Joel Berry and Justin Jackson. These are the only two returning players of the four who averaged at least 12 points per game for North Carolina this past season, and each now has an opportunity to improve upon these numbers with more chances next year.

While both Berry and Jackson will likely have big games throughout the year, Jackson is the one who should improve the most between his sophomore and junior season. The 6'8" wing has tons of untapped potential as an offensive mismatch at the college level and will only be more dangerous as he improves his outside shot.

Jackson should also finally be more aggressive after taking a back seat to veteran players over the past two years.

After flirting with the NBA draft this offseason, the Texas native should come back more determined and ready to be a leader offensively.

Assists Per Game: Joel Berry

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Paige earned a lot of attention from opposing teams and national media, but Berry was the Tar Heels' primary ball-handler for much of the 2015-16 season. This should make it no surprise he ended up finishing with more points per game (12.8 to 12.6) and assists per game (3.8 to 3.7) than the senior.

With Paige gone, Berry will now become the team's lead guard almost 100 percent of the time and have the ball in his hands just about every minute he is on the floor.

Based on what we have seen to this point, the rising junior is more than capable of handling the role. He has the quickness to get into the lane as well as the vision and passing ability to rack up the assists. Considering the fast-paced offense and the talent around him, Berry could average about five or six assists per game.

While Nate Britt and Seventh Woods will have their chances to run the show and Theo Pinson has proved to be a quality passer, Berry should easily finish with the most assists on the team.

Rebounds Per Game: Kennedy Meeks

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Isaiah Hicks will likely step into the starting lineup and should be a threat both offensively and on the boards. Considering he averaged 19.8 points and 10.2 rebounds per 40 minutes this past year, it will be exciting to see what he can do with extra playing time.

However, Kennedy Meeks has been the better rebounder to this point, finishing each of his first three years with a better offensive and defensive rebounding rate than Hicks. That shouldn't change with both going into their senior years.

Even in a down year for Meeks, the center still was a force on the offensive glass, bringing in 13.5 percent of the missed shots, per KenPom.com. UNC usually crashes the boards hard and with Meeks' work rate, he should once again bring in plenty of misses. On the defensive end, he should be able to get more of the balls that otherwise went to Johnson last season and regain his standing as an elite rebounder.

His playing time will have a lot to do with his final numbers, but Meeks could easily average around eight rebounds per game next season.

Luke Maye and Tony Bradley will also get their chance to rack up some boards as part of the main rotation in the frontcourt.

Blocks Per Game: Kennedy Meeks

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Even as a freshman, Bradley should make a major impact in this area. The power forward has plenty of athleticism and long arms that will help him protect the rim and provide a boost offensively.

The problem is as the third big man he will be limited to fewer than 20 minutes per game and will struggle to put up big numbers.

On the other hand, Meeks should continue his progression as a solid, yet unspectacular shot-blocker. The 6'9" center averaged one block per game last season, exactly in line with his career average in this category. He plays good on-ball defense in the post and often alters shots, but you won't see a lot of help defense from the big man.

Hicks could also make an impact on the defensive end, but his best attribute is the ability to guard a pick-and-roll with his lateral quickness. He isn't much of a shot-blocker and won't become one during his senior season.

Steals Per Game: Joel Berry

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There are a handful of options for players who could end up with high numbers in this category.

Freshmen Seventh Woods and Brandon Robinson both have the quickness and athleticism to be quality defenders. If Pinson becomes a starter as expected, he will have the opportunity for a lot of steals as a primary stopper on the perimeter. Britt has also been a pesky player defensively at times during his career.

Still, Berry led the Tar Heels this past year with 1.5 steals per game and should continue to be a threat on that end of the floor.

While one of North Carolina's biggest issues last year was its poor perimeter defense and Berry certainly lacked consistency, he at least knows how to go after a loose ball and turn that into a fast break on the other end. This should be enough to help the team win in the upcoming season.

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