Last season, expectations were relatively low for a talented but young North Carolina squad. This year, it's a different story in Chapel Hill.
The Tar Heels, coming off a 23-8 campaign in which they improved over the course of the year and earned a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament, enter the 2006-07 season ranked second in the country and are picked by most to win the ACC. UNC lost three players to graduation, but of those, only David Noel was a true contributor to the team.
Supplementing North Carolina's already-talented roster, head coach Roy Williams added one of the nation's best recruiting classes, led by star point guard Ty Lawson and three players who stand 6-foot-8 or taller.
"We've been here before," senior forward Reyshawn Terry said. "[The freshmen] have got so much character, they have come in here and not let the media and all that go to their heads."
Tyler Hansbrough-picked in the preseason as ACC Player of the Year-improved throughout the course of last season while serving as North Carolina's only significantly contributing big man. This year, the three Tar Heel freshmen big men-Brandan Wright, Alex Stepheson and Deon Thompson-will push Hansbrough in practice.
Their addition to the roster makes depth a strength for North Carolina this year. UNC has a number of senior leaders, and its six new freshmen will be expected to contribute right away.
"You're going to see a lot of good things from a good 12 or 13 guys deep on this team," senior Wes Miller said. "With all the talent on this team, I think everyone is going to be competing for playing time more than they ever have before."
This year's UNC team, like the 2005 national championship team led by Raymond Felton and Sean May, is planning to play an exciting, up-tempo style of basketball. With big men who can run the floor and ball handlers all over the court, the Tar Heels will be able to run at any time.
"I want the team to take a good shot, and if it's taken quickly, then I have no problem with that," Williams said. "And on the defensive end, we've got to take our opponents out of their slower tempo if that's what they choose. And one way you can do that is by more pressure, more trapping."
UNC will have plenty of chances to prove itself as deserving of all of the hype with its challenging early-season schedule. The team takes on ranked opponents Ohio State and Kentucky next month, and it travels to Tucson to take on Arizona in the middle of the always-difficult ACC season. The Tar Heels, however, are as confident as ever.
When asked to name the second-best player in the ACC given that Tyler Hansbrough was the best, Terry simply said, "I would have to say myself."
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