North Carolina and the 12 Deepest College Basketball Teams in the Nation

North Carolina has an amazing array talent on this year's roster.

Roy Williams has brought and kept together one elite-level recruiting class after another.

The Tar Heels currently have seven players on the 2011-12 Hoopsworld.com's Top 100 NBA Draft Prospects list, five of which are in the top 20:

• Harrison Barnes: No. 3
• John Henson: No. 7
• Tyler Zeller: No. 14
• James McAdoo: No. 16
• Kendall Marshall: No. 19

Along with Roy's Boys, here is a list of the 12 deepest teams in College Basketball.

Depth isn't just based on having potential NBA players on your team.

Also included are teams that have a loaded bench that give their coaches lots of options.

12. Memphis Tigers

When Josh Pastner took over at Memphis after John Calipari left for Lexington, he didn't miss a beat in terms of bringing in top talent for the Tigers.

A relentless recruiter, Pastner has a very young and very gifted roster led by Will Barton, Joe Jackson and Adonis Thomas.

The Tigers have 10 players who are getting at least 11 minutes of playing time per game.

If this group stays together for another year or two, they will jump into the upper level of the top 25 and make a deep run in the NCAA Tournament.

11. Creighton BlueJays

Doug McDermott may be the only player on Creighton that has NBA potential, but the BlueJays are a sneaky-good team that will make some noise in March.

McDermott (6'7" forward) is the No. 2 scorer in the nation (25.2 ppg) as a sophomore. He is shooting a sick 62.6 percent from the floor, 83.3 from the line, and 57.5 from beyond the arc.

Creighton has utilized a 10-player rotation to start off the 2011-12 season with an 9-1 record and a No. 21 ranking.

The BlueJays lead the nation in assists per game (20.7) and are No. 6 in FG percentage (51.6) and scoring (86 ppg).

10. UNLV Rebels

UNLV apparently is this year's Mountain West team that is getting national notice because of who they are beating and how they are playing.

The Rebels (12-2; No. 23 ranking), who run with a nine-player rotation, have beaten the then-No. 1-ranked North Carolina and No. 19 Illinois.

Mike Moser (13.6 ppg; 11.4 rpg) is the nation's No. 7 rebounder.

UNLV has three other players scoring in double figures: Chase Stanback (13.3 ppg), Oscar Bellfield (10.4 ppg) and Justin Hawkins (10.2 ppg)

9. Marquette Golden Eagles

After winning their first 10 games of 2011-12, the Golden Eagles lost to LSU this week in Baton Rouge.

Marquette runs with a 10-man rotation, all who play at least 11 minutes a game.

Darius Johnson-Odom (18.5 ppg) and Jae Crowder (18.0 ppg) lead the way for Buzz Williams' bunch.

Six different players have at least three rebounds per game and Marquette averages 18.4 assists per game (No. 6 in the nation), while shooting 48.5 percent from the floor.

Watch for the Golden Eagles to battle it out for the Big East championship and tourney title.

8. Pitt Panthers

Pitt may not be an NBA factory, but year in and year out, the Panthers have as deep a roster as almost anyone in the country.

Until Travon Woodall went down to injury in late November and Khem Birch decided to transfer, Jamie Dixon was using a 10-man rotation (at least 14 minutes per game).

Pittsburgh (11-1) averages 18.3 assists per game (No. 8 in the nation) and shoots 50 percent from the floor (No. 12).

Even with Birch's departure, the Panthers have seven players who grab at least three rebounds per game.

When Woodall gets back to full strength, he and Gibbs will again make one of the best backcourts in the country.

7. Duke Blue Devils

Duke has had teams with more stars, but Coach K still has a deep and talented roster.

The Blue Devils have five players who average double figures: Austin Rivers (15.6 ppg), Mason Plumlee (12.5 ppg), Ryan Kelly (12.4 ppg), Seth Curry (12.3 ppg) and Andre Dawkins (10.4 ppg).

Tyler Thornton has also stepped up into the starting PG role as of late.

On a rebounds per minute basis, Miles Plumlee is the best rebounder on the team.

6. Louisville Cardinals

The Ville is loaded with talent and plays hard-nosed basketball.

The Cardinals (11-0; currently ranked No. 4) play 10 players at least 10 minutes a game.

Point guard Peyton Siva's toughness is contagious.

The emergence of Kyle Kuric (13.1 ppg; 4.7 rpg), Chris Smith (10.6 ppg 3.3 rpg) and Gorgui Dieng (10.6 ppg; 9.7 rpg) has created match-up problems for Louisville's opponents.

The Cardinals are one of the best rebounding teams in college hoops (41.3 rpg; No. 12 in the country).

Rick Pitino must like the way things are going. They will play cross-state rival Kentucky on New Year's Eve before starting their Big East schedule.

5. UConn Huskies

UConn returns four of their five starters from the 2011 NCAA championship team.

Jeremy Lamb (19 ppg), Shabazz Napier (14.6) and Ryan Boatright (14.0) are a terrific backcourt trio.

Jim Calhoun brought in a crazy-talented recruiting class led by Andre Drummond, DeAndre Daniels and Boatright.

Everyone in their eight-man rotation averages at least 3 rebounds per game.

The Huskies (9-1) are the No. 2 shot blocking team (8.5 bpg) in the nation.

Last year's championship team finished ninth in the Big East.

I'm going to go out on a limb here, and predict that UConn will do better than that in 2011-12.

4. Syracuse Orange

Syracuse may not have any Dave Bing's, Derrick Coleman's or Carmelo Anthony's on the 2011-12 roster, but the No.1 Orange (12-0) sure are getting things done.

Jim Boeheim has a ton of weapons in his 10-man rotation (all playing 12-plus minutes a game), and senior forward Kris Joseph (14.6 ppg; 5.7 rpg) is leading the way.

Defense is usually the starting point for any Syracuse team. The '11-12 Orange lead the nation in steals per game (11.5 spg) and are No. 9 in blocked shots (6.7 bpg).

They take care of the ball (1.46 assists/TOs), only averaging 11.7 turnovers while handing out 16.7 apg.

The Orange have one more pre-conference game (against 11-1 Tulane) before they open their Big East schedule against Seton Hall on December 28th.

This could be another memorable year in what is again one of the best conferences in all college basketball.

3. Ohio State Buckeyes

As long as the Buckeyes (or should I say Jared Sullinger) stay healthy, they will be one of the best teams in 2011-12.

Ohio State (10-1) not only returns Sullinger (16.7 ppg; 9.5 rpg), last year's Freshman of the Year, but also Deshaun Thomas (15.9 ppg), William Buford (15.6 ppg) and Aaron Craft (8.6 ppg; 2.9 spg). 

OSU takes care of the ball almost as good as anyone in the country (1.62 assists/TOs).

While last year's Buckeyes were an exceptional three-point team, this years' squad works the ball and either pounds the ball inside or pulls up for good mid-range jumpers.

2. Baylor Bears

Baylor may be the surprise team of the season.

Not only do the Bears have one of the best forward tandems in the nation in Perry Jones (16.2 ppg; 5.8 rpg) and Quincy Miller (10.8 ppg; 5.3 rpg), they may have as much front-court depth too.

Senior PF Quincy Acy (12.8 ppg; 7.1 rpg), Anthony Jones (8.3 ppg; 4.5 rpg) and  Corey Jefferson (6.6 ppg; 5.2 rpg) get a lot of things done.

Head coach Scott Drew is trying to figure out how to best use a trio of backcourt transfers (Pierre Jackson, Brady Heslip and Gary Franklin) alongside returning PG A.J. Walton.

It may be until late in the season before Drew tightens up the 11-man rotation (all are playing 10-plus minutes a game).

When he gets it all figured out, watch out Big 12! Watch out March Madness!

Kentucky Wildcats

John Calipari keeps pulling in elite-level recruiting classes every year, and alongside North Carolina, Kentucky has the most depth of any team in college basketball.

Up until this season, Coach Cal has had to redo almost his entire entire starting lineup because of early NBA departures.

He has the luxury of having Doron Lamb (the Cats leading scorer with 16.7 ppg), Terrence Jones (12.4 ppg) and Darius Miller (10 ppg) all return from last year's Final Four team.

UK may be one of the very few teams that has six (count 'em six) players scoring in double figures.

Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (12.9 ppg; 6.9 rpg) and Anthony Davis (11.5 ppg; 9.9 rpg; 4.5 bpg) may be the best freshmen forward combo in the country.

While Marquis Teague may not be matching the freshman numbers of his two predecessors, John Wall and Brandin Knight, but he is doing much more than a good job of directing traffic.

The Cats' loss to Indiana showed Kentucky is not invincible, but when it comes to matching up with the Wildcats, few teams can even think of going there.