2008-09 North Carolina Basketball Season Preview & Predictions
Written October 6, 2008 by Jack Jones
What’s to stop this North Carolina basketball team from winning the national title? That’s the question that everyone has to ask as it has been a long time since a team has been such a clear cut favorite to win a championship. This team is loaded with talent (they have eight McDonald’s All-Americans) and experience. They return all five starters and the top six scorers from a team that went 36-3 overall, 14-2 in the conference, and made the Final Four a year ago. If you haven’t taken a look yet, then we think that betting North Carolina to win it all is worth a shot with +250 odds at BetUS. This means that for every $10 you bet you will win $25 if they are cutting down the nets come the first of April. They are the top team we have listed in our ACC basketball predictions article.
It’s tough to talk about all the options that North Carolina has in their backcourt, since they are overloaded. It all starts with Tyler Hansbrough though as he needs only 601 points to break JJ Redick’s mark for most points in ACC history. Last year he put up 22.6 points and 10.6 rebounds per game while being the definition of hustle. Joining him up front is junior Deon Thompson, who added 8.4 points and 4.8 rebounds per game. Two freshman are going to provide depth in Tyler Zeller and Ed Davis, both tall and can run the floor, but they look a little weak right now. Marcus Ginyard is very versatile and can play any position on the floor outside of center and will once again be the lock down guy used to shut down the opposition’s best scorer. Danny Green has only started one game in his Tar Heel career, but he averaged 11.5 points last year. Will Graves is a sharp shooter who hit 45% of his threes a year ago.
This backcourt has two of the nation’s best in Ty Lawson and Wayne Ellington. Both worked out for NBA teams before deciding to return to North Carolina for their junior seasons. Lawson led the conference in assist-to-turnover ratio and is one of the fastest players in the game. Ellington shot 47% a year ago and can knock down shots from all over the floor. Bobby Frasor is finally healthy after missing 27 games a year ago due to a knee injury and ten games as a sophomore due to his foot. Larry Drew II is an incoming freshman high on talent to add depth to the backcourt.
Final Analysis
What’s not to like about head coach Roy Williams’ team? This team could be the most dominant in the illustrious history of the Tar Heel program with so many top talents returning. Anything short of a national championship is going to be a disappointment, and even in a stacked ACC this team has a real shot at going undefeated. If you want to make some money off of them this year with some NCAA basketball betting, then sign up for a new account at BetUS and collect up to 145% in signup bonuses.
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