2015 season preview: No. 2 North Carolina Tar Heels
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No. 2: NORTH CAROLINA TAR HEELS
Last Season: 26-12, 11-7 ACC
In Roy Williams' first six seasons in Chapel Hill, he led the Tar Heels to two national titles and added a Final Four appearance. At the time, there was little reason to believe his roll wouldn't continue.
But in the six seasons since, the Heels haven't had much to celebrate. They haven't advanced past the Elite Eight in the NCAA tournament. They haven't raised any ACC tournament championship banners, either.
That could all change this season.
Point guard Marcus Paige, who battled foot injuries last season, will start this year dealing with injuries again. The senior will be sidelined 3-4 weeks with a broken hand. The loss of wing J.P. Tokoto as an early entrant to the NBA should only make the path clearer for sophomore forward Justin Jackson's production to match his potential.
Carolina still has the cloud of looming NCAA sanctions hovering over its athletic department, but Williams has a veteran roster that could take the Heels to their first Final Four since 2009. -- C.L. Brown
Best Case: North Carolina does not have the NBA talent it has become accustomed to over the years, and this team is not the 2009 Tar Heels that could score more than 100 points falling out of bed. But this version of North Carolina has depth, size and experience. It also has an emerging star in Justin Jackson and Marcus Paige, though Paige will be dealing with a broken hand. Carolina returns its top four scorers and nine of its top 10 from a team that went to the Sweet 16. The strength of this team is in the interior, with a rotation of really good big men. If the Heels continue the trend of pounding the ball inside, scoring off of second shots (UNC had the fifth-best offensive rebound rate in the nation) and Paige being Paige, Carolina can hang another banner in the Dean Smith Center.
Worst Case: The Tar Heels are, again, one-dimensional and do not stretch defenses with good perimeter shooting. Last year, North Carolina had the second-lowest 3-point shooting rate in the country with a paltry 22.3 percent of its field goal attempts beyond the arc. That allows defenses to pack it in and dare the Heels to shoot. And if the NCAA decides to dredge up the current infractions case during the season, one could certainly surmise that "scandal discussion fatigue" could be a distraction. If the Heels don't shoot it better and are somehow taken off their game by off-court issues, one could see North Carolina getting dispatched earlier than its talent suggests it should.
"They have a deep roster -- and have guys who can score at all five spots. It will be interesting to see whether Roy Williams goes with [Nate] Britt or [Joel] Berry. Britt is a great backup, but Berry is the better player at the point. He can shoot it, he's tough and he can really guard. They have experience and a lot of pieces -- and as long as Marcus Paige is healthy, there's no reason to think they can't contend for a national title."
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