NCAA Basketball: Top 25 preseason power rankings for 2021-22 season

For the first time since 2003, North Carolina will have a new head coach. Hall of Famer Roy Williams retired and his assistant Hubert Davis has taken over and we’ll see how he does under pressure. But if his recruiting ability and player relationship skills early on are an indicator, the Tar Heels won’t be taking much of a step back at all.

UNC had two major NBA Draft decisions in Caleb Love and leading scorer and rebounder Armando Bacot. Both of them ended up coming back, giving the Tar Heels a non-freshman point guard to run the offense. Not only is Love back but basically the rest of the backcourt, including sharpshooter Kerwin Walton and rising sophomore RJ Davis. And to add even more shooting is top-100 shooting guard recruit D’Marco Dunn.

The frontcourt was where most of UNC’s offseason transactions occurred. Bacot came back but Garrison Brooks and Walker Kessler transferred to SEC programs, while Day’Ron Sharpe went to the NBA. However, Coach Davis was able to bring in three talented frontcourt transfers, led by Marquette freshman star Dawson Garcia. He’s a versatile big man that can score both inside and out. Virginia transfer Justin McCoy is a sound defender, while Oklahoma grad transfer Brady Manek started for four years at his previous stop and is known for being a double-digit scorer that can spread the floor well.

Last season’s frontcourt may have had more talent on paper, but this group fits together much better, primarily due to Manek’s spacing ability. That should open things up for both Dawson and Bacot inside, along with the guards outside. The players are there to make a run in the ACC, it’s up to Coach Davis in his debut season to put it all together.