UNC Basketball: 5 questions facing the 2018-19 Tar Heels

Will quality perimeter shooting net minutes?

North Carolina’s roster is full of depth. On paper, it seems as though the Tar Heels can turn to just about anyone off of the bench in order to find a strong contributor. However, with this being said, designing a consistent rotation where the players can develop on-court and in-game chemistry is vital for success. This is why it is important that Coach Williams figures out which players are going to see the floor most early on.

In figuring out his bench rotation, Coach Williams will need to set some priorities in terms of what skill sets he wants on the floor. In today’s era of basketball, perimeter shooting is paramount to success. Although UNC basketball should generally be an above-average shooting team this year, could 3-point shooters take precedence over others in terms of playing time?

Based on statistics from last season, the two players who will be affected most by this possibility are Andrew Platek and Brandon Robinson. Although neither played significant roles last season (less than 10 minutes per game), they both were members of the rotation. In fact, both players appeared in 35 games for the Tar Heels while knocking down their fair share of jumpers.

On the whole, Platek shot 37.0% from distance last season (10-for-27) while Robinson buried 39.1% of those shots (9-for-23). While obviously this a small sample size, they are two players with the potential to emerge as solid perimeter options this season. With the incoming talent joining the program this year, though, the roles of Platek and Robinson seem to be up in the air. With this being said, though, their floor spacing abilities could yield similar minutes to last year if not more.