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

The Bench Unit

Day’Ron Sharpe | F/C | 6’11 | Freshman

Sharpe is the prototypical UNC bigman, offering everything that coach Roy Williams wants in his frontcourt players. The five-star center lives at the basket as a rim-runner and putback scorer, shoves children into lockers to grab offensive boards, plays with impressive physicality and passion, and plays a team-friendly style on both offense and defense.

But he’s capable of much more than that, standing as the best passer in Carolina’s freshman class — yes, even as a center — while churning out reads with zero processing delay. Bigs who can dribble, pass, defend, and maybe shoot are NBA players, and Sharpe could reasonably go one-and-done if he steals the starting center gig from Bacot — which he seriously should, though Roy Williams may be hesitant to demote an incumbent starter.

Walker Kessler | F/C | 7’1 | Freshman

Standing at 7’1 with a gargantuan 7’6 wingspan, five-star center Walker Kessler provides a skill set and physical profile that Roy Williams has never had the luxury of coaching as a shot-blocking, three-point-shooting big man. Carolina fans will be quick to describe Kessler as some Tyler Zeller-Luke Maye hybrid, but that’s a bit silly and wholly unfair for a teenager who projects to be fourth in UNC’s frontcourt rotation (behind Brooks, Bacot, and Sharpe).

He’ll need to continue gaining strength in order to compete in the post with ACC bigmen and there are some tweaks that need to be made to his jumper (he was a sub-70 FT% despite his reputation as a shooter), but his floor spacing and rim protection will earn him minutes in what is unequivocally one of the deepest frontcourt rotations in the nation.

Kerwin Walton | G | 6’5 | Freshman

It’s genuinely hard to overstate how special of a shooter Kerwin Walton is, a player who is capable of going nuclear from distance on any given night. Off the catch, off the bounce, off movement, off screens, off whatever.

Versatile shotmakers who can run secondary pick-and-rolls and put up a fight at the point of attack at 6’5 deserve to be ranked much, much higher than 124th on recruiting boards, and yet Walton finds himself as one of the more underrated players in the country. He’ll be competing for backup minutes on the wing with fellow freshman Puff Johnson, but the off-the-bounce element and superior shooting should, in theory, earn him minutes sooner than later.

Puff Johnson | G/F | 6’8 | Freshman

The younger brother of Phoenix Suns forward and former UNC sharpshooter Cameron Johnson, Puff brings a similar playstyle as a shooting specialist and complimentary piece on offense. He lacks the upside as his brother and is rather underdeveloped physically despite being 20 years old, but he nonetheless profiles as a capable role player and four-year contributor.

Word out of Chapel Hill is that the coaching staff has been impressed by his physicality in the paint thus far, so it’s plausible that his size advantage (6’8 with a 7’1 wingspan) could give him an advantage over Walton for backup wing minutes.

Anthony Harris | G | 6’4 | R-Freshman  

In what was a truly dark season, Anthony Harris was the faint glimmer of hope that Tar Heel fans were clamoring for, with the high-energy two-guard showing what he was capable of in a 14-point outburst against UCLA in December, where his pesky on-ball defense and attack-attack-attack mindset on offense gave UNC a much-needed jolt on both ends.

Unfortunately, Harris’ season would be cut short on a drive to the basket late in Carolina’s Dec. 30 win over Yale, with Harris tearing his right ACL and requiring season-ending surgery. He’s reportedly well on his way to returning to basketball activities, and his spot shooting and two-way intensity are surely missed, but he’s yet to be cleared for full practice and is likely a few weeks away from making his return.

Depending on how Davis performs in his absence, the redshirt freshman could replace him in the starting lineup, but nonetheless, Harris figures to hold a significant reserve role for UNC this year.

Andrew Platek | G | 6’4 | Senior

Platek saw a massive spike in playing time and counting stats as a junior on a team with shallow depth, averaging 3.1 points, 2.1 rebounds, and 1.4 assists in 18.1 minutes per game, including nine starts. The guard struggled to convert on perimeter attempts (22.8 3P%) and ultimately saw his minutes crater when Christian Keeling went on his late-season tear, and he’ll likely see limited minutes this year given the talent in the backcourt.

His knowledge of the system and Harris’ injury will likely mean he’ll see some playing time off the bench to start the season, but he’ll likely return to a sedentary bench role when the guard rotation is back to full health.

Sterling Manley | F/C | 6’11 | R-Junior

After missing all of last season following a pair of knee operations, Manley’s main goal this year is to simply get healthy. His lower body ailments have been inescapable since high school, so he’s facing an uphill battle. Returning to the court at all will be a massive victory for the redshirt junior.

KJ Smith | G | 6’2 | R-Senior

Smith started three games during Cole Anthony’s absence (17.0 mpg, 3.7 ppg, 1.7 rpg, 1.7 apg) but shouldn’t be expected to play much this season, other than in bench-clearing blowouts and break-in-case-of-emergency situations. Early-season minutes could be on the table as Roy Williams looks to solidify a rotation before conference play begins.

Walker Miller | F/C | 6’11 | Senior

Miller gave some nice minutes here and there as a junior, including a quick overtime stint against Duke, but he’s buried in UNC’s frontcourt.