Previewing UNC At 2017 NCAA Tournament
In a little bit of a shock, University of North Carolina earned a 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Lots of people thought that because of recent losses that they would slip to a 2 seed, however, the selection committee thought they were deserving a 1 seed and it makes things a lot more enjoyable for their fans. This team is very talented and probably one of the more complete squads that coach Roy Williams has put out on the court since their championship run in 2009. Because of that, lets take a look at the team.
Guards
Nate Britt
Joel Berry
Kanler Coker
Brandon Robinson
Seventh Woods
Kenny WIlliams
Stillman White
They do have a few guard/forward hybrids, but these are the main guards here. Britt is one of the most underrated players in the nation, but he also is a very good defensive player as he averages 1.1 steals per game (and has a good eye on offense with an average of 2.3 steals per game). Berry took over the job from Marcus Paige from last season and has been excellent running the offense, but he also has been a force on offense (14.8 points per game, 3.7 assists per game, 41% from three-point range). Williams is a solid contributor off the bench with 6.2 points per game and 3.3 rebounds per game. Both Robinson and Woods have played every game, but they seem to go out on the court to give some players breathers as they average roughly 8.0 minutes per game a piece. Coker and White are there for depth
Forwards
Theo Pinson
Kennedy Meeks
Isaiah Hicks
Tony Bradley
Shea Rush
Aaron Rohlman
Luke Maye
Justin Jackson
This is undoubtedly the strength of this team. They are strong and they possess a lot of defensive power. Pinson only played 15 games this season, but when he is on the court, he is a great player as he is a guard/forward hybrid. Meeks is absolute force to be reckoned with on both the boards and in the paint as he averages 9.1 rebounds per game and 12.6 points per game. Hicks is almost as good with 12.3 points per game and 5.7 rebounds per game. Bradley has been a very good bench player being a solid contributor when he gets on the court with 7.3 points per game and 5.2 rebounds per game in only 15.1 minutes per game. Maye is one of the more underrated players who should be getting more playing time as he shoots 39% from three-point range. And Jackson is not only the best player on the team, he is arguably the best player in the ACC and one of the best in the country. Look at these numbers: 18.1 points per game, 4.6 rebounds per game, 2.7 assists per game and 38% shooter from three point range. Rush and Rohlman are there for depth.
In my podcast, I point out that this team was better than the one who lost in dramatic fashion in last season’s Championship game to Villanova. They are overall very good on the boards, in the paint, and now they are a threat to shoot from beyond the arc. They average 85 points per game, 44 rebounds per game, their field goal percentage is 47%, their free throw percentage is 70%, and they shot 37% from three-point range. They are good defensively, however, they tend to lapse at defense for some odd reason. However, when they play their absolute best, they are a Final Four team without a doubt. The path to get there would be tough as they have University of Kentucky, University of Cincinnati, Butler, UCLA, and Wichita State in their region, but they would also likely face University of Kansas in the Final Four (Oregon University or University of Louisville could also be there) and possibly either Villanova, Duke, Baylor, University of Florida, University of Virginia, Gonzaga, Notre Dame, West Virginia University, University of Maryland, Florida State, or University of Arizona in the Championship game. So very tough to do, but they have been there before and could finally win a championship after losing in the one a season ago.
