UNC senior Luke Maye and freshman Nassir Little were two highest-ranked players on SBNation’s “2018 College Basketball Top 100 Players,” with the pair being recognized as the No. 7 and No. 5 overall players in the nation, respectively.

Maye — a former walk-on who hails from Huntersville, North Carolina — was also named Preseason ACC Player of the Year by media members at ACC Media Day last week. The senior emerged as a star for the Tar Heels last season, averaging 16.9 points and 10.1 rebounds per game. Maye was also named Preseason ACC Player of the Year by Sports Illustrated and was named a Preseason First-Team All-American by USA Today as well.

Meanwhile, Little arrived in Chapel Hill as one of Roy Williams’ highest-rated recruits and finished as the No. 3 overall player in the 2018 class per 247 Sports. Little was also the first high school player since LeBron James to win the MVP at both the McDonald’s All-American Game and the Jordan Brand Classic.

Here is what SBNation had to say about the two Tar Heels stars:

“A preseason First Team AP All-American and the preseason ACC Player of the Year, Maye is coming off a monster junior year in which he averaged 16.9 points and 10.1 rebounds per game. Those numbers came just two years after Maye was a freshman walk-on averaging a little over five minutes of court time per game.”

“Luke Maye is the North Carolina player cleaning up all the preseason awards, but Little is the top talent on Roy Williams’ roster and a likely top five pick in next summer’s NBA draft. Come March, he’ll be the Tar Heels’ best overall player.”

Senior Cameron Johnson was mentioned as an honorable mention on the list as well.

In addition, SBNation ranked North Carolina as its fourth overall team in college basketball heading into the 2018-19 season, highlighting the return of Maye to the starting lineup while adding young talent like Little and fellow five-star freshman Coby White. Four of UNC’s non-conference games (Kentucky, Michigan, Davidson and Wofford) were also included in SBNation’s list of 50 best non-conference games during the season.

Featured image via Todd Melet/WCHL Chapelboro

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