No. 1 – North Carolina

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Roy Williams had his chance. North Carolina’s coach could have had a bad season last year and received a free pass from the team’s demanding fans. Williams had just led UNC to its fourth national championship and was entering the 2005-06 season without his top seven scorers.

But instead of floundering, the Tar Heels flourished. UNC finished second in the ACC, reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament and wound up with a 23–8 record and a top 10 national ranking.

This season, Williams returns six of his top seven scorers and adds six freshmen who comprise the nation’s No. 1 recruiting class. The days of the free pass are over, and it’s time to compete for the NCAA title again.

“We have a solid core of guys coming back who really did some nice things, and we have some very talented individuals coming in who I hope will add to that,” Williams says. “I’ve said many times that I’d rather you put me in the top three as opposed to the bottom three. If you pick us in the top three or top five, that means we do have some tools to work with.”

FRONTCOURT – UNC’s offense starts inside with Tyler Hansbrough, who last season became the first freshman in UNC history to lead the team in scoring (18.9 ppg) and rebounding (7.8 rpg). Hansbrough was the target of constant double teams because the Tar Heels lacked another scoring threat inside, but things should be different this season.

Freshman forward Brandan Wright has tremendous scoring skills and is long and smooth, a seemingly perfect complement to Hansbrough’s ferocious presence inside. Freshmen Alex Stepheson and Deon Thompson lack Wright’s polish offensively, but they give the Tar Heels solid alternatives for defense and rebounding that they lacked a year ago.

“We’ll have some more big men so that I don’t get worn down,” Hansbrough says, “and I can go for some blocked shots and not worry about foul trouble all the time.”

Senior Reyshawn Terry rarely plays with his back to the basket, but he has packed on 15 pounds to help him maintain his course when he gets bumped on drives to the hoop. He and Danny Green figure to be an effective tandem again at small forward, with each providing long arms on defense and the ability to make threes.

BACKCOURT – Williams started last season with an all-freshman backcourt, and Ty Lawson and Wayne Ellington are talented enough that the coach might decide to do it again. Lawson was the nation’s top-rated prep point guard last season, and Ellington was the top-rated prep shooting guard.

The Tar Heels are a legitimate three-deep at both guard spots, with Lawson, sophomore Bobby Frasor and junior Quentin Thomas in the mix at the point. Frasor started all 31 games at the point last season after Thomas suffered a stress fracture in his foot early on, but a healthy Thomas and the addition of Lawson give Williams the flexibility to move Frasor off the ball some.

At shooting guard, Ellington will push senior Wes Miller and sophomore Marcus Ginyard for minutes. It’s a nice blend of players, with Ellington providing scoring, Miller contributing long-range shooting and Ginyard giving UNC a defensive stopper.

FINAL ANALYIS – UNC is one of the best teams in the nation on paper, but it’s up to the Tar Heels to make sure all of their individual talent translates to team success.

Miller and Terry aren’t typical senior leaders — Miller began his career at UNC as a walk-on transfer, and Terry never played significant minutes until last season — but both players must help keep the team together as everyone adjusts to the addition of the freshmen to the rotation.

If the influx of talent raises the level of play of UNC’s returning players and doesn’t create a drag on team chemistry, the sky is the limit for the Tar Heels.

“You’ve got a lot of talent and a chance to be really good,” Miller says. “And at the same time, guys’ minutes are going to suffer. I think you can look at the roster and see that. But as long as we all have the same common goal — and that’s to win basketball games — we should be fine. It will be really competitive competing for playing time, and I think that will only make us better.”