UNC basketball opens year against Lipscomb

Almost as important as what North Carolina basketball coach Roy Williams said in his final media session before the season’s first game is what he did not say.

He didn’t warn that his team will not be as good as its preseason ranking, like he did last year.

“Last year I thought the rankings were mind-boggling,” Williams said. “Right now, we’re standing here, we’ve lost six of our top 10 from last year.

“This team has a chance to do some good things, but we still have to do it out there on the court.”

Nor did he say that freshman Harrison Barnes is undeserving of his never-before-seen first-team preseason All-America ranking. Even though Barnes’ seven point, four foul, six turnover clunker in a scrimmage against Barton College would give Williams all the ammunition he would need, if that were his opinion.

But he hasn’t said that.

“I think (the preseason scrimmage) bothered him,” Williams said. “I asked him if he was a little nervous, because he appeared that way to me, or was it just a bad night. I think his reaction was more that it was a bad night. He’s worked hard in practice, had one of his best practices yesterday, and I think he’ll play well.”

Barnes will be in the starting lineup again Friday, as Williams said it was “more than likely” that the same starting five that took the court against Barton will start against Lipscomb.

He’ll also be an important part of a team that will look very different from the team that finished 20-17 last year. The main difference is the explosive scoring potential that this year’s team figures to have.

“We can be extremely good offensively,” starting point guard Larry Drew II said.

“Especially with the additions of Harrison, Kendall (Marshall) and Reggie (Bullock). Someone like Reggie can knock down the outside shot, and Harrison can score basically whenever he wants to.

“Kendall can get guys the ball in the right spots at the right times. I think we can score whenever we want.”

The team will need to come together early, as Lipscomb returns all six of the players that started at least 17 games for the Bisons in tying for the Atlantic Sun regular-season title.

That serves as the prelude for a trip to Puerto Rico that could give the young Tar Heels their first true test.

“I’m anxious, there’s no question about that,” Williams said.

“I hope we can put that behind us by playing really well. We’ve got a difficult opener. They are really good. They won their league last year, have all five starters coming back.”

Nevertheless, a comfortable win against Lipscomb should give the players a jump start on building up confidence to last the rest of the season.

“This is one of those games where our team better be ready,” Williams said. “We’ll know a heck of a lot more about our team tomorrow night at the end of the game.”

Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu.