North Carolina basketball: 5 questions the UNC Tar Heels must answer in 2020

Garrison Brooks of the North Carolina Tar Heels talks to Roy Williams. (Photo by Peyton Williams/UNC/Getty Images)
Garrison Brooks of the North Carolina Tar Heels talks to Roy Williams. (Photo by Peyton Williams/UNC/Getty Images) /
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North Carolina basketball
North Carolina basketball (Photo by Peyton Williams/UNC/Getty Images) /

4. UNC basketball questions: How will frontcourt rotation shake out?

One of the breakout stars of the 2019-20 season, despite the team’s struggles, was big man Garrison Brooks. The frontcourt standout averaged 16.8 points (second on the team) and 8.5 rebounds (first) while shooting 53.9 percent from the field. He’s undoubtedly going to be a starter for this team in the 2020-21 season.

The question is who will join him as the starter and who will ultimately be the big men coming off of the bench for the Tar Heels in the upcoming year. Rising sophomore Armando Bacot showed up at times throughout the year as he averaged 9.6 points and 8.3 rebounds with 1.1 blocks per game but his consistency and issues with foul trouble were problematic.

While Bacot’s freshman performance and his upside make him the favorite to start alongside Brooks in the frontcourt, the reason it’s even a question is because of the newcomers entering the fray in Chapel Hill, another pair of highly touted recruits in Walker Kessler and Day’Ron Sharpe.

Sharpe feels less likely to start over Bacot simply because he plays a similar game at a similar size, meaning the experience of the latter would likely win out in a battle for that spot. However, the 6-foot-11 Kessler’s ability to stretch the floor could make things interesting.

At the end of the day, Bacot should be the starter but it’s at least a conversation and it’ll be interesting to see how minutes are divided up in the frontcourt.