STF Preseason Rankings: #6 North Carolina Tar Heels

Hey hey, it's preseason poll time, where we count down our top 20 one-by-one. Today, we'll look at #6, the North Carolina Tar Heels. Last year's defending national champs has restocked their shelves with talent, which is good because I'm out of toilet paper.

So without further ado, here's a look at Roy's boys.

#6 North Carolina Tar Heels

Location: Chapel Hill, NC

Conference: ACC

2008-09 Record: 34-4 (13-3)

NCAA Postseason: National Champions

Head Coach: Roy Williams (6th season)

Losses: NBA - 6'4" G Wayne Ellington (15.8.5 ppg), 5'11" G Ty Lawson (16.6 ppg, 6.6 apg). Graduation - 6'9" F Tyler Hansbrough (20.7 ppg, 8.1 rpg), 6'6" G Danny Green (13.1 ppg), 6'3" G Bobby Frasor (2.6 ppg).

Key Returnees: 6'10" Sophomore F Ed Davis (6.7 ppg, 6.6 rpg), 6'10" Senior F Deon Thompson (10.6 ppg, 5.7 rpg), 6'5" Senior G Marcus Ginyard (6.9 ppg), 6'11" Sophomore F Tyler Zeller, 6'2" Sophomore G Larry Drew II, 6'6" Junior G Will Graves, 6'4" Sophomore G Justin Watts

Additions: 6'10" F John Henson (Tampa, FL), 6'4" G Leslie McDonald (Memphis, TN), 6'3" G Dexter Strickland (Rahway, NJ), 6'10" F David Wear (Huntington Beach, CA), 6'10" F Travis Wear (Huntington Beach, CA). 

The Skinny:
An appropriate title, considering that the knock on UNC this season is that they are two frail. I don't believe it. Despite the loss of nearly 75 percent of their offensive output, it's going to be another good season for the Tar Heels. They're frontcourt will should be able to absorb the loss of Hansbrough, especially with the addition of twin towers, David and Travis Wear. After three seasons playing in the shadow of Psycho T, Deon Thompson will finally be able to be the go-to option in the paint. He'll provide the senior leadership for rising stars like Ed Davis and Tyler Zeller, both of whom showed amazing amounts of potential during last season's championship run. Davis particularly showed great potential during last season's NCAA Tournament.

The loss of Ty Lawson will be the toughest for Roy Williams to replace. Lawson made the Tar Heel offense tick, averaging a 3.5 assist to turnover ration. A team can be full of talent, but someone has to manage the game and assure that the ball ends up in the right hands at the right time. Larry Drew II is set to step into Lawson's shoes and the inexperienced sophomore needs to learn fast.

Joining Drew on the perimeter will be senior Marcus Ginyard, who missed most of last season due to injury, and junior Will Graves, who missed most of last season due to a violation of team rules. Ginyard is a shut down defender who should provide much needed leadership to UNC's backcourt. Graves can consistently knock down outside shots and should easily slide into Ellington's role as team gunner.

Much of the Tar Heels' success this season will depend upon the development of their freshmen backcourt. Dexter Strickland, Leslie McDonald, and John Henson all have the pedigree to step onto the court and make an immediate impact.

Bloggers say:
"From what I gather, the scrimmage between the White and Blue teams was competitive, but still not a scrimmage and might as well be a pick-up game for as often as those players have played against each other since class has started. But it looks like John Henson is as good as advertised. He had 10 points in the scrimmage and here's what Marcus Ginyard said about him:

'That size and athleticism is just one of those things that's tough to describe; he's a guy who can do some interesting things out there. We've got to let it play out and see what he does, but there's no question he can be a big help to the team.'

That's what I like hearing. I can't wait to see this guy throwing down on Duke a few times a game. He's just a freak of athleticism, which is something that will certainly help out this year quite a bit.

Two concerns that Roy Williams has had is the backcourt - with it's lack of experience and depth, and shooting - with every reliable shooter gone now, but with Will Graves scoring 12 points, including three 3's, he may have answered the question of who is the best shooter for this year's team, a question that Tar Heel Blue asked and discussed in their recent article. In that article, Ginyard is asked who the best shooter is and he said that he would put himself up there. Now, knowing Ginyard as a shooter, that's a bit of a red flag for me. With that said, I have no doubt that he has improved on his shooting, just like Larry Drew and Ed Davis. But Graves is the guy who needs to be the best shooter because that's all we as fans have heard about is his shooting and unfortunately, we haven't seen it in the games. I believe we will this year."

-Triumphant Tar Heel

Best Games:
11/19 @ Ohio State (Madison Square Garden)
12/01 vs. Michigan State
12/05 @ Kentucky
2/10 & 3/6 vs. Duke

Most likely, UNC will roll over Ohio State this season, but that first week in December is going to be better than a lower body massage in Thailand. First, the Tar Heels host the Spartans in a rematch of last season's championship game. Then, four days later, it's off to Lexington for a solid test against John Calipari's resurgent Wildcats. And, of course, there's always Duke.

Famous Basketball Alums: (Deep breath) Michael Jordan, James Worthy, Vince Carter, Larry Brown, Billy Cunningham, Hubert Davis, George Karl, Rick Fox, Antawn Jamison, Bob McAdoo, Tyler Hansbrough, "Sleepy" Sam Perkins, Kenny Smith, Rasheed Wallace, Jerry Stackhouse, Marvin Williams, Brandan Wright, 

Other Famous Alums: Peter Gammons, Andy Griffith, Charles Kuralt, Stuart Scott, Mia Hamm, Davis Love III, John Edwards.

"Previously, On STF Preseason Rankings"

#7 Texas Longhorns

#8 West Virginia Mountaineers

#9 California Golden Bears

#10 Purdue Boilermakers