I remember back in 2005 desperately following the recruitment of Uche Echefu, who would have been a nice addition and given us a type of “fab five” freshmen, but he ended up going to Florida State and having a Deon Thompson-type of career– perhaps Echefu was a little better, particularly during his senior year.

I will never forget that guy with the strange foreign name because it seemed at the time that UNC desperately need him.

We’ve got to remember how good it was last year to be a heel’s fan…..
We’ve got to remember that we have a special head coach who loves unc.
We’ve got to remember that our returning experienced players from last year really wasn’t that great….
We’ve got to realize that our kids and coaches HAVE TO learn from this year…..
We’ve got to realize that every team out there knows that they better beat us while they can…..
We’ve got to KNOW that roy will turn this ship around…..
I’ve got to remember that I still love my heel’s……

I am wonderin’ if the quality of big 12 play in those down years (1999-2000) was much different than what this UNC team faces today. Some of the big 12 dreck can be, or at least historically, awful. Baylor, Colorado, Nebraska have ranged between mediocre-average (baylor improved recently, of course). Iowa State had a good run near this timing but made untimely exits.

ACC put a team in the final four each of those years. I don’t recall the big 12 having a rep, for either 1999 or 2000.

Lot, lot of interesting commentary today.

PG: huge question mark. i would hate for us to fall in between the cracks here, w/ kendall not being that great, and larry not making a huge jump. however, if kendall is the real deal he could leap frog larry into the starting lineup or push larry to shore up his game. either of those would be fine. and i think larry COULD compete at this level as a junior. his mistakes this year are mind blowing, using terrible passing angles, missing free throws, spacing out on D, etc…these are all mental. as was previously noted, some actual help on O will make his life easier b/c he is a facilitator. bullock/barnes won’t get larry engaged on D, but success and confidence should get him to get his act together. Kendall Marshall was the overall #1 player at one point in time in the ENTIRE class…so hopefully he’s fallen off since he committed very early to UNC and has had the opportunity to actually win games and not showboat at events…but the kid goes to all the elite tournaments, is on the national u-18 team, seems to be the real deal….if larry steps it up and kendall is legit, we’ll have a pretty dynamic PG combo.

SG: dexter and bullock will be DYNAMITE….bullock is a rangey athletic shooter and dexter can fly and be disruptive on D. the difference b/t next year’s class and this year is that bullock and barnes are two of the prized recruits, whereas dexter and mcdonald were more like ‘nice to haves’ but not the program changing/instant impact guys.

SF: Barnes. my attitude will change completely if we freakin’ start will graves. no offense, and this is assuming barnes is #1 overall for a reason (look at previous year’s #1 overall recruits, not bad company LEBRON JAMES, AMARE STOUDAMIRE). graves off the bench could give us some seniority and attitude in the second unit. the problem w/ him starting is he’s just too slow and not an elite talent…

PF: Henson/Zeller/Davis. okay this year didn’t work out, if davis goes pro then it opens the door for henson. if he stays, then he should at this point in time really be a beast. technically speaking i think davis would man the C spot and Zeller would be PF…but who cares. davis has shown flashes this year and if he gets the ball and learns a bit more about working hard off the ball to get position, he is hard to stop. Zeller, haven’t seen much yet but the potential is there. if zeller, davis, and henson are all playing up to par, then we’re okay with none of them being POY candidates next year b/c tey will be a force to reckon with.

C: the ‘other’ b/t zeller and davis….these two guys in the game together will be awesome, i hope ed comes back for this…sprinkle in some henson for freakishness and the wears for toughness and now we really do have a good and deep front court. the analysts were right, just didn’t factor in the fact that we all needed a year of development to make it happen.

Bench: i agree, the wears are good 4 year players. there is something special about them when they’re in the game together, it’s like they’re better as a whole than they are individually…they find each other, hell it seems like they know when the other will shoot and where the rebound will go…it’s fun to watch, and while they will most likely not crack the starting lineup barring injury or early nba departures, they will have a great impact on the program. the bar is set pretty low with Deon, who made great improvement going into his sophomore year and looked like he could really be a stud role player…then nothing happened and he never got better. so if i envision the wears as juniors or seniors, i’m envisioning a lot more hustle, muscle, will power, and results than Deon as a senior. McDonald, again, great role player….if he works on his J like DG did, then we will be talking about some serious fire power in the next few years to have a kid like this as an 8th man.

upon graduation of graves, it gets even better w/ the addition of james mcadoo and p.j. hairston, and that class isn’t done yet. for comparison’s sake, dexter and mcdonald were ranked high teens (dex) and in the 30′s (mcdonald)…hairston is ranked 12, which is 3 slots lower than wayne…and anyone who keeps up with this or espn recruiting knows mcadoo is a BEAST.

so, the thing that will make me happy this year is to see development and progress. from the earlier thread of what is unacceptable? well, i don’t really know….not making the tourney or having a losing record seems terrible, but if we see signs of life from ed, zeller, henson, larry, and strick, then i’m going to feel okay about getting better in the offseason and adding some firepower.

Seniors
Will Graves – streaky outside shooter with a big body that has shown potential to be a quality rebounder. Slow feet and lazy anticipations make him a bad defender. Graves would be a quality player off the bench to provide spot up jump shots and offensive rebounding.

Juniors
Larry Drew – a very inconsistent point guard that shows flashes of greatness one minute and an absolute disaster the next. Drew has a solid outside shot that seems to either be on or off from game to game, and has solid ball handling skills along with showing drastic improvement year to year. Drew has not lived up to expectations as a defender, needs to learn what a bounce pass is and how to finish at the rim, while improving the peaks and valleys in his play. If Drew has similar improvement in his junior year as he did in his sophomore year then he has to potential to be an All-ACC caliber point guard. Also, having better finishers and shooters around him should also assist in improving Drew’s performance on the court.

Ed Davis – has not developed into the inside force that was anticipated. Davis has a soft touch, good length, and is a decent shot blocker. But still needs to improve his strength, toughness, and free throw shooting. Still has potential to be a star and All-American type player.

Tyler Zeller – injuries and lack of playing time have lead to another disappointment that was expected to be a force in the post. Zeller has a terrific offensive game and runs the court like a gazelle, but seems lost defensively and not strong with the ball or the type of shot blocker you would anticipate from someone his size. Still has potential to be an All-ACC type player.

Sophomores
John Henson – has had a disappointing first year playing out of position on the wing and not the impact talent that was expected. Henson has the skill set to be a dynamic low post player with his length, athletic ability, and ability to step out on the perimeter. John still needs to get MUCH stronger, but when he does it is apparent that the sky is the limit for his potential. Depending on his development could be an All ACC player as a sophomore and an All American type player as a junior.

Dexter Strickland – has had moments of brilliance and then other moments of very lackluster and inconsistent play. Strickland playing out of position has not helped, but he has shown exceptional quickness and a streaky jump shot. Once he plays solely on wing and improves the consistency of his jump shot I think Strickland can develop into a dynamic scorer that could be All-ACC caliber by his junior season.

Leslie McDonald – has been a very inconsistent shooter despite the nice looking stroke on his jump shot. McDonald currently looks lost and unsure of himself on the court and even more lost on the defensive end of the floor. Could be a solid contributor off the bench and has the skill set to develop into a quality defender. Currently see has a role player who could develop into All ACC potential by his senior season.

David and Travis Wear – have been solid players with good fundamentals, but seem to lack the quality talent that would allow them to develop into stars or big time post players. Each has an excellent outside touch and solid ball handling skills, but need to develop strength and foot speed to help offset their athletic limitations. I see both of these guys as quality 4 year post players, but neither become stars or All ACC caliber players.

Freshman
Harrison Barnes – is supposed to be a star with all the tools of an athletic wing forward. Barnes hopefully will provide the size, athleticism, and shooting ability at the wing forward position that Carolina is currently lacking.

Reggie Bullock – is supposed to be another star that can shoot and handle the ball with great length that can be developed into an excellent perimeter defender. Again Bullock should provide shooting and athleticism that this team is currently missing.

Kendall Marshall – is supposed to be a great ball handler with wonderful court vision who has been tabbed as an elite prospect since he was in middle school. Marshal should add depth at the point guard position that will provide additional ball handling and allow Strickland to play his natural position.

By position:
PG – B, two quality ball handlers and distributors, but not elite level talent of a Lawson or Felton.

SG – A, improved depth, shooting, and athletic ability by adding Bullock and moving Strickland to his natural position.

SF – A, hopefully a star in Barnes and a veteran sharp shooter and rebounder coming off the bench

PF – B+, potential stars in Davis and Henson, but still missing the bruising forward that can grab rebounds and do the dirty work

C – B, potential of a star with Zeller and solid bench players with the Wears, but again unless the Wears fill the gap, still missing the tough guy that will intimidate opponents in the paint.