Recovering From the Blues: The Road Ahead

As upsetting as it is to lose in the NCAA tournament the week could get worse, much worse. The heels according to many draft boards have 4 lottery picks and at least two in the top ten, with the potential that 4 could be in that top ten. This not including the likes of Kendall Marshall who is projected by many to be a top 20 pick. James Michael McAdoo although not being a starter is expected to be drafted 7th by Chad Ford of ESPN. Roy Williams like always has done an incredible job recruiting players for next years team, but his toughest recruiting job is still to come in the next week. Roy has the task of trying to convince four of these five guys to stay (Zeller is out of eligibility) for another year.

Roy has done this before like last year and before that 2008. In 2008 the team went to the final four and lost to a Kansas team that later won the NCAA championship. That team had Tyler Hansbrough, Ty Lawson, and Wayne Ellington. All major prospects at the time and we saw all of them return and complete the job. Last season this team made it to the Elite Eight and was defeated by Kentucky. Barnes, Zeller, and Henson were all projected as high draft picks in a weak draft class. Roy convinced them to stay and he can do it again, replacing Zeller with Marshall. After seeing all of these guys come back last year it makes you think that maybe they have unfinished business, still. Also the way the team acted yesterday in the locker room shows how invested these guys are in North Carolina. Barnes sat with a towel over his head for fifteen to twenty minutes with nothing to say to the media, while other players like Henson, Zeller, and Marshall are all visibly upset (63-69 are especially heart wrenching, 66 for Marshall). So the fate of the program according to the NCAA will be defined by the tenth of April when players must have declared for the draft. The season outlook for next year looks good and potentially great barring the decisions of these guys. Along with the recruiting class you are going to get back a healthy Lesile Mcdonald and Dexter Strickland. Both of these players will be true seniors bring leadership to potentially the point guard and shooting guard/small forward position. Also coming in is Marcus Paige of Iowa who many believe is the number one point guard prospect, Brice Johnson a similar style of play to Henson in his length on the defensive end, J.P. Tokoto who is thought by many to be the best dunker in the entire class, and Joel James a wide center from Florida.

What could be is a team filled with depth that even with the definite loss of Zeller, a second team All-American, could compete with anyone. What I think happens: optimistic view is that everyone stays, after seeing the way Barnes reacted post game it reminded me of Hansbrough from 2008 after his loss to Kansas but Barnes is most likely gone he isn’t of the same build as Hansbrough mentally, who wanted nothing more than to win here, with the students and that team. Marshall should stay and I truly feel he will. He is not quick enough to guard many point guards in the NBA, this next season will give him the opportunity to prove he can score and defend as he had begun doing before the injury. McAdoo should stay and has a good support system that should be able to parlay that information to him. He is not comfortable enough with the college game yet, he is still stuck in high school and jumping from that to the NBA is illogical. When I watched him play last year he put up 35 against Hargrave Academy which had 6 D1 player, and he made it look easy, his potential is there. Henson might be the toughest of all of these guys to figure out. John Henson just looks like the kind of kid that loves every minute of college, but his pro potential is threw the roof. For the sake of expecting the worst I think Henson will leave as well, although deep in my heart I see him staying. This also doesn’t include the Heels losing Stillman White to a mormon mission for two years (dude had 13 assists and no turnovers give him credit as at least a back up guys).

Potential lineup for next year:

PG Kendall Marshall

SG Lesile Mcdonald

SF Reggie Bullock

PF Brice Johnson

C James Michael McAdoo

First four off bench:

1. Dexter Strickland

2.Marcus Paige

3. P.J. Hairston

4. Joel James

That is still a lineup to reckon with and with Barnes draft stock falling after every second of tape scouts watch from the last 2-3 games he could be back, as well as Henson. Prepare for the worst, pray for the best.