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The team will still be fairly young but by the turn of the calendar year a very dangerous team.

IDUNK4HEELS

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8 of the top 12 players on paper this season will be sophomores and freshmen so there will still be a learning curve especially now that there is a new coach with new ideas so it will probably take 10 or 12 games before the team looks like a well oiled machine clicking on both offense and defense but I for one am looking forward to the growth of the squad…

The team although young will be at least two deep at every position so nobody should have to raise their fist to get a break but the jury is still out until proven during live games that the court players can consistently hit shots from the outside to keep opponents honest which except for Walton really did not happen last season.

As often said the biggest improvement in a college players game is from their freshman to sophomore season and if that is true this might be a special season in Chapel Hill but I am not ready to put Carolina in the final four until I see how the team chemistry works out. I will be interested to see how others feel about the growth of the team as the season progresses…
 
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I hope this does come to pass as this team molds together into a danger around the holidays. But I will be patient. We all talked ourselves into this formula the last two years and things just never came together. A lot of new, moving parts into the equation. Players, some staff, and Hubert has to find his legs as a head coach.
 
I think we will know pretty early on whether this team will be playing dep into March. PG play and outside shooting will be there or they won't. If Caleb is not showing that he understands how to run the show by December the light isn't going to suddenly come on in February. Same for shooting, either we have multiple threats or we don't. I agree that there will adjusting to new coach, schemes, etc, but it should be noticeable very early if those specific woes from last season have been addressed.
 
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I think we will know pretty early on whether this team will be playing dep into March. PG play and outside shooting will be there or they won't. If Caleb is not showing that he understands how to run the show by December the light isn't going to suddenly come on in February. Same for shooting, either we have multiple threats or we don't. I agree that there will adjusting to new coach, schemes, etc, but it should be noticeable very early if those specific woes from last season have been addressed.
I think I would like to re-word your post just a little. If Caleb can now take advantage of a lane that is not as clogged, will that allow him to produce at a much higher level and not have to try risking interior passes that have narrow lanes due to the lane being so clogged? Will he now be able to drive the lane 1 on 1 or have to drive it 1 on 3 as was the case to often last season?

I don't want to come off as saying how Roy wanted things run was no longer effective, it was and still is very effective when it is executed properly. Bigs rotating in and out of the paint has to happen but guys just got stuck down deep thinking they could establish and in doing so allowed their defenders to camp out deep. Roy scheme needed experience and at times requires guys to not go with their natural instincts until those pre-college instincts are changed and that takes a while.
 
I think we will know pretty early on whether this team will be playing dep into March. PG play and outside shooting will be there or they won't. If Caleb is not showing that he understands how to run the show by December the light isn't going to suddenly come on in February. Same for shooting, either we have multiple threats or we don't. I agree that there will adjusting to new coach, schemes, etc, but it should be noticeable very early if those specific woes from last season have been addressed.
This might come as a surprise, given how tough I am on PGs, but what I am getting now indicates that won't be as big an issue as some think. For all his offensive inconsistencies, if you watched closely, Caleb was making some impressive strides in running the system by the end of the season --- in other words he was making a concerted effort to do it right and it started to show. Thankfully, he didn't leave before he "got it", and the sophomore leap should be a real thing with him. Everything I've heard so far in the off-season supports that. I would hope RJ makes strides as well as a solid backup 1.

We also just got REALLY good in the 4-5 rotation. Three proven commodities and a pretty stout freshman. Check.

That leaves the 2s and 3s --- and therein I think will be the "tell". Right now, the 2 is one big question mark. First, although casual fans often don't see beyond whether or not shots go in, and if we look at it objectively, Kerwin had no business being a starter on a D1 team as a freshman. To say he was a defensive liability would be charitable, and was little help as a secondary ball-handler. The good news is he's a year older and puts in the work, so let's see if he can become more than a one-trick pony as a soph. Second, ideally RJ and Caleb will finally learn to mesh together so we can get good "2" minutes from RJ. If these two things can work out, our prospects at that position get way better. And BTW, don't sleep on Dunn. He's the only prototype 2 on the roster and could be a factor before it's over.

As far as the 3 goes, the best news I heard is that Leaky has been told he is under different expectations than in the past and is FAR from guaranteed a starting slot. Perhaps the fact he didn't leave indicates he'll have an attitude adjustment and get closer to his potential?... we shall see. The other good news was McKoy coming in. I suspect he'll be hard to keep off the floor. Walton can also play some 3.

The wildcards in the Wing situation are Ant and Puff. Thus far, Ant is either an undersized 3, or a 2 with a flawed shot. His physical strength and aggression make up for a lot, but also gets him in trouble. IF he learns to play more under control and accentuate his positives (like his defense), he can be a factor. Puff essentially got a redshirt season, and if he matures over the summer, we could see some impact on the 3 rotation with his range and versatility from his length.

Bottom line is having the Wing rotations sort themselves out in a manner that is simultaneously functional and keeps guys engaged. I'm thinking that will be a challenge, but also could be the key to how quickly we gel.
 
On the contrary, I think it's a fairly old team for a top basketball school. The best five players at the moment in my opinion (Bacot, Manek, Garcia, Walton, Love) includes zero freshman, all have at least one season of starting, and two upper classmen. How many top 10 caliber teams have can say most of that?

The three I expect to be next in line for minutes (Davis, Harris, Leaky) have a combined 6 years in the program and tons of starts / tourney experience.

Fighting for a spot we have Puff, McKoy (who may have started at UVA), and the freshman. Not a ton of experience there but it's the first time in a number of years we aren't relying on anyone with less than 20 starts under their belt in a long time. This is a pretty experienced team.
 
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Older, but new together as a unit, (including the coach). We will not have freshmen in the lead roles. The guys adjusting coming in have some experience, but I still think it will be an adjustment. They will be better equipped to deal with it I would think.

Going to be a monster trying to find the fits for playing time though. Gonna take some time to sort out.
 
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We will take some lumps early playing against some strong competition and learning a different system with new faces but having a repeat player at point for the first time in 5 years and a junior Bacot will help. I may actually be able to keep calm and watch games live or not.
 
UNC is more experienced than most college teams. Four players return who started at UNC plus Manek started at Oklahoma and Garcia Marquette. Only two freshmen on the roster
 
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Most Talent in 3 years this should be a very good team , you can now play 8 players that could start almost anywhere..
 
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I am way more.excited than nervous this off season! It almost feels like the old days when I knew that we were a break away from playing for something special!
 
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