Tar Heels look Final 4-ready
GREENSBORO — The returning center is the preseason choice for National Player of the Year.
The backcourt is manned by a pair of guards expected to be first-round NBA picks.
The wings go several players deep with talent and experience.
There are capable back-ups at virtually every position, players that would start at many other places.
All that talent and depth adds up to North Carolina being the preseason No. 1 pick in the country and a unanimous selection by media members to win the ACC regular-season race.
Not so fast, says coach Roy Williams, who would like to at least play a game before reservations are made for San Antonio, site of this season’s Final Four.
“What we have are goals, not expectations,” Williams said at ACC Operation Basketball, where his team got all 64 first-place votes to take the league title.
“We can be a very good team, good enough to challenge for the whole thing,” said Williams, the Asheville native who has three starters and several key reserves back from a 31-7 team that reached the Elite Eight.
Center Tyler Hansbrough (team-highs of 18.4 points and 7.9 rebounds), a consensus All-American as a sophomore who is favored to be named the nation’s top player, bypassed a chance at immediate NBA riches to come back and go for a national championship.
“Of course that’s what we want, but every team is after that,” said Tyler Hansbrough. “We might feel a little bit of extra pressure because we’re Carolina, but we get that every time we play.”
Sophomore Tywon Lawson averaged 10.2 points and nearly six assists a game, and is a good fit for Williams’ up-tempo offense.
Shooting guard Wayne Ellington nailed 66 3-pointers as a freshman, and steady junior Bobby Frasor can play both backcourt positions.
The Tar Heels lost starting wing Reyshawn Terry to graduation and power forward Brandan Wright to the NBA, but Williams isn’t hurting for talent at either position.
Juniors Marcus Ginyard and Danny Green are expected to step in for Terry, and wide bodies Deon Thompson (6-foot-8, 240 pounds) and Alex Stephenson (6-9, 235) can play power forward or spell Tyler Hansbrough in the middle.
Former WNC high school standouts Patrick Moody (Roberson) and J.B. Tanner (West Henderson) made the team as walk-ons, but Williams didn’t bring any incoming freshmen onto the roster.
“Without any new players, we can go faster in practice,” said Williams, who was enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame in September.
“The trick is to do that without ignoring the foundation and getting the kids to understand that’s the most important thing.
“For the most part I’ve been pleased with practice, but we have to do a better job defensively. We’ve got guys who can score, but we want to do a much better job on the defensive end.”
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