North Carolina is in a familiar position â€" it is not the first time the Tar Heels have lost a bunch of talented players, and it will not be the last. The best thing is that rebuilding and putting the pieces together is not only what coach Roy Williams does, but he seems to do it better than any other college coach. While departed players such as Wayne Ellington, Ty Lawson, and Tyler Hansbrough, dominated the headlines during UNC's National Championship run last season, fortunately there were younger players sitting on the bench awaiting their time to come, and that time is now.
Larry Drew II will be given the opportunity to win the starting point guard spot now that Lawson is gone. Wing Marcus Ginyard, who missed nearly all of last season with an injury, has the ability to fill in at the point, but Dexter Strickland would be the more likely choice if needed to replace Drew II. This then leaves Will Graves to join Ginyard at the other wing, thus providing North Carolina with valuable depth and experience on the perimeter.
The Tarheels' frontcourt already has three awesome players, and that is not to even mention the three incoming freshmen. Deon Thompson started all but one game last season â€" providing more than 10 points, almost 6 rebounds, and just over 1 block per game â€" and even at 6-9 and 245 pounds, he could end up spending a lot of time at small forward due to the seemingly unlimited amount of talent in the frontcourt. While Ed Davis averaged less than 20 minutes a game, he still tallied almost 7 points, over 6 rebounds, and nearly 2 blocks per contest; with Davis under the basket it may not be long at all before UNC fans forget about Hansbrough.
On top of everything else, North Carolina also has five incoming freshmen who should be more than capable of contributing right away. Dexter Strickland and Leslie McDonald will have to play important roles in the backcourt, and both could end up starting sooner or later. Strickland is a great ball handler and could put up a fight for the starting point guard position, but even if he loses that battle, he will still get minutes backing up the point or maybe even start on the wing. The expectations for McDonald are for him to be the next great Tar Heel shooter, something that will make him a valuable player whether he starts or not. With those two being very important newcomers, believe it or not, the best freshmen heading to Chapel Hill are in the frontcourt.
