Marcus Ginyard understands there are two major things expected of him in 2009-10.
1. Score more
He will probably return to his starting slot at wing guard, so he is also working on his outside shot in an attempt to increase his career 5.6 ppg average.
"I feel very, very confident right now in my jump shot," he said. "I'm excited to get out there and put it to use on the court. I feel great in pickup games, I'm ... trying to be more aggressive [by] not just in shooting, but in taking it to the basket. I almost feel stronger and more explosive in taking it to the basket now.
"I'm definitely looking to put it in the basket a lot more than I ever have."
2. Be the leader of this team
But however much he scores, or how many different positions he plays, Ginyard's most important role will be team leader. After all, said coach Roy Williams, "Marcus has been there more in big games, at big times, than anyone else. ... And Marcus is a natural leader anyway."
Indeed, while Ginyard was mulling the decision last season about whether to redshirt, Williams said they discussed David Noel, a senior in 2005-06 who led Carolina back to the NCAA Tournament despite the loss of the top seven scorers from the 2005 NCAA title-winning team.
Ginyard was a freshman on that squad, and following in Noel's footsteps appealed to him.
"Whatever happened to David personally, he was still able to get the best out of his teammates ... there was never a day when we didn't look at him as 'David Noel, Leader of this Team.' " Ginyard said.
Sounds good to me.