What If: Upperclassman returning

I have been wanting to do this “what if” post for awhile, but just haven’t found or made the time, but now here we go. I remember instantly after North Carolina won the 05 title, I was thinking repeat with all those players coming back and then the incoming freshman class – it was almost guaranteed. But then I remember reading the recap of the championship game on ESPN and there was a link that said “McCants declares for draft.” My world shattered a little bit there, but there was hope because Sean May had said he was coming back and he wanted to repeat, but then he saw his stock go up. But there was Raymond Felton still, who had wanted to leave for awhile, and then he was gone, and then Marvin Williams, but his mom had some medical problems and he was gone. So we were left with a bare cupboard, but it turns out it was ok, but my question is this: what if one or more of the upperclassman had stayed?




It would have been my dream to watch some of these players crush the competition with Tyler Hansbrough and I often imagine that they somehow did, but it will still never become a reality and that’s ok too.

First, we have to think that if one or some of these players stayed, Hansbrough might not have become the force he became. To me, that is reason enough for these players to have left really because Tyler Hansbrough is the model now for being amazing. Those records probably wouldn’t be broken and JJ Redick would still have his ugly mug atop the ACC scoring record and that just wouldn’t be cool with me. Plus, we have won another national title, so that’s perfectly fine with me. I could gladly win a championship every 5 years.

Secondly, if someone had stayed, would it have really mattered? We probably would have been first or second in the ACC, maybe played for the ACC championship and then gotten into at least the Sweet 16, if not farther. What does that matter in the long run? It would be another banner or two, but if it meant that Hansbrough’s numbers have to suffer, then I wouldn’t want it. Plus if you think about team chemistry, I can’t see Rashad McCants getting along with Hansbrough too much. David Noel was the leader of this team and I just can’t see it any other way.

But hypothetically, if someone would have stayed, who would you have wanted? We could have had the potent scorer in McCants; the maestro in Felton; the big man down low with May; or the 6th man, turned superstar with Williams. Oh the possibilities!

If I could have had my pick at the time, I would have wanted Felton because I enjoyed watching him as a point guard, but in all honesty, we needed a big man. The three man rotation that UNC after that year was ok, but it would have been nice to have either May or Williams down low too. Noel, Byron Sanders, and Hansbrough probably doesn’t scare a lot of frontcourts. Ok, Hansbrough probably does, but throw in May or Williams and BOOM! I thought May would have been the most likely to stay and to see him and Hansbrough bump heads in the paint would have gotten old after awhile. Williams would have been interesting to see because we would become the Ed Davis we expect and hope to see. The potential for Marvin during his sophomore year would have been amazing.

So there you have if. Your “what if” scenario that will never happen, but it could have and it would have been ridiculously awesome. But the story still has a happy ending – hoisting another trophy.

Top 5 Most Important Players Continued

1. Marcus Ginyard. I know; put on your surprised face. Marcus Ginyard, to me, is the most important player for the upcoming year because of the fact that he has been in the most big games, has the most starts, and has been the vocal leader for the Tar Heels since his sophomore year. I've said it before, but he needs to be that David Noel player. If Marcus Ginyard can be that type of player, this team will be very successful. He does not need to produce the same stats as Noel (If he can, I'll take it though), but he needs to lead and from what I've read, he's going to fulfill that role and already has that mindset.

Think back to that 05-06 team and realize that they had Q. Thomas, Byron Sanders, Reshawn Terry, Wes Miller, and David Noel returning, plus the freshman class. This upcoming year's team will have Ed Davis, Tyler Zeller, Deon Thompson, Will Graves, Larry Drew II, and Marcus Ginyard and then you add all this year's freshman. Yeah, scary good. The 05-06 team was picked to finish 6th in the ACC. This year's team will probably be picked to win the ACC or at least be second. This could still be a great year for the Heels and I am ever so looking forward to it.

Here's a piece on Marcus Ginyard and this article talks about how he can take on the Noel role and it's very similar to the post I had a week or two ago, but still worth checking out.

We have a David Noel Sighting...

Ok, it's still just Marcus Ginyard, but here's a great piece about Ginyard and his upcoming senior year.

In the article, Marcus talks about his improved jump shot and his confidence being high. He also says he is taking the ball to the basket a lot more.

He also touches on leadership and mentions David Noel. He says he would like to emulate him and take his team farther than Noel was able to lead his Heels.

I don't know about how, but that article made me feel really good and I'm so ready for college basketball season to start up.

Comparing 05 to 09

I have finally done my comparing of the last two title teams. This would be an awesome game. I could throw out a whole bunch of numbers and stuff, but I’m not that motivated right now. So here’s what I’m going to do; I’m going to break down the starters and the bench as a whole and say who has the edge based on my opinion.

Center: Sean May vs. Tyler Hansbrough
Sean May really hit his stride his junior year about half-way through. Tyler Hansbrough hit his stride all the time. May had really good hands and was a good shot-blocker as well. He also had a number of low-post moves in which to fall back on. Those are about the only things he has on Tyler Hansbrough. Hansbrough didn’t have a ton of post moves, but he was ok at putting the ball in the basketball. Also, the ability to draw fouls, make free throws, take charges, and steal the ball all play into his favor. Then throw in the hustle, determination, and the extended range, it’s not much of a contest. May was good, but Hansbrough is much better.
Edge: Hansbrough

Power Forward: Jawad Williams vs. Deon Thompson
Jawad was an undersized power forward, but he played big in my eyes. A few things that were nice about Williams, was the fact that he could shoot the three and open up the post, which Deon cannot do. Deon defends well with his blocks, but he can be such a head case and be streaky. If it was Deon of the first few games of the regular season, Deon would win, but Williams had that senior leadership quality, experience, and know-how.
Edge: Williams

Small Forward: Jackie Manuel vs. Danny Green
We really have opposites in this area. A defensive-minded stopper against an offensive-minded shooter. Manuel was an excellent defender, but defenses could lay off of him because he couldn’t shoot a lick. Green was the stat-stuffer, filling up the box score on a regular basis. He could shoot, pass, rebound, and block. His on ball defense was suspect, but you always had to be aware of him coming on the help-side defense.
Edge: Green

Shooting Guard: Rashad McCants vs. Wayne Ellington
At the beginning of the year, this would have been no contest to McCants. He has the ability to shoot from anywhere. But he could also drive hard, finish hard, and dunk hard. Ellington is a much better all-around player now. His rebounds were up; assists were good; defense was much-improved. I would have liked to see him take it to the hole more and get fouled because he was a good free throw shooter. Because of that, I think McCants was better. McCants was also a decent shot-blocker as well, which Wayne is not.
Edge: McCants – slightly

Point Guard: Raymond Felton vs. Ty Lawson
This would be a great point guard match-up. One for the ages. Felton was the leader of the 05 team. His three pointer against Illinois when the game was tied at 65 was cold blooded. He also had great court vision, and if he had stayed, would probably be close to Ed Cota’s record for assists. Both of these players underwent severe criticism over their play and both handled it very well. Lawson down the stretch was similar to May’s run in 05. No one could stop him. I believe the only things that could stop Lawson this past year was Lawson, Roy Williams, and Lawson’s toe. Lawson 3% and FG% were amazing and though his assist numbers are not as good as Felton’s, he was the man. This match up would be close and Felton never really got to be the man like Lawson did, so he could have been better, but I’m going with Lawson, barely
Edge: Lawson - slightly

Bench
Marvin Williams, David Noel, Quentin Thomas, Melvin Scott, Reyshawn Terry, Wes Miller, and Byron Sanders vs. Ed Davis, Bobby Frasor, Larry Drew II, Tyler Zeller, Will Graves, and Justin Watts. This is close and it’s a little unfair without Marcus Ginyard in there somewhere, but I will give the edge to the 05 bench. Only slightly. Marvin Williams and Ed Davis have been compared, but Williams was more polished on the offensive end, whereas Davis is a much better defender. Drew and Thomas would be even. Noel would have an edge of Frasor in my mind because he was bigger and could go hard to the hole. Frasor’s defense would be key though. Zeller is better than Byron Sanders ever was. Melvin Scott was just a shooter and not much else and I think Will Graves is better than Terry, but Wes Miller was such a little fireball. The 05 team was deeper, hands down, and more experienced, so they get the slight edge. But if Ginyard played this past year and either he or Green came off the bench, I would tip it to the 09 bench.


So there you have it. I would say that the 09 team would beat the 05 team, but it would be a good game. I think the combination of Hansbrough and Lawson would be too much, but it would be intereting to see Manuel crack down on Lawson or Ellington, which could be the key to an 05 victory. I think the 09 team was better defensively and the 05 team was better offensively, just because almost everyone was a threat. Truth of the matter is that this game could happen since a lot of Tar Heels come back for pick-up games in the summer.