UNC Basketball: 3 reasons Tar Heels will be better than Duke in 2020-21

Returns From Last Year

Although injuries singlehandedly ruined UNC’s season last year, the effects brought upon by these injuries may actually help the Tar Heels defeat and ascend past Duke next year. Had players such as Anthony Harris or Sterling Manley remained healthy, their skills might have drawn some NBA attention, even prompting them potentially to declare for the draft. Nevertheless, both saw their first season wearing UNC threads end shortly, leaving them with no choice but to return to the team.

Due to this, a unique chance to pair some pieces from last year’s frankly unused recruiting class with this year’s lies before UNC, potentially allowing them to develop a dynamic squad honing more talent than most other teams by somewhat combining two freshmen classes into one. This phenomenon makes UNC extremely dangerous, as the talent spoiled by last year’s campaign now spills onto this year’s roster, adding an extra boost.

Simultaneously, the injuries suffered by some UNC players last year allowed other prospects to play more often and develop their skills. Nothing helps freshmen adapt to the game’s next level like logging competitive game minutes consistently, and with such a depleted roster while playing within the game’s best conference, almost no other team advertised minutes such as these like UNC last year.

Harris’s absence specifically pushed shooting guard Leaky Black into the starting lineup much earlier than expected, offering him a chance to play consistent minutes and develop the skills necessary to succeed at the collegiate level during his freshman year. Black averaged 6.5 PPG and while also leading his team with 2.6 assists and 1.2 steals per game. With Black having already gone through the college game’s fundamental growing pains, we can expect him to improve substantially and contribute well alongside the team’s incoming freshmen class.

With players like Black now a step ahead of where he might have been had Harris never gotten injured, as well as the those that were injured set to return themselves, the Tar Heels as a whole have a leg up on the competition. On the contrary, Duke will need to develop their young roster on the fly next year. Although some familiar faces remain set to return for the Blue Devils next year, most know the team will need to rely on their freshmen class and the raw talent within it extensively if they hope to win the ACC next year. Doing so leaves Duke vulnerable to the mistakes often made by younger players immediately thrown into the college game.

Duke most clearly differs from UNC in that their top three leaders in MPG will all move onto the NBA next year, also giving reason to believe that unlike UNC, those who do return to play for the Blue Devils will do so with barely any real game experience, having seen almost all the team’s minutes from last year given to players no longer apart from the team. UNC, however, played their younger prospects still set to return for the following season, such as Black, who with the excessive play time built themselves up as key pieces all ready for next year.

Injuries are without a doubt the worst part of sports, but when you look at things from another angle, some longterm benefits indeed become visible.