The entire backcourt is back with some added depth. Styles and Black were both listed as forwards for Late Night, but they are more of wing players so for that reason I have them as part of the backcourt preview. RJ Davis and Caleb Love kind of got baptism by fire during their freshmen seasons. There were some glimmers of hope, but a lot of it was a struggle for both players. Love could never really find his shot, and Davis forced stuff up when he was able to get into the lane. Hubert Davis’ new offense should greatly benefit our point guards who both finally got a normal offseason to train and practice. Moving a big out to the perimeter will open up driving lanes. Walton could have an even bigger year because of lots of kick-outs that could result from drives. Styles looks like he can contribute immediately, but Dunn is no slouch either. Both attack the rim with no fear. Harris and Black add experience. If Johnson can get healthy and stay healthy then he is another potential shooter out on the wing. There is no lack of depth or experience with this group. If Davis and Love both make the Sophomore jump then that combo could be special. Let’s kick the preview off with Ant Harris.
Anthony Harris 6-4 Redshirt Sophomore
LAST SEASON STATS: mins: 10.9, PTs: 3.2, FG: .442, 3 pt: .250, FT: .529, AST: 1.3, TOs: .68
CAREER STATS: mins: 11.2, PTs: 4, FG: .447, 3 pt: .304, FT: .640, AST: 1.1, TOs: .62
Harris has yet to play a full season as a Tar Heel, as he has only played in 21 games. He sat out the first 8 games his freshman year after recovering from an ACL tear in high school, only to play 5 games and tear it again. He missed the first 12 games of last year's season recovering from the ACL tear then went on to play in 16 games. Harris has yet to have a healthy off season, spending his only two summers in Chapel Hill recovering from ACL tears. Now that he is healthy and can spend the off season concentrating on improving his game, rather than recovery, I am excited to see what the future holds. He has scored in double figures twice, 14 against UCLA in his first season and 10 against NC State last year. He had the second highest assists per 40 minutes last year with 4.6 behind Caleb Love. Love did receive more playing time and did turn the ball over more. Harris is a good role player, who prides himself on defense and doing the little things right. While he won’t win us a game, he definitely isn’t going to loss us a game with stupid mistakes either. He reminds me of a Nate Britt kind of player.
LATE NIGHT STATS: 2-6 FG, 5 points, 0-1 from 3, 1-2 FT, 1 Assist, 1 steal
Leaky Black 6-8 Senior
LAST SEASON STATS: mins: 27.5, PTs: 5.6, FG: .367, 3 pt: .222, FT: .692, AST: 2.4, TOs: 1.28
CAREER STATS: mins: 23.5, PTs 5, FG: .372, 3 pt: .259, FT: .700, AST: 2.1, TOs: 1.27
I honestly don't quite know how to feel about Leaky Black even coming into his 4th season in Chapel Hill. Each year it seems like we are waiting for him to make some big jump and it never happens. Is this the year? I've always kind of looked at Black as a poor man’s Theo Pinson. Pinson did have a bigger personality which allowed him to have a bigger presence on the court. Leaky has shown the ability to hit the three and make some shifty moves to the basket in the past. Personally I would like to see him play more in the lane, slashing and cutting, rather than shooting. He is listed as both a guard and a forward. He probably mostly plays the 3 and maybe a 4 with a small line up. At 6-8 he is a bigger guard and could use that to take smaller guards down low. If a forward is forced to guard him, Leaky should be the quicker of two and drive the basket. He is experienced and last year in late close game situations he was normally in the game. His free throw shooting percentage is 70% for his career which really isnt bad considering our free throw shooting adventures over the past couple of years. I see him as more of the experienced role player. Does Not necessarily score a whole bunch but makes sure the young guys know what is going on. So what to expect from Leaky Black this year? Your guess is as good as mine.
LATE NIGHT STATS: 1-6 FG, 3 points, 5 rebounds, 0-4 from 3, 1-1 FT, 1 Assist, 1 Steal, 2 TO
Caleb Love 6-4 Sophomore
LAST SEASON STATS: mins: 27.6, PTs: 10.5, FG: .316, 3 pt: .266, FT: .808, AST: 3.6, TOs: 3.14
Named to Bob Cousy Award watch list and 2nd Team preseason ALL ACC
Caleb Love was asked to do almost the impossible last year. Be a freshman point guard for Roy Williams. This is a difficult task for even an experienced player but can be down right disheartening for a freshman and it showed for Love. He was highly touted coming out of high school and was only expected to stay 1 year and you could tell that he thought this and was clearly frustrated that things didn't go quite as planned. The learning curve was a steep one and he excelled in games where the offensive game plan was more simple. He is a better shooter than his numbers showed and hopefully his performance at late night is indicative of this season. He feels like he has been written off and has a chip on his shoulder per say. Potentially a good thing if he doesn't try to force things. Teams generally go as the point guard goes and if Love can cut down on his turnovers our offense will be much more efficient. That combined with Hubie’s new spread out system, I see Love being able to get to the basket much more and have many more open shots that he knocks down more frequently than last year. He will have a much more successful sophomore campaign, but the job of a point guard is to distribute the basketball. Can he do this well? Does he make his teammates better?
LATE NIGHT STATS: 6-10 FG, 18 points, 1 rebound, 2-2 from 3, 4-4 FT, 1 Assist
Dontrez Styles 6-6 Freshman
HIGH SCHOOL: averaged 30.3 pts and 10.3 rebounds over final 3 games
JUNIOR YEAR: 19.7 pts and 11 rebounds
Started all 4 seasons, 2 time eastern conference player of the year, 4 year all conference
Selection, two time all state (1st team in 2021), all tournament at 2019-20 john wall holiday invitational
Styles is a product of Kinston High School, home of former Tar Heel Reggie Bullock. He grew up a life long Tar Heel fan and playing at Carolina has always been his dream. Now that it has come true he is determined to replicate the success of those before him, especially Reggie Bullock. He is listed as both a guard and a forward. He can play and defend almost every position and most of all he is going to play hard. This will definitely increase his chances of seeing the floor more. I think he will start out playing the 3 but could play a small forward if need be in Hubie’s new system. I don't think he will be asked to do too much, considering our depth in the back court, the pressure doesn't fall on him to produce large offensive numbers. If he can provide the Heels with some significant minutes and if he lets the game come to him could have a quietly productive freshman campaign.
LATE NIGHT STATS: 3-6 FG, 6 points, 4 rebounds, 0-2 from 3, 3 Assists
RJ Davis 6 ft Sophomore
Freshman year: Mins: 22.3, PTs: 8.4, FG: .350, 3 pt: .323, FT: .821, AST: 1.9, TOs: 1.86
RJ Davis got thrown into the fire last year as a freshman. Most of his first season in Chapel Hill was a struggle, but he showed us some flashes of greatness. His outside shot was inconsistent and he forced up shots in the lane. Now some of that was due to not having a lot of space to operate and some of that was his size. Davis’ new system should benefit RJ greatly and so should a normal off season. RJ Davis had a good showing at late night. That is a welcoming sign for Tar Heel fans. Him and Love having good showings is a sign that that sophomore jump may be a thing this year. He took a lot of 3’s and had a 2:1 assist to turnover ratio. The shooting percentage isn’t great, but it is good that he has the confidence to look for his shot. I would expect Davis to continue his backup point guard duties from last year, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see him and Love play together a little bit. Having 2 point guards that can efficiently (key word there) score in double digits will be a massive improvement from last season. The biggest sign of improvement early in the season will be turnovers. A point guard’s #1 job is to facilitate the offense and to not give away the basketball. With a more open lane, Davis should be able to drive more. He shouldn’t have to force up as many shots with fewer bodies in the lane and with a normal off season under his belt, he should be stronger. Davis was a steady free throw shooter last season and I wouldn’t expect his minutes to dip from last year. Expect a smarter and more mature RJ Davis this season.
LATE NIGHT STATS: 5-12 FG, 14 points, 1 rebound, 3-8 from 3, 1-1 FT, 4 Assists, 1 steal, 2 TOs
D’Marco Dunn 6-4 Freshman
TWO SEASONS AT WESTOVER: 21.3 pts, 7.7 rebounds
SENIOR SEASON STATS: 23.4 pts, 8.6 rebounds, 2.6 asts, 2.7 steals, 53.3 FG%, 35.4% from 3
All state selection in 2020, along with PAC9 conference, Cumberland county and District Player of the Year
Welcome to college basketball D’Marco Dunn. His performance at late night wasn’t good. He struggled as he missed all his shots from the field and committed 3 TOs. No need to panic though. Dunn had a great high school career at Westover (what’s up Fayette-nam) and is insanely athletic. Dunn goes hard to the basket and isn’t afraid to attack the rim. He dunked over Tyler Hansbrough during a summer pick up game. Size wise he doesn’t really look like a freshman. He is long and lengthy and that length gives him the ability to rise up over defenders. At 6’4” he also has the size advantage over some defenders when it comes to using his body in the lane. Dunn is a shooting guard but his size/length almost makes him look more like a guy that would play the 3 spot which isn’t out of the question for him this year. That size/length should also give him an advantage on the defensive end. He can also crash the boards. I see Dunn as a player that may get worked in slowly or he may be higher up in the rotation to start the year depending on Puff Johnson’s availability. It may be a steep learning curve for Dunn, but I suspect he will continuously improve throughout the season.
LATE NIGHT STATS: 0-3 FG, 0-1 from 3, 1 rebound, 1 steal, 3 TOs
Puff Johnson 6-8 Sophomore
LAST SEASON STATS: Mins: 4.1, PTs: 1.1, FG: .429, 3 pt: .111, FT: 100 (only shot 2), AST: 0.1, TOs: .14
Puff Johnson sat out the remaining 15 games of his freshman season with a sprained toe and is still working back from injury. He didn’t participate in the late night scrimmage. Johnson has the opportunity to repeat his brother’s success at Carolina, but he first needs to get healthy. Johnson’s height gives him the ability to rise up over defenders and he came to Carolina with the reputation of being a shooter. He struggled with his shot in limited action last year. His defensive struggles kept him from seeing the floor more. It’s really hard to gauge where Johnson is at due to his limited action last year and limited action through the off season. I don’t expect the coaching staff to rush him back, so who knows if we will even see him to start the season, but he will definitely be a rotational player when he is back at 100%. He will most likely be at the 3 spot, and maybe at the 2 spot with a big lineup. He is another potential threat behind the line if he can gain some confidence in his shot.
DIDN’T PARTICIPATE IN LATE NIGHT SCRIMMAGE
Kerwin Walton 6-5 Sophomore
LAST SEASON STATS: Mins: 21, PTs: 8.2, FG: .444, 3 pt: .420, FT: .840, AST: 1.8, TOs: 1.17
Set UNC freshman record for the highest 3 pt % with at least 50 made 3s
Kerwin Walton ended up being the best player from the freshmen class last season. Walton turned into a starter and turned heads. His 3 PT percentage wasn’t too shabby, and we saw him develop as a player as the season went on. Teams started keying in on his shot, and we saw him be able to create a little off the dribble and use fakes to shake defenders. Walton struggled in the first half of games at times because of this, but the adjustments he made were upperclassmen-like. Let’s not forget that we may not get Dawson Garcia if it wasn’t for Walton. The two played basketball together in high school, and Walton was instrumental in getting Garcia to Chapel Hill. That is one of those things that doesn’t go in the stat book, but that relationship will be big for us this season. It should be fun to watch that connection. Walton struggled a little bit on defense last year. Expect that to change with Davis’ emphasis on defense. Walton had a solid showing at late night despite going 1-4 from 3. He had 9 points, so the majority of his points came from inside the line. It shows that Walton is expanding his game. Walton has solidly cemented himself into the starting lineup and unless something crazy happens, he will be the starting shooting guard. Walton was also steady from the free throw line last year as well. Walton averaged 8.2 points last year, but I expect him to average in double digits this season. Walton will once again be a key player in our offense. He could draw defenders which will leave other shooters open. Hopefully this year, those shots go in.
LATE NIGHT STATS: 4-8 FG, 9 points, 3 rebounds, 1-4 from 3, 3 Assists, 1 steal
Creighton Lebo 6-1 Sophomore
LAST SEASON STATSr: Mins: 1.6, PTs: 0.9, FG: .750, 3 pt: 0% (only attempted 1), FT: 0% (didnt shoot any), AST: 0, TOs: .14, only appeared in 7 games
Creighton Lebo now has his dad as a coach as he enters his second year with Carolina. Lebo was an end of the bench player last year and I expect a similar situation this year with the perceived depth that we have. In my opinion, Lebo has the base/skills to be a contributor, but his size holds him back. Lebo needs to get bigger/stronger and maybe that happened given a normal offseason in Chapel Hill. Still he is probably a garbage minutes guy or maybe he gets thrown in when Davis is mad with the majority of his rotation. These end of the bench guys still make invaluable contributions in practice though. Maybe at some point Lebo can get us (not me because I'm in Delaware) some free biscuits.
Both Black and Styles are listed as a guard and forward
Scrimmage observations
Now we all watched the same 4 minute highlight reel that goHeels put out from the scrimmage at Florida. Obviously they are only going to show good plays but what I got out of it is this:
Bacot is a beast and is primed to have an explosive junior season. Florida could not stop him on the offensive boards.
Our offensive rebounding doesn’t seem to have fallen off despite the new offensive system.
Manek is most likely going to start alongside Bacot in the front court. He can shoot and has some sneaky good moves in the lane. Don’t overlook his hustle play on an offensive rebound that resulted in a Bacot basketball.
RJ Davis looked a lot more aggressive getting to the basketball.
The lane is more open and there was a lot more slashing to the rim.
Love’s shot looks good and yes I know this is only based on the good shots that the reel showed.
A lot better ball movement than last year.
Biggest takeaway is that this team has a lot more energy than last year’s team.
Garcia didn’t play for whatever reason but it is presumed to be a health issue.
If this team really did beat Florida (who is a tournament team every year) by double digits then that is a good sign at this point.
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