UNC Midseason Men's Basketball Report Card

Student: UNC Men’s Basketball

Subject
Frontcourt, A-

Comments
UNC’s frontcourt has quickly become the team’s strongest point. Tyler Zeller is ninth in the ACC in scoring and tied for eighth in rebounding. John Henson entered the season about 30 pounds heavier and has developed his post game nicely. Reserve forward Justin Knox has filled out the frontcourt well.

Subject
Backcourt, B

Comments
Larry Drew II has improved since last season despite playing only 24 minutes a game, thanks to the emergence of freshman Kendall Marshall. Sophomore offguard Dexter Strickland has shown to be a force on fast breaks and defensively.

Subject
Bench, B

Comments
If nothing else, Roy Williams has plenty of options off the bench. Leslie McDonald has improved dramatically as an outside shooter since his freshman season. Knox has solidified the frontcourt, chipping in 6.2 points and 4.4 rebounds per game.

Subject
Freshmen, B-

Comments
Harrison Barnes has not been bad this season – his 11.7 points per game rank second on the Tar Heels – but fans and pundits, perhaps unreasonably, expected more from Barnes than the 38 percent he has shot from the field thus far. Reggie Bullock has looked lost on the floor for large chunks of the first half of the season.

Subject
Offense, B-

Comments
Of the 12 teams in the ACC, UNC boasts the third-highest scoring offense. But this year, the Tar Heels have struggled to score at times and thrived at others. In its conference opener against Virginia, the Tar Heels went nearly nine minutes without a score.

Subject
Defense, A-

Comments
Between Henson’s 2.7 blocks per game and Strickland’s suffocating perimeter defense, UNC is holding its opponents to a 40 percent clip from the field. Should that continue, their opponts’ 30.6 percent 3-point accuracy would be the lowest in UNC history.