Are You Hungy?

For more Tar Heel pre-season? It's hard to believe that Late Night with Roy Williams is on Friday, the 16th. I know I am eagerly waiting for it and I know the players have been working on their new skits for the evening of festivities via their Twitter pages. But we have more pre-season previews. One from Tar Heel Blue and the other from the FayObserver.

The one from Tar Heel Blue is quite lengthy, so I would encourage you to read it for yourself. It talks about the returning upper-classman and some of what Roy expects them to do. He did say that Marcus Ginyard would be starting at shooting guard, but would be expected to play up to four different positions. There is also a little preview about the freshman, with John Henson sticking out in my mind because Williams said he would probably be at the 3 spot and would be expected to block a lot of shots. Williams also said that this team could be one of the best shotblocking teams he has ever had. Scary!

The other piece from the Observer is all about Drew. Larry Drew knows he is under a bit of pressure, but understands his role and knows he doesn't have to be the man, but just play in the system and pick his spots. I have full faith in him, as does Roy Williams or he would have probably pushed more for a point guard in the offseason.

The article from the Observer did bring up a great point that I know I have found myself wrapped up in and maybe you have too. I often compare this upcoming team to the 05-06 team, but we expect this year's team to make a run to the Final Four. Lots of expectations for this team, but the 05-06 team didn't have any expectations. I remember Bracketology on ESPN had that team as a 9 seed in the tournament. UNC was picked 6th in the ACC. I'm not saying they can't make a substantial run towards the Final Four, but as Drew proved this past year and many others, on a team that relies on freshman, there will be some ups and downs all season. The 05-06 team might have been fun to watch, but the time they played Duke at UNC was one of those inexperienced games for the freshmen. That team ended up losing 8 games and the year after was torturous as a fan because, again, a team relied on so many young players, that the season had ups and downs and we ended up choking in the Elite 8, plus had enough close loses to last me for quite awhile. So be forewarned, it could be a bit of a struggle this year for this team. I am in no way saying it will be, but it could be. But my predictions are at least an Elite 8 appearance and #1 in the ACC. Go Heels!