Busting Brackets
Fansided

ACC Basketball: Preseason rankings for 2019-20 season

By Brian Rauf

DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA - FEBRUARY 05: Tre Jones #3 of the Duke Blue Devils drives past Jordan Chatman #25 of the Boston College Eagles during the second half of their game at Cameron Indoor Stadium on February 05, 2019 in Durham, North Carolina. Duke won 80-55. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)
DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA - FEBRUARY 05: Tre Jones #3 of the Duke Blue Devils drives past Jordan Chatman #25 of the Boston College Eagles during the second half of their game at Cameron Indoor Stadium on February 05, 2019 in Durham, North Carolina. Duke won 80-55. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images) /
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ATLANTA, GA – MARCH 27: Cole Anthony #50 of Oak Hill Academy in Virginia drives to the basket during the 2019 McDonald’s High School Boys All-American Game on March 27, 2019 at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Scott Cunningham/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GA – MARCH 27: Cole Anthony #50 of Oak Hill Academy in Virginia drives to the basket during the 2019 McDonald’s High School Boys All-American Game on March 27, 2019 at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Scott Cunningham/Getty Images) /

Last Year: 29-7 (16-2). . Tar Heels . 3. team. 441.

I have questions about this UNC team, and No. 3 in the ACC might just be their ceiling.

They lost their top five scorers from last year’s team and six key players from their rotation. Garrison Brooks is the only returning player that averaged more than 3.5 points per game last season, meaning the Heels have mostly unproven commodities on their roster.

Because of this, Roy Williams hit the recruiting trail hard – and succeeded by landed a pair of five-star prospects in Cole Anthony and Armando Bacot.

Anthony, a consensus top-five recruit in the country and explosive offensive player, will take over the role of lead guard and be UNC’s clear No. 1 scoring option. Bacot is a quality big on both ends of the floor and is athletic enough to play alongside Brooks in Carolina’s preferred two-big system.

But those two, along with Brooks, are probably going to have to carry most of the load. Williams also added a pair of grad transfers (Christian Keeling from Charleston Southern and Justin Pierce from William & Mary), but it’s unclear how effective either will be given the major step up in competition for both.

North Carolina will likely need a breakout season from Leaky Black or Brandon Robinson if they’re going to win the ACC but, even then, they may still fall behind the top two teams on our list.