2. UNC basketball questions: Who starts on the wings?
So, if we’re building the starting rotation for North Carolina basketball in the 2020-21 season, the Tar Heels are going to be starting Love at point guard, Bacot at the four and Brooks at the five. That then leaves the two wing spots to be decided and, as fate would have, it may also be the spot where Roy Williams has the most flexibility in terms of his options.
It would be truly shocking if veteran wing Leaky Black didn’t occupy one of the starting roles on the wing. He’s exceptionally versatile with his ability to play multiple positions on both ends of the floor and is arguably the team’s best defender. But the big question is if he’s going to start at the two or be the three in this offense.
That decision likely will be taken out of Black’s hands and he’ll be asked to play wherever Williams asks him to — the perils of being so useful and versatile. There’s the potential that Black could start at the three next season and make way for Anthony Harris to take over as the starting shooting guard. Harris flashed big-time in limited games last season before tearing his ACL but could be a breakout star.
The other option for the Heels is having Black at shooting guard and letting freshman Puff Johnson — younger brother of UNC standout Cam Johnson — to start at the other wing. Johnson has plenty of shooting on the wing and could be valuable in that regard.
For my money, Harris at shooting guard with Black at the other wing is the likely starting combo. But as we already talked about with depth, having this many good options is a good problem for North Carolina to have.