NCAA Basketball: Most overrated/underrated teams from 2018 AP preseason top 25
By Brian Rauf
Underrated: North Carolina Tar Heels
Of all those other teams, I would rank UNC as the best team in the country. They return eight of their top 10 scorers from last season and welcome in two five-star prospects in Nassir Little and Coby White.
Little is the kind of legit top-five NBA Draft talent the Tar Heels have been lacking for much of the Roy Williams era and will give them an added dimension few other teams can match. He’s an excellent offensive player who relentlessly attacks the rim, but it’s his ability to also be a lockdown defender that really has scouts excited. Little has drawn comparisons to Kawhi Leonard because of that and should be one of the best two-way players in the country.
He will spearhead a versatile roster that will allow Williams to play any style he wishes. Cam Johnson and first-team All-American Luke Maye figure to start in the frontcourt and both are known more for their shooting ability as face-up forwards. However, the Heels can go big in the post with Sterling Manley and Garrison Brooks coming off the bench.
Either way, both of these lineups rebounded incredibly effectively as the Heels led the country in rebounding and ranked third in rebound rate a year ago.
This is a team that doesn’t have any glaring weaknesses at the moment. They have the rebounding chops of a traditional UNC team, are now an elite shooting team and have top-tier talent. At the end of the season, we’ll look back and be shocked the Heels were ranked No. 8 in the preseason.