The UNC Tar Heels are a pre-season unanimous #1 in men’s college basketball. But there’s a lot of work ahead.
Here, you’ll see the clear weakness of the Heels: defense:
Bob McClellan
There’s no question North Carolina is an excellent offensive team. But like so many teams that like to score, they don’t particularly like to defend. If they can’t play at least passable defense, particularly against perimeter players, they won’t be cutting down the nets in April. Not to mention what happens if they can’t get healthy.
Greg Anthony
Good news for the Heels is that there aren’t many teams in America who can match up physically with them, so I have a feeling they’ll be a lock to win the ACC and get to the Final Four. A lot of people have talked about their defense. That is a concern, but it revolves around their ability to control penetration. This is critical because they do not defend the rim well. As a team, they averaged only 4.5 blocks per game.
Mike Huguenin
Coach Roy Williams likes his teams to play at a fast pace, and offense seemingly is a much bigger priority than defense. Will the Heels be able to get key stops at key points in close games in March? Finally, there’s Williams himself. For all the talent he has coached, he has one national title, and his teams don’t always play to their potential in March. Play word association with a basketball fan, and throw out the name “Roy Williams.” I’d bet one of the first answers is “cries a lot in March.”