As one of the blue bloods of college basketball, the Tar Heels should be a top team in the nation, but they did lose some program staples, and most notably, Armando Bacot. It is on Hubert Davis to put this new team together, and with a mix of elite returners, transfer reinforcements, and freshman talent, UNC should be one of the top teams in the college basketball world, as usual, right? Well, let’s find out.

Returners:

This section has to be led by the reigning ACC player of the year, who decided to come back for his final year, RJ Davis. RJ was an elite offensive player last year, if you couldn’t have guessed. 21.2 points per game and shooting 39.8% from three, and I’d honestly be surprised if he doesn’t replicate those numbers. To be frank, he should easily be a consensus preseason all american, and will probably be one at the end of the year too. Alongside him are two other guards, Elliot Cadeau and Seth Trimble. Cadeau was a super hyped addition for the Heels last year, but underwhelmed on a whole, with 7.3 points and 4.1 assists per game, as a non-factor from the outside. However, many people are very excited about his development and his impact for the upcoming season. I don’t exactly share the sentiment. Looking at the numbers from last year, I am slightly concerned. He shot 18.9% from three and a considerably below average defender (below 40th percentile in everything except steal percentage, which was 49th). While he may improve, I need to see it before I believe it. Trimble, on the other hand, is a player I like a lot. He averaged 5.2 points per game last year, and likely won’t play a large role again this year due to incoming players. However, in his 17 minutes per game last year, I thought he was very effective in his role, being a hounding defender (although the analytics weren’t great) and being an efficient shooter in his opportunities.

Along with these guards are bigs Jalen Washington, Zayden High, and Jae’lyn Withers. With the departure of Bacot, these three will all likely be playing larger roles, with Washington likely to be the most important. The 6’10 long big man only averaged 3.2 points per game last year, but he showed flashes, especially with him shooting 53.3% from three, even if it was on .5 attempts per game. He could be the surprise for them this year, but his thin frame opens them up to some bully ball on the inside, even with his elite 90th percentile block%. High barely played last year as a freshman, and the 6’9 forward is developing, but due to the incoming forwards, he likely will not get many opportunities once again. Withers is the most experienced of the three, as a senior, but he only averaged 4.2 points per game last year. He did show more when he got more opportunities, shown in a 16 and 10 performance in the first round of the NCAA tournament versus Wagner. His experience could be key in this young backcourt, and Coach Davis will likely rely on him in important moments.

Transfers:

UNC brought in three forwards to fill the gap left by the aforementioned Bacot and Harrison Ingram, in the hope that some combination of them can come close to filling those shoes. Cade Tyson, Ven-Allen Lubin, and Tyzhaun Claude will be those tasked with the large task. Tyson is the smallest of the three, but also is the most likely to start. He averaged 16.2 points and 5.9 rebounds last year, and the bright spot of his game is his outside shooting, where he is a flamethrower at 46.5% from three. That isn’t to say that he can’t finish at the rim, he shot 61% from there too. Even moving up a level from Belmont, he should be a solid 10 points per game player. Ven Allen-Lubin hails from Vanderbilt, where he averaged 12.3 points and 6.4 rebounds on a quite bad team. He is a solid all around player though, and should get a fair share of minutes off the bench, possibly starting some games. Finally, the most recent Tar Heel addition, Tyzhaun Claude. Claude needed a waiver so just committed a week or two ago, and will mostly be added big man depth as a dependable option if others don’t pan out. The 6’8 forward averaged 4.8 points and 5.1 rebounds at Georgia Tech last year, and will likely play an even smaller role this season at UNC.

Recruits:

A high ranking class as usual for Hubert Davis and the Tar Heels, headlined by Ian Jackson, the #8 prospect according to 247 sports. Jackson is an aggressive guard who brings the energy and is a strong scorer. There are questions about his shooting, but it should likely be good enough, but not great. Joining him is #11 prospect Drake Powell. Powell is an athletic wing who’s best skill is his defense, but his frame makes him an effective offensive player who will likely be one of the first off the bench, probably behind Ian Jackson. Their final incoming piece is 6’9 big James Brown, the #120 prospect who likely won’t play much this year, but should develop into another strong Tar Heel big man.

Season Outlook

Well, you all are never going to believe this, but UNC is gonna be pretty good once again. This team should start the season ranked and likely will stay there the whole year. While there are questions about the frontcourt, I think there are at least 2-3 of those guys who will be “as advertised” and that will be enough for them to have success, due to the amount of talent in the front court. When you have a player like RJ Davis, as long as everyone else is solid, the team will be solid. And in this case, everyone else is better than solid. The Tar Heels will be back in the tournament, and should be fighting for a 4 seed or better, as well as the ACC championship.

(P.C. FanSided)