2005 North Carolina Tar Heels Basketball Preview

2005 North Carolina Tar Heels Team Preview

Watch out for the 2004-05 NCAA National Championship Tar Heels—they’re going to be unpredictable. Why? They’ve recruited some of the most talented first year players in the country. Two of the team’s four freshman will be starting!

The two starters, guard Bobby Frasor and swingman Tyler Hansbrough, are both McDonald’s All-Americans and were fine shooters in high school. Freshman swingman Danny Green, also a McDonald’s All-American, is another player with a sweet shot, while frosh guard Marcus Ginyard is considered by many to be the best defensive player of the 2005 class. That’s the good news. The bad news is who they’re replacing.

The Tar Heels are missing the experience of seven former players, including swingman Rashad McCants (16.0 PPG), forward/center Sean May (17.5 PPG, 10.7 RPG), guard Raymond Felton (12.9 PPG, 6.9 APG), forward Jawad Williams (13.1 PPG), and forward Marvin Williams (11.3 PPG, 6.6 RPG). That’s a list of the team’s top seven scorers from last year’s Championship team.

North Carolina has talent, but they don’t have experience. They are lean in two primary areas—the paint and the point—where they dominated last season. Seasoned coach Roy Williams (52-12 in two years at NC and 470-116 overall in 17 years) knows how to win and realizes that this year’s victories will be a whole lot tougher than last season’s. Williams has recruited a first-year class that exudes versatility and this should serve the Tar Heels well. But how well?

Athletic forward David Noel, the only starting senior on North Carolina, will be a solid leader on the court while role player Reyshawn Terry will probably get the nod as the other starting forward. Last year at point guard Quentin Thomas had more turnovers than assists. The second-year man is due to start this year and will need to bear down and prove that he can competently play that position.

It really is up to the first year guys to round out and pull up this team. This team will be leathal in 2006 but can the Tar Heels make it back to the Championship this season? No. But can they make a run in March? That question will have to be answered one game at a time.

For more info on the 2005 Tar Heels check out the official North Carolina athletic site.