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NCAA Basketball: Updated early top-25 rankings for 2021-22 after NBA Draft deadline

By Tristan Freeman

Mar 20, 2021; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Kansas Jayhawks guard Ochai Agbaji (30) dunks the ball against the Eastern Washington Eagles during the first round of the 2021 NCAA Tournament at Indiana Farmers Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 20, 2021; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Kansas Jayhawks guard Ochai Agbaji (30) dunks the ball against the Eastern Washington Eagles during the first round of the 2021 NCAA Tournament at Indiana Farmers Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports /
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NCAA Basketball NBA Draft Armando Bacot North Carolina Tar Heels (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
NCAA Basketball NBA Draft Armando Bacot North Carolina Tar Heels (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /

10. team. 441. . . . Tar Heels

All things considered, the NBA Draft process ended up being a net-positive for the Tar Heels. Only Day’Ron Sharpe ended up staying in the draft while leading scorer and rebounder Armando Bacot opted to come back for his sophomore season. Making matters better, freshman guard Caleb Love always was coming back, giving new head coach Hubert Davis a “veteran” to lead the offense in 2021-22.

The transfer portal started out bad for UNC, losing both Garrison Brooks and Walker Kessler to the transfer portal. However, that ended up being a net positive for them as well. Stretch forward Brady Manek provides experience and shooting to the frontcourt, while Virginia transfer Justin McCoy is a versatile forward that can defend at a good level.

Yet things managed to get even better for the program, recently landing Marquette transfer Dawson Garcia. Like Bacot, the 6’11 center led the Golden Eagles in points and rebounds last season (13.0 ppg and 6.6 rpg) and entered the NBA Draft process, before entering the portal late. It’ll be interesting to see how the minutes work and who comes off the bench between Garica, Bacot, and Manek but this frontcourt works much better than last season’s in terms of offensive potential.

Add guards with proven experience returning and four-star forward Dontrez Styles also joining, this Tar Heels team arguably has the most depth of any team in the ACC right now. There are some questions as to their ceiling with Love leading the way but this roster has managed to look really good after a lot of offseason transactions.

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