North Carolina Basketball: 10 Things We've Learned About the '11-12 Tar Heels

North Carolina was the runaway No. 1 selection in the 2011-12 preseason polls.

Not many people outside of Tar Heel Nation expected them to go wire-to-wire as an undefeated No. 1.

Bobby Knight's 1976 Indiana Hoosiers were the last undefeated NCAA Champions.

Roy Williams' squad is playing very good basketball and yet has lost two games already this season.

Here are 10 things we've already learned about this year's Tar Heels team.

10. The Tar Heels Are Not Invincible

Some people said that the Tar Heels were "exposed" in their 90-80 loss to UNLV in Vegas over Thanksgiving.

I choose to think of it as more of a "perfect storm" of holiday hoops meeting an up-and-coming Rebels team.

And, while North Carolina lost again one week later to Kentucky, there is no shame in going down in defeat to the Wildcats in a one-point ball game at Rupp Arena.

The fact is: North Carolina can be beaten and will probably lose a few more times this year.

Invincible? No. Still one of the best teams in the country? You better believe it.

9. John Henson Has Developed a Nice Mid-Range Game

Starting from the Carrier Classic game on, John Henson has demonstrated a much improved shooting touch from 12-15 feet over last year.

Henson has had good footwork and post moves. But adding a mid-range game to his offensive repertoire makes him more dangerous as an individual and more helpful to his team.

So far in '11-12, the 6' 11" junior forward is shooting 54.5 percent from the field and averaging 14 ppg.

8. Tyler Zeller Can Play Better

Don't get me wrong...Tyler Zeller isn't playing badly, but he definitely can play better than what he has in the first nine games of this season.

All of his numbers are down slightly. But that could be just a product of other people (Barnes, Henson, Bullock, Hairston) stepping up.

It just doesn't seem like Zeller has "hit his stride" yet. He almost looks like he has taken a step backwards in terms of aggressiveness and confidence (two unmeasurable factors).

This may not be the case, but Zeller shouldn't be able to play for 35 minutes against Wisconsin and 28 minutes against Kentucky and only have one foul in each of those games.

7. P.J. Hairston Is a Perfect off-the-Bench Scorer

On this team, P.J. Hairston is a perfect perimeter scorer off the bench.

He instantly gets into the flow of the game.

He doesn't require a lengthy "warm up" time before he can knock down shots.

And he is as good as anyone on the this year's Tar Heels from beyond the arc (46.2 percent).

6. Teams Drop off of Kendall Marshall Because of His Hesitancy to Shoot

In some ways, it's good that Kendall Marshall doesn't look to shoot very often.

There are plenty of other Tar Heels who are ready, willing and able to put the ball up.

But, Marshall's hesitancy to shoot causes defenses to sag off of him and double-team other UNC players.

Marshall averages less than five shot attempts per game.

I'm not saying that he needs to be shooting as much as Barnes, Henson or Zeller.

Just a few more shots to keep the opponents honest would be good. 

5. Dexter Strickland's Minutes Are Declining

In North Carolina's first three games of the '11-12 season, Dexter Strickland averaged 29 minutes per game.

During the next three games, Strickland logged 28 minutes per game.

And in the last three, he played 24 minutes per game.

He is not being phased out, but Roy seems to be looking to use Bullock and Hairston more.

Strickland hasn't attempted a three yet this season, which is surprising. Bullock and Hairston are long-distance specialists.

Something to watch... 

4. The Tar Heels Free Throw Shooting Could Cause Problems

North Carolina, as a team, is shooting 63.5 percent from the free-throw line.

That puts them tied for No. 268 in the nation with powerhouse programs such as Samford, North Florida and Savannah State.

This is perplexing knowing that the Tar Heels have plenty of lights-out shooters on the floor.

John Henson (pictured) is shooting a miserable 47.4 percent from the line. Even though he is shooting better from the field this year, he just can't get it going at the line. 

He has to be removed from the court at the end of the game so that opponents don't resort to a "Hack-a-Henson" strategy.

Dexter Strickland (63 percent) and James McAdoo (51.7 percent) are two more players that you probably won't see on the court down the stretch in close games. 

3. Harrison Barnes Has Elevated His Game

Harrison Barnes has come out this year firing.

He is shooting 49 percent from the floor (up from 42 percent last year). He is making 46 percent of his shots from beyond the arc (up from 34 percent last year).

And the super sophomore is scoring 17.2 points per game.

Barnes is playing with more attitude and looks to "take over" instead of simply waiting for others to initiate the action on his behalf.

2. The Tar Heels Are Still One of the Best Rebounding Teams in the Country

It's no surprise that the Tar Heels are (again) one of the best rebounding teams in the country.

They are currently tied with Michigan State as the No. 2 in the nation.

Henson and Zeller are as good of an interior rebounding combo as any duo in the nation.

While others may jump higher or look more impressive, these two are the key to limiting their opponents to one shot and keeping the ball alive on the offensive end.

My prediction: by the end of the season, the Tar Heels will be the No. 1 rebounding team for the second year in a row.

1. Roy Williams Is a Great Coach Who Knows How to Get a Team Ready

In all of the years that I have watched Roy Williams coach, I have rarely felt that his teams were unprepared.

It would have been easy for the Tar Heels to look a little fatigued going into last Saturday's game at Kentucky.

After all, they had lost to UNLV in Vegas over Thanksgiving and then played a physical game against Wisconsin.

But, North Carolina looked fresh and focused when they stepped on the Rupp Arena floor.

And even though they lost the game on what looked like the players just stopped after Henson's shot was blocked, that was not a matter of Williams' preparing his team.

Williams will also use the entire season to get his team ready for the 2012 NCAA Tournament.