College Basketball Preview #2: UNC Tar Heels

Well I started it off with Duke since I was headed to the game (which I did attend, and will discuss as soon as I receive the pictures. Ahem.)

Now we'll turn to the consensus #1 team, the University of North Carolina Tar Heels. The Tar Heels have no "true" freshmen (one redshirt freshman in Will Graves), as coach Roy Williams unbelievably didn't recruit any players this year. With a line up like this, I guess he didn't see the need.

Returning are Tyler "we've got a bleeder" Hansbrough, Ty Lawson, Wayne Ellington, and Deon Thompson, who will likely fill the (long-armed) void left by Brandan Wright's jump to the NBA. Hansbrough, Lawson, and Ellington all already average in double figures (Thomspon had some nice minutes off the bench), and Hansbrough's the consensus #1 in the AP's pre-season All-American poll.

The Tar Heels let it slip away against Georgetown in the last Final Four, but now, with the rare combo (as explained below) of the experience of playing together and talented players, this looks like it could be a good (maybe "the") year for them.

Now for my commentary: I think Hansbrough's attends the J.J. Redick school of overrated players. It's not really his fault, though. He's a decent basketball player, but not really what I'd call athletic on the floor - at all.

ESPN's panel of "experts" overwhelmingly picked Hansbrough as the top All-American and the Player of the Year, with an O.J. Mayo and Roy Hibbert thrown in for good measure. But, he's got a supporting cast that has come to play, which will make the difference to UNC's success this season. With Hansbrough and Lawson, two potential lottery picks in the '07 NBA Draft, coming back, that is huge in a league where most college basketball teams get decimated each year because of the one-year of out of high school rule that the NBA has adopted.

On a side note, I'm not a fan of the one-year rule at all. I think it should either be two years or none at all, with my preference being the latter. One year is not enough to do much of anything, and while it may be good for the player to have a year of experience, it messes up the cohesion of the college team. Two years gives the team some time to gel, and a sense of working and building on a higher level. On the other hand, I'm not really for restricting a person's options. There are so many reasons why a player wants to go to the league out of high school, I say let them.

The bottom line is that these guys have been there, done that, just a few months ago, and they have the benefit of that perspective now. As I said with Duke before, never underestimate a team that expects to win.