3. Next Man Up
Through the opening minutes of Friday’s preseason exhibition against Winston-Salem State, senior wing Brandon Robinson was having himself a night, having scored himself eight of the team’s first 21 points.
And, with 15 minutes remaining in the first half, Robinson’s night would end early, with a WSSU playing crashing down on top of Robinson’s right ankle, spraining it badly enough for him to need crutches to get around postgame.
With Robison out of the picture for the next few weeks, an already shallow Tar Heel rotation will need to step up even more. Someone will need to fill his role and lost production in the starting lineup, and sophomore point-forward Leaky Black seems to be the player that will get the starting nod for the foreseeable future. At 6-foot-8, he’s the largest perimeter player on the roster, and his playmaking and defense make him an easy fit between a pair of scoring guards in the backcourt and pair of big-bodied post players in the frontcourt.
Notre Dame will be the team’s first test and its ramifications are greater than the typical season opener, considering ACC ramifications are in play. Defense and ball control are real concerns that UNC must control, but at the very least, players will need to step up.