NCAA Basketball: Preseason Top-25 power rankings for 2020-21 season
. . Tar Heels . 14. team. 441.
The Tar Heels experiment with grad transfers went horribly, with both Christian Keeling and Justin Pierce struggling as power conference players. Injuries and ineffectiveness elsewhere doomed the team to being tied for last place in the ACC.
North Carolina won’t have them or star point guard Cole Anthony but does return All-ACC big man Garrison Brooks for his senior campaign. He leads a great depth of frontcourt players, including sophomore big Armando Bacot, along with incoming five-star freshmen Walker Kessler and Day’Ron Sharpe.
Preseason ACC power rankings for 2020-21. light. Related Story
The perimeter is the much bigger question, which will be filled with mainly freshmen players. Five-star point guard Caleb Love will replace Anthony and the team is hoping for similar production. Joining him are top-50 recruits Donovan “Puff” Johnson and RJ Davis, along with four-star wing Kerwin Walton. Rechon “Leaky” Black will get the first crack at the starting shooting guard spot but will need to improve on his shooting.
The Tar Heels have the case for having the best frontcourt in all of NCAA Basketball for this season. And it would be a bad bet for Roy Williams to have back-to-back down seasons. However, the perimeter for the team is young and has shooting questions, which could impact the bigs down low. This is a fair spot for UNC, with a high ceiling and chance to compete for an ACC title.