North Carolina Basketball: No Kevin Knox for Tar Heels, what now?

North Carolina Basketball is no longer in limbo about where Kevin Knox will play. It won’t be in the Research Triangle. So where do the Heels go from here?

For the North Carolina Tar Heels, this has been a week or two of decisions. Three have been made and one still remains for the NBA Draft Combine. Those decisions were Joel Berry and Theo Pinson returning to the program, while Kevin Knox decided to take his talents to Lexington instead of Chapel Hill. The final decision yet to be made is whether or not Tony Bradley will return to school.

That being said, one can still sort through what the developments mean for the Tar Heel roster this far. Berry and Pinson slot comfortably into the same roles they had last season. Berry remains the starting point guard, and Pinson remains the starting small forward.

The question is what happens around them. The post remains an open question until Bradley decide, and Knox not coming now means there is a spot at shooting guard. Pinson would have manned the two if Knox joined, but he’s a normal defense-first three. Knox not coming also means there are more minutes to hand out at the guard spots, which benefits everyone.

If the North Carolina Tar Heels are going to make a third run at the national championship game, it will only happen if they can successfully meld the pieces they now hold. Not everything is obvious right now, and some players still have some growing to do.