UNC Basketball: Midseason player grades for 2019-20 Tar Heels

Wings

Brandon Robinson 

Stats (12 GP): 12.1 ppg (.395/.349/.808), 3.4 rpg, 3.3 apg, 1.3 spg, 0.5 bpg

Ever since missing the second half of the Gonzaga game due to illness, Robinson has been on a tear. Over his last five full games, UNC’s senior leader has averaged 16.8 points, 2.6 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 2.2 steals and 4.0 three-pointers on .415/.392/.769 shooting, including a 27-point effort against Clemson. He’s firing away from three (.723 3Pr), making plays on defense (2.4 STL%), and has been the team’s most productive (5.4 BPM) perimeter player. Robinson’s proven that he was worthy of a starting role all along and has been more than a reliable leader for the Heels.

Grade: A-

Leaky Black 

Stats (15 GP): 5.4 ppg (.333/.269/.714), 4.7 rpg, 2.1 apg, 1.0 spg, 0.7 bpg

After getting hyped up as a potential breakout player in the ACC, the sophomore do-it-all wing has come along slowly after spending most of the offseason recovering from a high ankle sprain that he sustained last January. As a result, we haven’t seen Black take that jump — largely because he hasn’t had the time to do so. He’s struggled mightily to create shots for himself and others, with his handle and burst limiting him in terms of penetrating the defense, which is why he’s settled for so many mid-range pull-ups. As of right now, he’s more of a ball-mover than a legitimate point-forward. With all that’s going against him on the offensive end, his defense has carried over from his freshman season, showing up as congested rebounds, deflections, and contested shots.

Grade: C

Christian Keeling 

Stats (16 GP): 4.3 ppg (.371/.190/.500), 2.7 rpg, 0.8 apg

What on earth happened to Christian Keeling? How does one of the Big South’s top-tier scoring guards go from dropping 18.7 points a night on 59.1% true shooting plummet to 5.1 points and 40.4% true shooting while simultaneously forgetting, seemingly, how to functionally play basketball? He doesn’t know where to be on the floor, his decision-making leads to ill-timed mid-range jumpers (on secondary sets that are designed to manufacture three-pointers) and costly turnovers (he has 27 turnovers to only 13 assists), and his awareness on both ends of the floor has been harmful to the team. His on-court ORTG (74.3) is a team-worst and he sports a negative box plus/minus (-5.9). The former Charleston Southern standout has been nothing short of a disaster at UNC. What happened?

Grade: F-

Andrew Platek

Stats (14 GP): 4.3 ppg (.371/.226/.583), 2.3 rpg, 1.4 apg

Platek has had quite the up-and-down season for UNC. With Anthony at his side, he’s at his best: He’s able to defer to a go-to option, make good entry passes, and move without the ball while operating in the secondary break. His role isn’t as effective without Anthony, though, as his complementary style has no one left to complement, which makes his defensive shortcomings (team-worst 106 DRTG) stand out more. Yet against Clemson, in his first career start, Platek seemingly righted the ship, posting a career performance of eight points, eight rebounds, and six assists. His shots aren’t falling and he’s going to be inconsistent, but he understands the Carolina offense — and considering the alternatives at the two-spot, that’s not insignificant.

Grade: C

Anthony Harris 

Stats (5 GP): 6.8 ppg (.545/.429/.875), 1.0 rpg, 0.6 apg, 0.8 spg

Five games. Sixty minutes. That’s all we got to see of four-star freshman Anthony Harris before he went down with a torn right ACL, roughly a year after sustaining the same injury in his other knee as a high school senior. But what we saw from him in those 60 minutes is exactly what we saw from him as a high schooler: a hectic defender and floor spacer with contagious energy and a non-stop motor. We’re dealing with small sample size theater when it comes to looking at his advanced stats, but he made a tangible impact when on the floor: a +36.5 net rating, a 10.3 BPM, and a 135.7 ORTG. He looked like a legitimate contributor — which is what makes his unfortunate injury all the more painful for UNC.

Grade: A