Top 5 Most Important Players Continued

So here are the rest of the top 5:

3. Deon Thompson is who I think is the third most important player for this upcoming season. In the first 12 games of this past season, Deon averaged 14.6 points per game. Now some games were with Tyler Hansbrough and some where not, but that's still a good amount for him to put up. In all 12 games, he scored in double figures, whereas in the last half of the season, he only averaged 8.8 points per game and only scored in double figures in 10 out of the last 26 games. Now a few things to consider here. 1. Deon Thompson was the fifth option on the floor as a starter. 2. Thompson also had the last 2 ACC players of the year on his team. 3. Deon is Deon and sometimes gets down on himself. This year, Deon needs to be the man for this team. I'm not sure if he would be the leading scorer or not on this team, but he needs to be up there because he has two years of starting experience and we all know what he is capable of this. Those first 12 games of last season were awesome to watch; Thompson was abusing people (Remember that dunk he had on Harongody in Maui?). Simple put, Deon Thompson needs to do the things he has shown he can do all season. He cannot be up and down; it is his turn to shine. I strongly believe that Deon can average 15 and 8 for this team, but he has to show it.

2. Larry Drew II is not Raymond Felton or Ty Lawson and right now, he doesn't need to be. He needs to be Larry Drew II. If he can play in his role and not force the issue, but play Roy Williams style and be the floor leader, not necessarily, the team leader, UNC will be successful. What I like about Drew is that he is a pass first guy and I always appreciate that as a fan. Ed Cota was one of my favorite players because he was a pass first (and often pass second) point guard. Now Lawson and Felton are more scorers, but they have had plenty of assists as well. Drew did not shoot well this past year, but from what Roy Williams has said, Drew has improved. But again, he does not have to be a scorer for this team to be successful. If he can limit turnovers and run the offense, he will be fine for us this year. I would also like to see Drew on the defensive end this year because from what I have heard, he's a good defender, but it's hard to see that in 2-3 minute spurts like he received this past year. That won't be an issue this year.

I'll reveal #1 later. It probably won't be a huge shocker, but you still keep reading, right?