Although the UNC men’s basketball team returns a pair of talented seniors in forward Luke Maye and guard Kenny Williams, a great deal of conversation at Tuesday’s media day centered on the new pieces the Tar Heels will unveil this upcoming season.
The highly-touted recruiting class consisting of wing Nassir Little along with versatile guards Coby White and Rechon “Leaky” Black has everyone talking–as they could be what ultimately determines UNC’s chances of returning to the Final Four.
“First thing you love is their talent,” head coach Roy Williams told reporters. “They’re gifted. There’s no question about that…They’ve really put me at ease. And I know that they’re gonna be able to step up and play for us.”
While the entire freshman class is expected to make a large impact, there’s no question as to who arrived in Chapel Hill with the most hype.
Coby White (left) and Nassir Little (right) headline a stacked UNC freshman class for the upcoming 2018-19 men’s basketball season. (Photo via Getty Images)
Little–a 6-foot-7-inch wing–was the No. 6 overall prospect regardless of position according to ESPN, and became the first high school player since a guy named LeBron James to win the MVP award of both the McDonald’s All-American Game and the Jordan Brand Classic.
“Nassir got a tremendous amount of publicity, and he’s tremendously athletic and wants to be really good,” Roy Williams said.
He’s already being touted as a potential top five draft pick after this season, which would make him just the fourth “one-and-done” player UNC has ever had.
“In person, I’ve never seen anybody jump as high as him or do some of the things that he does in the air,” Kenny Williams said, about Little. “He definitely amazes me. We joke with him because we always ask, ‘Man, how do you jump that high?
“Then he says, ‘Oh if you just throw the ball up there, you just jump and go get it,'” Williams added. “So we’re all like, ‘Yeah, OK, it’s that easy.'”
UNC freshman guard Coby White speaks with former Tar Heel star Kendall Marshall during Tuesday’s Media Day. (Photo via Avery Trendel)
Maye had similar thoughts as his senior classmate when discussing the man he may be competing with fairly often on the stat sheet this season.
“I mean, he’s a freak athlete,” Maye said, of Little. “He scores the ball really well and he’s strong for coming in as a freshman. But everybody as a freshman has to adjust some to a different style of play and a different kind of gameplan.
“He’s gonna have to learn a little bit at the beginning,” Maye continued. “But I think he’s gonna be a really good player for us and a great option for us down the road.”
With Little already penciled in to the starting lineup in the spot vacated by Theo Pinson’s graduation, there’s another freshman–White–hoping to claim the point guard spot left behind by Joel Berry.
The 6-foot-5 native of Goldsboro became North Carolina’s all-time leading scorer as a high-schooler and was a five-star prospect ranked No. 23 overall by ESPN.
“Coby got a little less publicity [than Little], but is really gifted and plays really hard,” Roy Williams said. “He pushes the ball at the pace I’d like it to be pushed at.”
Standing in White’s way, however, is junior Seventh Woods–another explosive athlete who arrived in Chapel Hill two years ago with plenty of his own hype, but has struggled with injuries ever since.
Both players have been competing for the starting job in practice to this point, but could end up seeing plenty of minutes on the floor together as well.
Rechon “Leaky” Black is expected to contribute in multiple ways this season for the Tar Heels. (Photo via Ross Martin/ Inside Carolina)
“He’s probably the quickest player that I’ve played against,” Woods said, of White. “And I thought I was pretty quick coming into college. But he gets the ball up the court really fast.
“We actually have played a lot in practice at the one and two,” he added. “And I think that could possibly be the fastest and most dominant backcourt in the ACC, if not all of college.”
Despite Little and White grabbing most of the headlines surrounding the newcomers, the kid they call Leaky is the one that could end up surprising folks the most.
The Concord native is a long, lanky 6-foot-7-inch guard with skills that fit multiple positions–including as the primary ball-handler, which is rare for someone his size.
Ranked No. 51 overall in the Class of 2018 by ESPN, Black has already made quite an impression on his head coach in limited practice time.
“Leaky is maybe as versatile–through six or seven practices–as anybody I’ve ever had,” Roy Williams said. “But he’s gifted also.”
Should UNC have any dreams of making a return to the Final Four this season following a one-year hiatus brought on by a disappointing second round loss to Texas A&M last year, it’s obvious they’ll need solid contributions from their senior leaders like Maye, Kenny Williams and graduate transfer Cam Johnson.
On top of that, however, they’ll also need this crop of freshmen to grow up early and provide valuable minutes.
Fortunately for the Tar Heels, the early reviews seem to indicate that won’t be a problem at all.
Cover photo via Avery Trendel
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