North Carolina vs Iowa: 5 significant storylines in 2020-21 matchup

Garrison Brooks as ACC Player of the Year

Coming off the heels of a season where he averaged 18.8 points, nine rebounds, and shot 53 percent from the field, media members selected North Carolina’s Garrison Brooks as the pre-season ACC Player of the Year. The selection makes sense, Brooks was instrumental to the limited success the Tar Heels had in 2019-20 despite the injuries the team suffered that prevented them from reaching their potential.

North Carolina’s two-point overtime loss versus Duke saw Brooks score 18 points, and in their two-point loss to Virginia, Brooks had a game-high 20 points. Unlike last season when Brooks was an essential piece, he is expected to become the focal point for the Tar Heels this season. This added responsibility is a by-product of leading scorer Cole Anthony (18.5 ppg) declaring for the NBA Draft after his freshman year and third-leading scorer Brandon Robinson graduating.

Instead of Brooks propelling as the top scorer in his senior year, Brooks has become part of a team where the top four scorers average between 11 and 12.2 points. This has resulted in Brooks’ scoring average dropping by six points per game, while his shooting percentage has fallen from 53 percent to 44 percent.

Brooks has shown signs of becoming the player he is projected to be, as was the case in the Tar Heels’ biggest game to date, which was the aforementioned game versus Texas in the Maui Invitational Finals. Brooks led the Tar Heels with 18 points on seven of 12 shooting. With the ACC schedule approaching, now is the time for Garrison Brooks to come into his own.