North Carolina Basketball: 2019-20 season overview of the Tar Heels

Top individual performers

Brandon Robinson

Senior | Guard | 6-foot-5 | 173 lbs
Stats (SR): 11.8 ppg (.413/.369/.826), 3.2 rpg, 2.4 apg

Senior guard Brandon Robinson was vital to the 2019-20 Tar Heels. He was the team’s third-leading scorer and though he missed nine games in’19-’20, he was there for Roy Williams and co. during a tough stretch where Cole Anthony was out due to injury. Robinson had a career-high 18.8% usage rate in his senior season, along with a great 57.3% true shooting percentage, aided by his 36.9% 3-point shooting.

On a team that had some truly rough floor spacing at times, Robinson’s shot-making was needed even more. Robinson was a player who could shoot you out of games but was just as likely to put the team on his back with a big-time shooting performance. He was one of many seniors in the nation who will be awaiting the decision by the NCAA as to whether or not winter sports athletes will be granted another year of eligibility due to the coronavirus outbreak ending the 2019-20 season early.

Garrison Brooks

Junior | Center/Power forward | 6-foot-9 | 173 lbs
Stats (SR): 11.8 ppg (.413/.369/.826), 3.2 rpg, 2.4 apg

While  Garrison Brooks was the most consistent frontcourt player for North Carolina basketball. He saw an 8.5% usage rate increase from his sophomore to junior year and though he had much-added responsibility on offense he only saw a slight decrease in true shooting percentage. On top of that, Brooks had an impressive—considering his role—and career-high 12.3% assist rate. Brooks had some highs and lows on the defensive end of the floor but was a solid rebounder who led the team with 8.5 rebounds per game and had the team’s best offensive rating (115.0). Things were rough in the 2019-20 season but without the leadership and steady contributions of Garrison Brooks, they would’ve been a lot worse.

Armando Bacot

Freshman| Center/Power forward | 6-foot-10 | 232 lbs
Stats (FR): 9.6 ppg (.469/N/A .645), 8.3 rpg, 1.2 apg

Though the Tar Heels were not sure how much they would get from their returning group, they knew they had a good influx of fresh talent in highly-touted freshmen Cole Anthony and Armando Bacot. The 6-foot-10 Bacot had some dominating games in a few of the Tar Heel wins, most memorably a 23-point, 12-rebound double-double over Oregon and 19 points, 12 rebounds 7 assists and 2 blocks in a win over Miami (FL).

Bacot used his size and large wingspan to average 2.8 offensive rebounds per game and lead North Carolina with an 11.7% offensive rebound percentage. His inside scoring was a great compliment to Cole Anthony and he managed to keep the team humming along inside the paint on offense when Garrison Brooks didn’t have it going. Bacot’s ability to catch even poor post entry passes with ease combined with his soft touch on jump hooks made him an extremely tough player to guard and he put many frontcourts in foul trouble in a half’s worth of work.

The only thing that could hold Bacot back in the 2019-20 season was shot selection, which contained one too many midrange jump shots (40.3% of his FGA were 2-point jumpers).

Cole Anthony

Freshman | Point guard | 6-foot-3 | 184 lbs
Stats (FR): 18.5 ppg (.380/.348/.750), 5.7 rpg, 4.0 apg

Cole Anthony was the unquestioned leader of the 2019-20 North Carolina Tar Heels. The No. 3 overall recruit in the 2019 Recruiting Services Index rankings came into Chapel Hill and performed as well as advertised from the start. In his first game, Anthony set the North Carolina freshman record for scoring, dropping 34 points in a win over Notre Dame. He was the primary ball-handler for the Tar Heels and very few of his baskets were assisted, which had some effect on his porous shooting percentages.

Despite defenses focusing all their attention on Anthony, he managed 32.5 points per 100 possessions. He shot 53.6% at the rim, 33.3% on 2-point jumpers, and 75% on free throws. Only 20% of Anthony’s field goal attempts were at the rim, a number that would’ve likely increased had he not shared the floor with two low post bigs so often.

Anthony has not made a decision on whether or not he is entering the 2020 NBA Draft yet, but it would be a boon for UNC if he returned. He was clearly one of the most effective scorers in the ACC and the nation, hampered only by his overconfidence in his ability to make tough shots and the personnel around him.