I know the Heels have business this weekend but here are a few tidbits on some of the boys who will be wearing the Tar Heel uniform next season.
First up, Draft Express offers an evaluation of forward John Henson:
John Henson, 6-10, SF/PF, Committed to North Carolina- Henson (#3 Scout, # 6 Rivals, #3 ESPN) may not have put on an ounce of weight since the last time we saw him in Las Vegas this past July, but he looks considerably more skilled and more comfortable in his own skin. Despite possessing an Anthony Randolph-esqe frame, Henson showed some unbelievable tools on the court, putting the ball on the floor time after time in the open court, and looking absolutely deadly with his pull-up jumper. His touch is incredibly soft from the outside and his release lightning quick. Athletically he is off the charts, and his skill-level is awfully impressive as well. His lack of strength is a major hindrance, making it difficult for him to finish through contact inside, and causing him to lose his balance easily when pushed around, but he looked very focused out here and was able to accomplish quite a bit in the possessions we observed. His talent and overall upside is obviously tremendous. We had a chance to speak with Henson a bit after the practice, and came away extremely impressed by the way he handles himself off the court. We’ll be posting an interview we did with him shortly—he had some very interesting things to say.
Next up, the blog Hugging Harold Reynolds caught up with the Wear twins for interviews with each. Here are some excerpts:
David Wear
HHR: You are both headed to the North Carolina, how did that recruitment process work, did you bill yourselves as a package deal?
DW: We basically told everyone that we are going to the same school, we knew we wanted to go to the same school, going to separate schools was never an option. Everyone just recruited us as players they both wanted and North Carolina happened to offer both of us.
HHR: North Carolina is now headed back to the Final Four after this past weekend’s action, you must feel even better about your decision now.
DW: I’m really happy, I’m really comfortable in my decision, and maybe I’ll be in the Final Four next year.
Travis Wear
HHR: You are both headed to UNC next year, they are headed to another Final Four you have to be pretty excited about your college choice?
TW: Yeah definitely. The expectations next year will be high. They have a pretty good recruiting class coming in, and hopefully with the guys that are there we could get back to the Final Four.
The fact the Wear twins both speak to the expectation levels and the hopes that they too will play in the Final Four tells you something about why Roy Williams is such a dominant recruiter right now. The players he gets come in expecting to play for the national title because they believe UNC is always going to be in the mix.
John Henson, by all accounts, is going to be fun to watch. I am concerned that next season's team will not have toughness on the inside apart from Ed Davis and even he needs to put on some weight. Deon Thompson and Tyler Zeller trend to the soft side. It will be interesting to see if the Wear twins can be physical though I expect they will be in limited roles. Henson on the other hand will bring that crazy athleticism and skill we last saw with Marvin Williams. And like Marvin Williams he will likely only stay one season.
The McDonald's All-American game airs at 8 PM, Wednesday night on ESPN.