UNC Basketball: 2020-21 season preview for the Tar Heels

The Starting Lineup

Caleb Love | G | 6’4 | Freshman

Love isn’t a natural floor general by any means and wasn’t tasked with handling such a role in high school — it was the 5’9 Rob Martin who ran point for CBC — but he’s one of the more prolific space creators and pull-up shooters in the entire freshman class and figures to be a coveted one-and-done prospect in the 2021 NBA Draft.

He’s more Coby White than Cole Anthony, more than comfortable deferring to teammates and operating without the ball in his hands (he’s excellent shooting off movement), but will figure to handle a significant workload right out of the gates. The defensive intensity waxes and wanes, but the evident helpside instincts and strong physical tools (he’s a good athlete with a 6’9 wingspan) should hopefully translate to OK impact on that end as a freshman.

RJ Davis | G | 6’0 | Freshman

What’s better than having one pull-up artist who can score with and without the rock? Having two pull-up artists who can score with and without the rock. New York’s Gatorade Player of the Year carries similar strengths and shortcomings as Love, albeit in a smaller, frailer frame that admittedly makes Davis’ work as an on-ball creator all the more difficult.

He’s an elite shooter in every sense of the word, more so than Love — he shot 39% from 3 and 83% from the line across high school and EYBL — but he’s easily pushed off-course as a driver and tends to get swallowed up when guarded by larger, longer defenders. He’ll likely improve in this regard as he progresses throughout his multi-year career at UNC, but in the short-term, both he and Love will see plenty of run as the “two-guard” in Carolina’s sets, with Leaky Black allowing the two guards to run off-ball fairly often.

Leaky Black | G/F | 6’8 | Junior

Health has been an elusive luxury that Leaky Black has yet to enjoy in his two years at Carolina. Two months of his freshman season were lost due to a nasty high ankle sprain, with the effects stretching into the summer months and ultimately stripping him of valuable summer workouts.

Once again Black experienced nagging aches and pains as a sophomore, suffering turf toe in December and clearly not playing like himself the rest of the season, finishing the year with meager averages of 6.5 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 2.6 assists on an unsightly .425 true shooting percentage.

Now finally healthy and confident in his abilities, the junior point-forward is primed for a significant role as one of the few upperclassmen on the roster, with his knowledge of Carolina’s offense likely leading to an increased workload as the ‘1’ in the Secondary Break, allowing the freshman guards to roam off-ball.

Garrison Brooks | F/C | 6’10 | Senior

Coming off of a banner campaign that saw the Alabama native average 16.8 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 2.0 assists en route to All-ACC and Most Improved honors, Garrison Brooks heads into his senior season as the Preseason ACC Player of the Year and UNC’s bona fide senior leader.

Once relied upon for interior defense and selfless rebounding, Brooks’ underwent a remarkable offensive explosion, shedding his defense-first mentality and morphing into one of the premier post scorers in the nation and an invaluable offense figure for a hapless Tar Heel roster that had a dearth of talent. His workload should be lightened with the two dynamic scoring guards entering the fold, but this team will likely go as far as Brooks can lead them.

Armando Bacot | F/C | 6’10 | Sophomore

Which Armando Bacot will North Carolina see more of this year? The player that went for 23 points, 12 rebounds, and 6 blocks in an early-season win against Oregon? Or the player that struggled to finish at the basket and averaged a meager 10.7 points and 8.1 rebounds on 40.4 FG% during Cole Anthony’s absence?

The former five-star center had an up-and-down freshman season, so much so that his potential demotion to a bench role is a real possibility, especially with how high the coaching staff is on freshman big Day’Ron Sharpe. Bacot should be better after focusing on his post-game this offseason (with UNC alumnus Ed Davis!), but there will be real competition for minutes at the center position — which is only good for everyone involved.