Previewing UNC Basketball 2016-17 Season
After a last second basket crushed the dreams of every Tar Heel player and fan in the NCAA Tournament Championship Game, Roy Williams and his team are back in hopes of trying to get back to the same place for redemption. It’s a tough pill to swallow now that Brice Johnson and Marcus Paige, two integral part of their team last season, graduated. However, this team is still very talented. Lets take a look at the roster
Forwards
Theo Pinson
Kennedy Meeks
Isaiah Hicks
Shea Rush
Luke Maye
Justin Jackson
Tony Bradley
Outside of Rush, everybody can expect this be a strong part of the team. Bradley is a four star recruit, but we will see how much playing time he actually gets. Rush was a walk on so he is not likely to not play much. Pinson and Jackson are valuable players, but the question is whether they can make up for the loss of Johnson. Jackson could very well be that man as he is probably the best forward on the team. Hicks and Meeks are also going to be valuable in the carousel of rotating forwards. They are also good enough to start. Maye did not play much last year, but he could very well play a huge part this year.
Guards
Joel Berry II
Nate Britt
Kanler Coker
Brandon Robinson
Seventh Woods
Kenny Williams
Stillman White
This will be a big unknown for this squad as they lost a leader in Paige and also are not very deep in experienced players. Robinson and Woods are four star recruits, so we know they have the ability, just whether they have can contribute with no experience at all. Britt and Berry II will have a tough task at hand trying to be leaders and running the offense, but we know their ability to play is outstanding. Williams and White are going to have step up and show that they are valuable as their playing time will increase and in hopes they can provide some depth. Coker is a walk on so it is an unknown with him.
This team is coming into the season with a six ranking in both Associated Press and Coaches poll and will be looking to defend their ACC regular season and tournament titles, but they will have to handle not only a very good ACC (University of Virginia #8, Louisville #13, and Syracuse #19), but also have to deal with the fact that their most hated rival, Duke, is the number one ranked team in the nation. Those games are expected to be outstanding ones to watch. This team is still very talented, but with depth, leadership, and experience issues, this could be a season that most fans won’t like to watch.
