Can Harrison Barnes and Company Bring UNC Back to Prominence?

UNC Basketball failed to make the NCAA tournament last year—what?

Coming off a National Championship in 2009, the Tar Heels had high expectations with Ed Davis, the best ranked power forward in the nation, and a recruiting class led by Jon Henson, the fourth ranked recruit in the country according to scout.com.

However, the season spiraled downhill quickly for the Tar Heels, and at the end of the year they were fighting to stay .500.

Roy Williams might have suffered his most embarrassing season as a head coach, and top player sophomore Ed Davis had a very disappointing season, as his draft stock dropped heavily.

While many figured Davis would stay for his junior year, and play with arguably the most talented freshman class in the nation, Davis had different plans. Declaring for the draft on April 12 and soon after hiring an agent, Davis and UNC had officially parted ways. 

Everyone else on the roster would stay, right? Wrong.

One month later, on May 6, the 6'10'' twins Travis and David Wear officially announced their plans to transfer from UNC. UNC Basketball is now left with only two players above 6'7'' (Zeller and Henson) and many holes to fill. How will Roy rebut?

Let's start by announcing the incoming freshman for next year, packaged with three McDonald's All-Americans.  

Harrison Barnes. Have you heard of him? Anyone who knows anything about college basketball has heard of this name. Why? The Iowa baller is the No. 1 ranked recruit coming out of high school, and is projected to be the first overall pick in next year's draft. Hmm, that should help.

Next recruit Reggie Bullock is hardly even a downgrade from Barnes. Ranked the No. 2 shooting guard from high school, Bullock will provide UNC with a great complement to Barnes. His athleticism and shooting reliability is what UNC has been yearning for.

What else have the Tar Heels needed? A true point guard.

Kendall Marshall will come into the Tar Heel roster as a top 10 point guard freshman in the nation. Called the consensus best passer and playmaker of the incoming freshman, Marshall will be the true point guard that UNC has lacked.

No longer will Dexter Strickland have to fill the void, and he will be able to smoothly transition back to being simply a shooting guard for the Tar Heels, as he was in high school.

The latest addition to next year's roster is going to be Justin Knox, the 6'9'' transfer from Alabama. While Knox wasn't a high recruit, he will be a nice addition to the UNC frontcourt and size despair they are suffering from. 

In conjunction with the recruiting class, the Tar Heel roster will feature a more developed Dexter Strickland and Larry Drew, a John Henson that has been working on his diet all summer and will be more than 100 pounds, and a healthy Tyler Zeller, who turned out to be the MVP late in the season for the Heels. And don't forget Will Graves, who will be a senior leader and was the go-to guy down the stretch for the team. 

How do I think the Tar Heels will bounce back in 2011? Let's just say I wouldn't doubt that they'll be a No. 1 seed in next year's tournament, especially with Harrison Barnes on their side.