Standing in front of his team during its first practice of the new season, UNC head men’s basketball coach Roy Williams told them, “We were this close last year.”

Wearing a microphone for a behind-the-scenes look at the Tar Heels’ first practice, Williams wanted to hammer the message home–even though surely nobody could have forgotten.

They were just one devastating Kris Jenkins three-point buzzer-beater from getting a shot in overtime against Villanova in the NCAA Championship.

However, Williams made another thing clear to this year’s crop of Tar Heels in the video released by the school’s athletic department.

“We’re good enough to win the national championship,” he told them. “But we have to put forth the effort.

Projected to be a top-10 team entering the 2016-17 season, it’s no stretch of the imagination to envision a return to the Final Four for the Tar Heels.

In college basketball, however, there are never any guarantees–especially in a league as tough as the ACC.

One thing remains true, though.

If UNC can display chemistry similar to what they showed a year ago, while getting production to replace Brice Johnson and Marcus Paige, there’s certainly not many teams with more talent.

ESPN’s Eamonn Brennan ranked the Tar Heels No. 6 in his preseason top 25 poll on Thursday.

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