NCAA Basketball: Way-way-too-early 2019-20 preseason top-25 rankings

I don’t want to be the person who overlooks North Carolina. With a tremendous senior class leaving and two highly-touted one-and-done’s also walking out the door this offseason, it is easy to see why many are low on the Tar Heels heading into next season. With that said, though, this is North Carolina we are talking about. Head coach Roy Williams seemingly always puts together a top-25 team in the country and, in my opinion, it would be a mistake to leave them out of the rankings. In order for this status of No. 19 to hold water, though, the program needs to land Cole Anthony.

One of the top players in the 2019 class, Anthony is an all-around superb guard that would take the team to the next level. He would immediately become the best player on the roster if he commits to the school and I am assuming that he chooses UNC for the sake of this article. The Tar Heels are currently the favorite to land Anthony and he would certainly make them one of the better teams in the nation. In addition, the Tar Heels have also already landed Armando Bacot as a strong big man in the middle. Bacot is ranked as the No. 21 overall recruit in the nation and will certainly help to make up for the loss of Luke Maye.

With regards to the returning talent on the roster, Garrison Brooks and Sterling Manley will hopefully be poised for breakout seasons in the frontcourt. Both players have seen their fair share of playing time to this point in their UNC careers but are yet to really post a great season. In addition, rising sophomore Leaky Black should be poised for a massive increase in role this season. A former top-100 recruit, Black came off the bench as a freshman during this past season but should start and play a major role for the team in 2019-20. Brandon Robinson is another guard who could be in for a breakout season.