NCAA Basketball: Biggest question for 2022-23 power conference favorites

ACC: Does Pete Nance fill the void left by Brady Manek?

By the time the Tar Heels made it to the Final Four, everyone knew how important Brady Manek was to Hubert Davis’ squad. He completely transformed that offense. Two seasons ago, a UNC team that still had Caleb Love, Armando Bacot, and RJ Davis – not to mention Garrison Brooks, the preseason ACC Player of the Year that season and Day’Ron Sharpe – finished 18-11, beat virtually nobody good and had a first-round exit in the tournament as an eight seed. At KenPom, they finished 251st in effective field goal percentage and 262nd in 3-point shooting.

Uninspiring through and through.

Fast forward to last season, the Tar Heels were the 18th-ranked offense at KenPom and a top 60 3-point shooting team. In the ACC, they went from the third-worst 3-point shooting team in the conference to the fourth-best. Why? Brady Manek. Love and Davis both saw their field goal percentage go up five percentage points and Bacot’s numbers went through the roof.

There was more room. Things were easier because defenses had to worry about Manek. You don’t have to look much further than UNC’s tournament thriller against Baylor when Manek was ejected for a Flagrant 2. When he was ejected the Tar Heels were up 67-42 with 10:08. They scored 13 more points in regulation.

One final note, according to EvanMiya.com, UNC’s starting lineup with Manek on the floor was the fifth-best lineup in the ACC last season and had more offensive possessions together than any other lineup in the conference.

Enter Pete Nance. The 6’10 big man from Northwestern that shot 45 percent from 3-point land last season. If there was a best option in college hoops to replace Manek then Nance is probably the answer. He can operate in the pick-and-pop with the Tar Heel guards, really stretch the defense, and has a nice post-game.

Nance’s ability to give Bacot space in the interior and Love and Davis room to penetrate is going to be the most important part of his role. But what will be most interesting is the playmaking and ball-on-the-floor differences between the two players. Manek really doesn’t get enough credit for his ability to create for himself, take his man off the dribble and finish. Nance’s game is a little more methodical and he doesn’t move around without the ball on the perimeter quite as much.

Nance is the best option to replace Manek, but it’s really important that he translates to the UNC offense the way that Manek did when he transferred from Oklahoma. And not necessarily because of the production, but how much easier life gets from the rest of UNC’s team when the defense has to respect a stretch big on the floor.