North Carolina Basketball: What Tony Bradley’s decision means for the Tar Heels

North Carolina basketball freshman Tony Bradley recently announced his intentions to stay in the NBA draft. What does that mean for the Tar Heels?

The University of North Carolina has not had a one-and-done player since 2008. Tony Bradley has officially changed that after announcing that he will stay in the NBA draft.

Bradley was not a starter for the Tar Heels as he sat behind seasoned veterans like Kennedy Meeks and Isaiah Hicks. When he did take the floor he showed off his length and defensive skills, averaging 7.1 points, 5.1 rebounds, and shooting 57.3% from the floor in 14.6 minutes per game.

Despite his efficient numbers, he is projected as a second round pick.

UNC was looking really good for next year after the announcements of Theo Pinson and Joel Berry II to return to the program for next season. Now the Tar Heels seem a little in limbo, so how does Tony Bradley leaving impact Carolina basketball?

Bradley would have given the Tar Heels a huge boost in the post after losing seniors Isaiah Hicks and Kennedy Meeks. Now that Bradley is gone, UNC’s biggest strength has now become their biggest weakness.

The ramifications of Bradley’s departure are massive. The Heels were truly looking like a top-five team next year with everyone returning, despite the losses of Justin Jackson, Kennedy Meeks and Isaiah Hicks. Now, this team may struggle after adding Bradley to this list of departures.

The Heels led the NCAA in rebounding this past season but that will certainly change as they will now most likely feature Luke Maye and a freshman anchoring the post.

That freshman will either be 6’9, 215-pound Garrison Brooks, or 6’9, 230-pound Brandon Huffman. Brooks is ranked as the 131st player in the upcoming class, while Huffman falls to number 192. Yes, UNC will start a former walk-on and freshman outside of the top-100 to anchor their frontcourt next season.

Bradley is the first one-and-done in almost 10 years and it could cost the Tar Heels a lot. Maybe Roy Williams will use this to help bolster his recruiting tactics in order to get some of those players in the future.

But maybe he doesn’t search for those kinds of guys after all. Still, it would be nice to use this to help them win some of those recruiting wars that they consistently keep losing to the likes of Duke and Kentucky.

Next: Best available transfers for 2017-18

Regardless, the story here is that UNC has their first one-and-done in almost a decade and it’s going to hurt them in more ways than one. Next year will be a different team and a freshman will have to play major minutes and contribute in big ways for the Tar Heels to be successful.