UNC Basketball: 3 keys for the game against Stanford

The deep bench of North Carolina

North Carolina once again has a deep bench. I won’t burry the lead and tell you right now, 11 Tar Heels have played in both games. When you compare that to their opponent Stanford, that’s three more. UNC has also used three more total guys in the young season.

It helps when you combine the second-best recruiting class in the ACC with three very good seniors. A lot of attention was given to Kentucky about their recruiting class, coming in with guys who have been there before, but North Carolina deserves to be in that conversation as well.

Garrison Brooks was a starter for almost the first half of last season, but Cameron Johnson was eventually inserted. With the departure of Theo Pinson, there was a spot open. Nassir Little was expected to take it, but Roy Williams chose to go with Coby White while playing two large bodies in Luke Maye and Brooks. In a way, they’re starting the game small, but Maye and Brooks are bigger.

Based off of last season, there was a feeling that the Tar Heels were still going to have a big bench.  Now with the emergence of Brooks this season, the depth has been solidified. Coach Williams feels comfortable with the sophomore in the starting front court so he can bring a talented guy like Little off the bench. I’ll quickly throw you the stats of Brooks. He’s averaging 13.5 points, 5.5 boards and is shooting 60 percent from the field.

Little on the other hand is scoring 14 off the bench. He’s come up with three blocks and steals to go along with 4.5 boards per game. I know the sample size is just two buy games, but it’s looking better than last year.

The scoring takes a massive hit, but that’s what happens when there are guys like Cameron Johnson, Luke Maye and Little who can all score in a hurry. But Sterling Manley seems improved in the rebounding department. Seventh Woods is a junior, healthy and could be a serviceable backup point guard. If anything happens to him, Black looks ready. Then there’s Brandon Robinson and Andrew Platek who played in just about every game last season as they expect to be the in the rotation.

North Carolina is throwing 11 deep which is no surprise. Over half of them though seem like they are fitting in the system just fine as second and third year guys. The two freshmen are buying in and that just makes the Tar Heels and their depth that much better.