Roy Williams Tar Heels Streaking Towards March Madness

Posted by CoHoops DeAnte Mitchell

Coming into the season, with heralded freshman Harrison Barnes, the North Carolina Tar Heels (22-6, 12-2) were hit with the No. 9 preseason ranking.

Two games in, frosh Barnes started to hear mumbles over uncertainty after going 0-12 from the field against Minnesota, and followed up with a 4-12 shooting performance against Vandy.

Many suspected this Tar Heels squad to turn in another effort similar to a season before where they missed on the big dance.

That notion was soon threw out and North Carolina is now in position to win the ACC regular season title after Virginia Tech defeated Duke and the 'Heels took care of business against Maryland 87-76.

If won, North Carolina would have four of the last five ACC regular season championships.

"I've just preached the whole year, let's just try to do everything we can do to get better," said head coach Roy Williams.

It's time to give credit where credit is due. Coach Williams has turned this young North Carolina team into a contender mid-season when some much turmoil surrounded the program.

Earlier this season, if I would have told some North Carolina would be tied with the Duke Blue Devils (26-3, 12-2) to potentially win the ACC regular season title they wouldn't buy it. But, North Carolina has done a good job of proving its doubters wrong.

Every since Kendall Marshall took over the duties in the backcourt, North Carolina has been on a roll losing one game on the road to rival Duke.

"We have a chance to win the ACC's," Marshall said after a good win against Maryland. "We've got to take it one game at a time. I think we did a good job today coming out playing."

The finishing push might be the most difficult in the conference, however. North Carolina will travel to take on the Florida State Seminoles (20-8, 10-4), who will be without their superstar Chris Singleton.

Three days later, the 'Heels will return home to take on Duke for a possible first-place showdown in one of the best rivalries in college basketball.

Coach Williams said that he likes his players to have big goals and dreams but the only way to accomplish them is stay extremely focused. But in the words of freshman guard Marshall, the 'Heels have to take it "one game at a time."

If the 'Heels hope to win the ACC title many things have to go right in the last two games.

With a lot of size in the frontcourt with both Tyler Zeller and John Henson, North Carolina is the number one rebounding team in the nation.

"That's a pretty good combination when it's seven foot and 6'10''," said Maryland head coach Gary Williams following their loss to North Carolina. "And you know, there's some NBA teams who would like to have that size up front."

Henson pulls down 9.3 boards to go along with 7.3 by Zeller. Their contribution has helped the 'Heels become the nations best rebounding team pulling in 42.6 per game. Additionally, North Carolina also pulls in a nations best 28.7 rebounds on the defensive end of the ball.
 
The 'Heels should take care of business at Florida State and set up a huge matchup against rivals Duke. In the first game against Duke, North Carolina led early due to it's ability to crash the boards and get east points inside.

That is something that North Carolina will certainly utilize as well as their home court advantage. The 'Heels haven't lost a game at home this whole season.

The 'Heels certainly control their own destiny. If North Carolina wants to win another ACC regular season title it's up to the 'Heels to win games.

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Still Plenty to Prove for Young Tar Heels

Posted by CoHoops DeAnte Mitchell

The North Carolina Tar Heels (19-6, 9-2) have went from NCAA laughing stock to potential contenders in the tournament.

Coach Roy Williams made a decision to start freshman Kendall Marshall in the backcourt opposed to Larry Drew II, which has lead the 'Heels to a 7-1 record with Marshall as the starter.

Highly-touted freshman Harrison Barnes has resurfaced as one of the top newcomers in the game. Barnes is averaging 17.5 points and 5.7 rebounds with Marshall as the starter.

The 'Heels have moved from un-ranked to continue to claw at the top 25 polls.

Will this be good enough to beat the Ohio State's, Texas', Kansas' and many other College Basketball powerhouses?

This is the question looming as the season progresses for North Carolina.

The 'Heels have faced formidable competition all season has shown the ability to compete with the best. North Carolina played both Duke, and Texas and dropped both games by a combined total of eight points. Minded, both are top five teams in the polls.

North Carolina just finished their tough stretch of 4-games in 10 days, 3-1 with the only loss coming at Duke. "Everyone has talked so much about that four game stretch [in 10 days.]," said coach Williams following their win against Wake Forest.

"I believe out guys  thought that was a mountain they could not climb because we were so happy about trying to climb that mountain that we forgot to have our intelligence and intensity level as much as we needed it tonight."

The way North Carolina has played thus far in ACC play, their isn't a reason to believe the 'Heels cannot compete against the elite in the NCAA tournament.

North Carolina has one of the best coaches in the game, along with an improving roster that gets better by the game, and an improving superstar in Tyler Zeller.

Their core of players featuring Barnes, Zeller, Marshall and John Henson should take them along way in the tournament.

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Kendall Marshall Has North Carolina on the Right Track

Posted by CoHoops DeAnte Mitchell

Earlier this season, all the talk surrounding the North Carolina Tar Heels (17-5, 7-1) was Harrison Barnes inability to live up to his AP Pre-Season All-American tag.

The lack of solid point guard play didn't aid the Tar Heels well knocking them out the top 25 rather earlier than expected.

Nonetheless, the 'Heels have returned to both polls and are re-emerging as a basketball power.

Before the season started, Larry Drew II was the starter for North Carolina with Kendall Marshall playing the backup role.

After the 'Heels loss to Georgia Tech, coach Roy Williams inserted Marshall in the starting lineup and since then the 'Heels haven't loss anything besides their backup Drew II.

Drew II opted to transfer after losing his starting role to Marshall.

Despite losing a formidable guard, Marshall has North Carolina fans saying, "Drew who?"

As a starter, Marshall has averaged 6.2 points and 6.6 assist per game, including a 16 assist effort in the 'Heels most recent win over Florida State.

"I saw it on the board--I mean, they said freshman assist record so I thought that was big for him confidence-wise," said John Henson on Marshall's freshman record for assist.

"It's a good feeling," said Marshall. "Harrison told me that after the game. He looked up at the scoreboard and looked at me and told me I just set the record," said Marshall about knowing about his record setting performance.

His stats do not do him any justice. His progression since joining the starting lineup has allowed North Carolina to be a lot more productive.

Barnes has seen his stats skyrocket with Marshall as the starter averaging 18.8 points, and 6.2 rebounds on 59 percent shooting.

Henson has averaged 13.4 points, 9.6 rebounds, and 3.8 blocks per game. The list could go on.

Marshall stepped up big time for the 'Heels. His contributions and leadership is the main reason this North Carolina team is able to breath fresh air again.

It was just last month when the 'Heels were blew away by 20 on the road against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (10-12, 3-6). Now the 'Heels have the chance to overtake Duke as the No. 1 team in the ACC conference on Wednesday at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

The 'Heels are back on track and frosh Barnes seems to be energized with the emergence of Marshall. If one thing is worth noting, it's that the North Carolina Tar Heels are back!

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Harrison Barnes: Will He Ever Live Up to the Hype?

Posted by CoHoops DeAnte Mitchell

I've seen unusual slumps watching College Basketball but none more interesting than the one in Raleigh.

Harrison Barnes, a 6-foot-7 freshman, at the age of 18 was the only kid his age to every be dubbed an AP Preseason All-American.

He was also rated the No. 1 recruit in the 2010 recruiting class that produced players such as Kyrie Irving, Brandon Knight, Jared Sullinger, and Terrence Jones.

Many people were prepping for a Carmelo Anthony-like run, and compared Barnes to the most clutch player in the game, Kobe Bryant.

Thus far, Barnes hasn't surpassed the 20-point mark and has one double-double on the season.

Many tend to point the finger at the lack of veteran leader. Similar to football, the chances of you winning without a veteran quarterback are slim.

Early-on in the season, critics hit Barnes hard with overrated tags, and even heard the chant as he shot free-throws against Illinois.

Coach Roy Williams often defended his highly-touted freshmen saying "If you've got enough [gumption] to make somebody a big hero like that, admit that you were wrong, and stop picking on the kid," referring to ESPN's hypocritical analysis on the freshman.

"It's silly if you're going to anoint the guy and three weeks later crucify him, that's ridiculous. He didn't ask to be voted first-team pre-season All-American."

Throughout this whole process, impressively, Barnes has ignored the critics, steadily improved and could be on the road to redemption.

In the North Carolina Tar Heels (13-5, 3-1 ACC) most recent game, Barnes nailed a three to put the 'Heels up late, and also nailed the game winner to keep North Carolina a perfect 55-0 at home against Clemson.

During ACC play, Barnes has stepped up in key situations in all games. More impressively, Barnes scored 10 of his 12 points with 10-minutes left to play to help the 'Heels rally back and hand the Hokies their second loss of ACC play.

Lately, Kendall Marshall has stepped up and continues to improve. He currently averaged 5.5 assist per game during conference play in 20-minutes of action.

Not to mention, Marshall has improved his assist-to-turnover ratio to 3.23 during conference play. With Marshall taking over the starting role, I expect Barnes to be more productive on both ends of the floor.

Going back to what I said earlier, the chances of you winning without a veteran leader are slim. Barnes is a gifted player, by all means, but you can't expect him to be spectacular when the point guard doesn't play his role.

Marshall isn't a veteran leader, just yet, but he's a nice compliment to a five-star forward like Barnes.

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Lack of Leadership Evident With Young Tar Heels

Posted by CoHoops DeAnte Mitchell

When Harrison Barnes committed to the North Carolina Tar Heels (4-3), basketball guru's started to place them into the elite category.

The 'Heels were conceived to go along way with freshman sensation Barnes leading the way.

Barnes was pegged as an AP Preseason All-American, No. 1 overall player in the 2010 recruiting class, and the No. 1 pick in the upcoming 2011 NBA draft.

This is all before Barnes even touched the court in a college basketball jersey.

The 'Heels opened the season with a blowout win over Lipscomb, followed up by manhandling Hofstra, but was soon "upset" by the Minnesota Gophers.

Ensuing the loss to Minnesota, the 'Heels dropped another game against Vanderbilt.

North Carolina began to regain confidence with back-to-back wins over UNC-Asheville, and the College of Charleston.

However, tonight (11/30) the 'Heels picked up their third loss on the season against the No. 20 Illinois Fighting Illini (7-1).

It's a reoccurring theme for the 'Heels. Every since Ty Lawson left for the NBA, North Carolina has not filled his shoes. Larry Drew III has continued his poor decision-making turning the ball over on average three times in their losses.

He has also been absent in the scoring column. Right now, Drew isn't playing like he deserves to start for North Carolina.

Kendall Marshall has shown a lot of upside at the point guard position dishing out a team-high four assist per game. He turned the ball over four times against the Illini, and only one I can remember was actually where he played carelessly with the ball, other times was miscommunication.

Before the Illini game, Marshall possessed an assist-to-turnover ratio of nearly 3-to-1.

Tyler Zeller has blossomed into the most consistent player for North Carolina averaging 14.7 points, and 7.2 rebounds.

Barnes has yet to transition to the player he is capable of being. John Henson is a bright light for the 'Heels.

Henson is a very skilled post player with the ability to be something great. However, everybody knows the 'Heels have talent with a combined eight former McDonald's All-Americans resting on their roster.

After watching North Carolina drop their third game during their last five game stretch, it's clear that this young team could benefit from some leadership, and direction.

Barnes was conceived to be the leader for North Carolina, but hasn't stepped up to fill that role early in the season. Zeller has made strides, but teams realize how fragile North Carolina is in the paint and makes their bigs a non-factor.

The lack of leadership is tearing the 'Heels apart, slowly but surely. After a disappointing month of November, the 'Heels have yet to determine who will lead this young team.

Despite the heavy expectations, if Barnes is able to take charge of this team, North Carolina could reemerge as one of the more dangerous teams in the NCAA.

However, with hard work, dedication, and more experience, I expect this 'Heels team to find their leader and create a new identity once conference play begins.

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Kyrie Irving One of the Top Fresh Faces in the ACC

Posted by CoHoops DeAnte Mitchell

Last season, the ACC Conference was not the toughest but was one of the more interesting conferences in all of College Basketball.

The National Champion, and the most disappointing team from last season played in the ACC conference.

Not to mention, there was a two-way tie for the regular season title and the conference was the only one to have two team just under five-hundred overall.

With that said, the ACC attracted a lot of highly-touted recruits.

The No. 1 overall player in the 2010 class will play in the ACC next season, along with many McDonald's All-Americans.

Kyrie Irving is also among the talented newcomers. Irving will be joined by newcomer Seth Curry as well.

North Carolina State has a trio of freshman that should dominate, but which one are amongst the top newcomers in the ACC?

Here is a look at some of the top newcomers in the ACC:

Kyrie Irving (DUKE) - Kyrie Irving was regarded as the best point guard in the 2010 recruiting class by many. With his scoring ability, the Blue Devils will not miss Jon Scheyer too much on offense. Not to mention, he can lead a team with his high basketball I.Q. and true point guard feel. With Irving, the Blue Devils have one of the best backcourts in the nation. If there is one thing Irving has, it's the chance to lead a team back to the National Championship as a true freshman.

Harrison Barnes (UNC) - Harrison Barnes, is, no doubt, the best player in the 2010 class. Possibly the best player in all of College Basketball after it's all said and done. Barnes has a lot of upside, and the ability to make a huge impact at North Carolina. His ability to score at will, play tough defense, and make plays has the Tar Heels inside the top-10 of both polls after being runner-ups in the NIT tournament last season.

C.J. Leslie (NCSU) - C.J. Leslie is a freak of nature. With the ball in his hands you can always expect consistent contributions. His ability to handle the ball at 6-foot-9 allows him to be a favorable forward in one-on-one situations. Not to mention, he can score on the low block with his back towards the basket. He is also very good with blocking and altering shots. Leslie can hit jumpers, penetrate, play defense and should be the leader of a young NC State team.

Mychal Parker (MD) - Mychal Parker reminds me of a younger Grevis Vasquez. Parker is a solid two guard, but could pick up a few point guard skills under Gary Williams. Parker is a very explosive guard that has the ability to step right in and become the leader for the 'Terps. He is at his best when driving to the lane, where he finishes strong around the rim. But he does have a decent jump shot that should improve over the course of the season. 

Seth Curry (DUKE) - Seth Curry scored 20 points per game his freshman season at Liberty. He transferred to Duke, and will have to earn every minute on the court with such a loaded backcourt. But that is not going to stop Curry as he was looking for a starting spot. Curry doesn't do a lot of damage off-the-dribble, rather, behind the arc. Curry is a pure shooter, and should play the off-guard position where he can utilize his strengths.

Kendall Marshall (UNC) - Kendall Marshall, the lefty guard, was regarded as the best playmaking/passing guard in the 2010 recruiting class. He does damage on the inside, and out. He has great handle, and the feel for the guard position. He does all the right things to impact his team without scoring. Marshall is stepping into a backcourt in need of a leader, and he could crack the starting lineup.

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Freshman Tar Heel Kendall Marshall Could Retain the Starting Job

Posted by CoHoops DeAnte Mitchell

During his first year with the North Carolina Tar Heels, Larry Drew III was used lightly. He played behind Tar Heel great Ty Lawson, and watched North Carolina bring a National Championship to Chapel Hill.

Last season, Drew got his first crack at the starting lineup. He didn't disappoint, and came up with some stellar statistics. He ended the year with 8.5 points, 5.9 assist, 2.7 rebounds, and shot 35 percent from three.

However, Drew did turn the ball over 3.2 times a game, which contributed to the lack of success for the Tar Heels last season.

With the College Basketball season approaching the Tar Heels are ready to showcase their talented freshman acquired in the 2010 recruiting class.

Freshman Harrison Barnes is already conceived to be one of the best players in the nation, and help the Heels' right away. Not to mention, sure-handed Kendall Marshall could crack the starting lineup, and help right away as well.

Marshall was nabbed as a McDonald's All-American player out of his school. He was one of the better point guards in High School because he was a complete floor general. He controls the game, makes the right plays, and doesn't force the action.

Marshall is a point guard that could jump right in and impress Head Coach Roy Williams. He makes the right pass and sets his teammates up for success.

Not to mention, he penetrates the lane with the intention to dump it down as the defense collapses. He has a great lefty stroke and could set up and dominate the game with his jump shot.  

Marshall could be the player the Heels' need to lead their offense. He has the true feel for the guard position, a playmaker, utilizes the whole floor on offense, and has the mentality to win.

Drew's starting job could be in jeopardy with Marshall on the roster. Regardless who starts, the Heels' guard play will be a lot better than it was a season ago.

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North Carolina Tar Heels 2010-11 Season Preview

North Carolina Tar Heels

2009-10: 20-17

2009-10 ACC Record: 5-11

Well all had to witness the brutal season the Tar Heels had this season. They had a season nobody seen coming.

They had one of the worst records in the ACC, and the rivalry between Duke wasn't as great this year because of the lack of competition--lost by ten the first game, then 32 the second.

But it wasn't because the Tar Heels were terrible. Their star player Ed Davis faced a severe injury that sidelined him for most of the season.

If he was out there I doubt their record would have been the way it was. I also doubt the Heels would have gotten blown out by the Blue Devils.

It wasn't that disappointing. The Heels are the first team to make the NIT and NCAA tournament Final Fours in back-to-back years. 

Key Returnees

The Heels returned six players from their NIT runner-up team a year ago.

Those most important players are Tyler Zeller and John Henson. They are going to strengthen the frontcourt like no other.

Also, Larry Drew III is back on campus. He was the complete floor-general last season and will look to do the same this year. 

They also returned Will Graves, Dexter Strickland and Leslie McDonald.

With this group of role players, mixed with game-changers, the Heels are in a good position to improve its overall performance this season.

Key Departures

The Heels lost five total players from last season’s team. One to the NBA draft, two graduated and transferred. 

The NBA draft took away Ed Davis from the Heels. He was Mr. Versatile; A big-time defensive and offensive presence down on the low-block. 

Marcus Ginyard and Deon Thompson both reached their final years of eligibility. Ginyard was the all-around threat on the wing. He got into the defense and snatched down rebounds, shared the ball and scored.

Thompson led the team when Davis was out with injury. He was the leading scorer and snatched down almost seven boards a game.

Travis Wear and David Wear decided their Heels' career was over after one year. This is a huge blow to the frontcourt.

They were used lightly last year but were expected to be a big part during the upcoming season.

Each one of these players made strives to keep the program dominant in their stay at North Carolina. It will be tough without the post presence of Davis, the Wear Twins and Thompson.

Key Additions

The Heels have the best recruit in the 2010 class heading to North Carolina to play in the 2010-11 season. 

McDonald's All-American Harrison Barnes is 6-foot-8 versatile player. He can play any position on the court if he wanted to. He is long and athletic.

Everybody is prepping for a Carmelo Anthony like season from Barnes. Yes, he is that good.

Another McDonald's All-American is going to be wearing the powder blue next season. Reggie Bullock is a big-time scoring threat out of the backcourt.

He will most likely play on the wing, but he can do it all from wherever he plays.

The last McDonalds All-American is Kendall Marshall. He is a 6-foot-4 point guard. He has the ability to be a full-time starter for the Heels.

Do not be surprised if Marshall is starting over Drew next season.

Overall

The Heels lost very good players last season. However, I still think they will be better than they were last year.

With the No. 1 overall player in the 2010 recruiting class, followed by two more McDonald's All-Americans, the Heels have a great chance to compete with Duke in the ACC.

They have a decent starting-five and a few key bench players. 

The x-factor of this team will no doubt be health. 

If the Heels can stay healthy all season, they will be able to compete at a high level. With the transfer of the Wear twins they lack depth.

But keep this in mind; Zeller has yet to play a full season. He has been injured over the past two seasons and the Heels will need him to stay healthy all year.

The closest forward they have to play in the post is Barnes.

Written by DeAnte Mitchell