Why are some people mad at Roy Williams about Nassir Little?

I don’t spend much time on social media, but enough to know there are Carolina fans out there who think freshman Nassir Little should be playing more, if not starting. The reason seems to be that Little is a potential one-and-done, and his not starting will keep other potential first-round draft picks from coming to UNC.

Well, let’s examine this a bit. Marvin Williams was a lottery pick after not having started a game as a freshman in 2005. Tony Bradley went late in the first round after not starting a game in 2017. And the questions remain: Does Little deserve to start and, if so, where?

After hitting 8 of 9 shots against St. Francis Monday night, Little was averaging just under 20 minutes a game. He has the second most points per minutes played on the team and the second-most rebounds per minutes. And he is the only player on the roster with more offensive boards than defensive, which is a big emphasis this season.

The 6-foot-6 Little is not replacing grad student leading scorer Cameron Johnson in the starting lineup, or All-American senior Luke Maye. Nor is he really a shooting guard despite having the second highest percentage of making the three ball behind the hot-shooting Johnson. And senior Kenny Williams is a great defensive and rebounding guard despite his own shooting woes so far.

So in order for Little to start or even play more minutes, Roy Williams would have to go to his small lineup and take time away from sophomore bigs Garrison Brooks and Sterling Manley, who combined are averaging a double-double of 17-plus points and 11-plus rebounds. When and if Ol’ Roy does go small, Little will be in there.

Right now, Nassir is rotating nicely at small forward and power forward. And although his stats are good, he obviously is behind fellow frosh Coby White and Leaky Black playing college defense. If there is a reason he isn’t playing more, that is likely it.

Ten Tar Heels are playing at least 10 minutes a game, but we’ll know more once the competition stiffens. And more about Little, too.

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