Let’s compare Carolina’s senior leaders to the 2017 team.

As bracket predictions roll in, more and more are saying the top-seeded Tar Heels will survive perhaps the toughest region and return to a third Final Four in the last four years. What a journey that would be for Luke Maye and Kenny Williams, along with a well-deserved first Final Four for Cam Johnson.

In 2017, seniors Isaiah Hicks and Kennedy Meeks manned the double post for UNC’s second straight team to play in a national championship game. Junior Justin Jackson was a de facto senior since it became common knowledge that JJ would enter the NBA draft as he was putting together an ACC Player of the Year season.

That could be called an over-achieving group, considering the 2016 team that lost to Villanova on a buzzer beater had graduated four-year star Marcus Paige and All-ACC big man Brice Johnson, leaving a new leadership role to Joel Berry and the other post position to perennial sixth man Hicks. Yet that next team went back and won it all.

The stories of Luke, Kenny and Cam are well known by now. Maye was initially a walk-on until Brandon Ingram picked Duke and Roy Williams was able to offer him a scholarship. Kenny Williams had originally committed to middle-major VCU before Shaka Smart left to coach at Texas and the Tar Heels’ unselfish shooting guard began a major-college career in Chapel Hill instead. Johnson, of course, was the rare graduate transfer with two years left of eligibility.

Long before last season’s sudden ouster by Texas A&M in Charlotte, all three had grown into key pieces to the 2018 team. Roy Williams claimed he knew Maye would have a break-out year, but admits his assistant coaches thought the head man was being overly optimistic. Kenny Williams started 36 of 37 games and developed into a reliable 3-point shooter, better defender and excellent rebounding guard. Johnson became a starter six games after returning from off-season surgery when Carolina went to a small lineup early in January.

Losing Berry and Theo Pinson, who seriously thought this team would be better than last year? Not until we saw Coby White’s bullet speed and scoring skills that offset Williams’ poor shooting season and Johnson morph into the team’s leading scorer, an All-ACC first teamer and projected NBA first-round draft choice.

The improvement of Garrison Brooks and emergence of Nas Little, B-Rob and Seventh gave Ol’ Roy an excellent eight-man rotation that tied for first in the ACC and, suddenly, is a popular Final Four pick.