Oct. 31, 2007

by Steve Kirschner, Associate A.D. for Communications

Carolina returns three starters, led by Tyler Hansbrough, a two-time All-America and a leading candidate for National Player of the Year honors, and 10 other letterwinners from last year's squad that went 31-7, won the Atlantic Coast Conference regular season and Tournament titles and came within an overtime loss to Big East champion Georgetown of a berth in the Final Four.

Head coach Roy Williams, who was inducted in September into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, directs an experienced squad that should be among the favorites in the conference and national races.

"If you look back at last year - the seniors graduated, we won 31 games, the ACC regular season and Tournament and reached the Final 8," says Williams. "Over the last six years, our teams at Kansas and Carolina have won more games than anyone else. We graduate our players, we have guys who are successful and reach their dreams with the NBA, and we've won games. But losing that last game leaves a bad taste during the offseason and the guys who are returning this year have reminded themselves of that feeling each day and are determined to do something about that."

The Tar Heels lose three prominent players from a year ago, including seniors Reyshawn Terry and Wes Miller and freshman Brandan Wright, the No. 8 pick in the first round of the 2007 NBA Draft.

"We have to replace three guys who at times could change the game defensively," says Williams. "Wes always graded out really well over the course of two years, Reyshawn was at times our best defender and Brandan could erase a lot of mistakes and block shots. You don't lose a guy who is the eighth pick in the NBA draft and not lose something. And it's tough to lose a guy like Reyshawn who at times could play like the best defender I have ever coached.

"The other guys will be able to replace the points, but who is going to step forward and make the plays defensively that those kids made? Offensively, Wes was able to stretch the floor with threes, Brandan shot 65 percent and did a great job passing the basketball and Reyshawn took over games like NC State in the ACC Tournament final and Michigan State. Yes, we have a lot of guys back, but our losses are real, they're not just paper losses. Those three were extremely important to us."

No player in the country has been more important or more valuable to his team the last two years than Hansbrough, a 6-9, 250-pound junior from Poplar Bluff, Mo. Two years ago he became the first freshman in ACC history to earn first-team All-America honors and last season he became just the fifth Tar Heel sophomore to earn consensus first-team All-America honors.

Hansbrough has averaged 18.6 points and 7.9 rebounds and is on pace to rewrite the Carolina record book. He was a unanimous first-team All-ACC selection for the second year in a row, joining Lennie Rosenbluth, Billy Cunningham and Michael Jordan as the only Tar Heels ever to achieve that distinction.

Hansbrough has 16 career double-doubles, scored in double figures 63 times in 69 games, scored 20 or more points 30 times and attempted double-digit free throws on 23 occasions. He's converted 429 free throws, better than six a game, and is already ninth in UNC history in free throws made.

"The big fella's had two phenomenal years," says Williams. "Tyler is the most focused player I've ever been around. He has a chance to be the leading scorer and rebounder in Carolina history. I'm expecting a fantastic junior year with the same kind of numbers he's put up before if not better. He has big expectations, but he handles it really well. I don't think he pressures himself or puts himself in a position where he's afraid to make a mistake. He has tremendous dreams and work ethic and he just goes, goes, and goes.

"Tyler has really gotten better defensively. We need him to continue to improve his assist-error ratio. Without Brandan, some coaches may double-team him even more and that will give our other big men a free run to the boards, so guys like Deon Thompson and Alex Stepheson have to take advantage of those scenarios and make other coaches question doing that."

Hansbrough is one of five returning players who have spent time in the Tar Heel starting lineup at some point in the last two years. Sophomore guards Wayne Ellington and Ty Lawson were regulars in the first five last year and juniors Bobby Frasor and Marcus Ginyard made a combined 45 starts in 2005-06.

Ellington, a 6-4 shooting guard from Wynnewood, Pa., led the Tar Heels in three-point field goals with 66. He was UNC's third-leading scorer at 11.7 points a game, scoring in double figures 27 times with a high of 19 twice, including against Ohio State.

Ellington, who made the USA Team that played in the Pan Am Games this summer, averaged 14.7 points in the ACC Tournament and was selected to the All-Tournament Team after leading the Tar Heels in scoring in two of the three wins.

"I think Wayne will have a great year for us," says Williams. "As he gets more experienced, his field goal percentage will go up and that will open up things inside for us. He's a terrific shooter. Now he has to do it more consistently in games. He knows he has to get better defensively, so he really emphasized it in his off-season work."

Lawson, a 5-11 speedster from Clinton, Md., led the ACC in assist-error ratio as a freshman despite the Tar Heels' fast-paced, attack style of offense. He had 184 assists and just 64 turnovers in his 31 starts, having moved into the starting lineup in the season's sixth game.

"Ty was really good through the first two-thirds of the season, but improved to another level during the last third of the regular season and the ACC and NCAA Tournaments," says Williams. "We hope he can start this year at that level. He was so much more mature, disciplined, and aware of how to take care of his body and do the little things to help you win. Considering the tempo at which we want to play, his assist-error numbers were phenomenal."

Lawson earned All-ACC Rookie Team honors and was a first-team All-ACC Tournament choice. He scored in double figures 22 times, had more assists than turnovers in 32 games and had 45 assists and just 13 miscues in the seven postseason contests.

Ginyard, a 6-5 swingman from Alexandria, Va., is likely Carolina's most versatile player. He was the team's defensive player of the year in 2006-07 and became one of the team's best offensive rebounders. He played two of his best games in the home win over Duke (13 points, two assists) and in the comeback win over Southern California in the NCAA East Regional (10 points, nine rebounds).

"Marcus is so intelligent he found ways to make me put him in the game," says Williams. "He's a solid defender, got much better on the offensive glass and does all the little things. He could have a real breakout year. Last year, he found his niche. He figured out the Jackie Manuel way to get into the starting lineup - don't make mistakes and come up with big plays - and he did that."

Ginyard improved his field goal percentage from .407 to .473 and improved his assist-error ratio from minus 5 to plus 14.

Frasor, a 6-3 native of Blue Island, Ill., started every game as a freshman at point guard, but last year had a frustrating season plagued by a foot injury that limited him to 28 games and 10 minutes an outing.

Frasor started the first five games, but missed the next six contests with a bruised hip and sore right foot. He returned to action in early January, but aggravated the foot injury at Virginia Tech and played double-figure minutes only three times in the final 21 contests. He played a key role in Carolina's win at Duke, hit three from beyond the three-point arc and had 11 points against Gonzaga and had five assists and no turnovers in the ACC Tournament semifinals against Boston College.

"I am curious to see how his foot holds up," says Williams. "Bobby had a marvelous freshman year, and last year was extremely tough on the youngster because of his foot. But I have complete confidence in Bobby based on what he showed me his freshman year when he was healthy. He started at point guard on the youngest team I have ever coached and that team won 23 games and was a three seed in the NCAA Tournament. I think he can be even better than that when he is healthy."

Ty Lawson

Quentin Thomas is the lone scholarship senior on the team, which for the first time features only scholarship players recruited by Williams and his staff. Thomas has improved each year as a Tar Heel. He has played in 92 games and amassed 172 assists and 106 turnovers. Last year, he missed nine of the first 13 games with a stress fracture in his left foot. He returned in January and finished with 47 assists and 21 turnovers. He had a career-high eight assists against Miami and played his best overall floor game in the win over Virginia.

"I expect `Q' to have his best year," says Williams. "He's more relaxed, which means he can play with more confidence, which leads to better play."

Thomas and Frasor are such good ball-handlers, Williams may give them time at the two-guard spot, especially in late-game situations when taking care of the ball is so critical.

Two juniors, two sophomores and a red-shirt freshman will join Hansbrough in the frontcourt.

Danny Green has shown the ability, but not yet the consistency Williams needs for him to secure a starting position. The 6-6 junior from North Babylon, N.Y., can shoot the ball, rebounds well and led the team in blocked shots as a freshman. He scored in double figures four times last year with a high of 14 at Saint Louis, when he connected on four three-pointers. He pulled down six or more boards six times, including eight in the home win over NC State and against USC in the NCAA Sweet 16.

"Danny can cross the line from the three to the four," says Williams. "He's a great free throw shooter, has become a better defender and is good around the backboard. I like him at the four in late-game spots because he can do those things. He's another guy who I think is going to have a big-time year for us."

Sophomores Thompson and Stepheson gained experience last year that should help prepare them for significantly larger roles, especially with Wright moving on to the NBA's Golden State Warriors.

Thompson, a 6-9, 240-pound native of Torrance, Calif., averaged 12.4 minutes a game and shot 55.8 percent from the field as a freshman. He scored 14 points in his one start at Arizona when Wright was ill and also had 14 points and six rebounds in the NCAA regional final against Georgetown.

This summer, Thompson was Team USA's third-leading scorer (10.0 ppg) and the leading rebounder (6.1) in the Under-19 World Championships. He had 18 points and 13 boards against France in the semifinals and 17 points against Lithuania.

"People are expecting a lot from Deon because he played well in the Georgetown game, they've heard how hard he worked on his body in the off-season and he was one of the leading players for Team USA this summer," says Williams. "That's okay, because I'm expecting a lot out of him, too. He's further along in his game offensively and he knows we need him to pick up his play on the defensive end."

Stepheson and Thompson complement each other's game nicely, as Stepheson is more comfortable at this point in his career as a defender, rebounder and shot blocker. The 6-9, 225-pound sophomore from Los Angeles grabbed 84 rebounds in 242 minutes last year, which translates to 13.8 rebounds per 40 minutes. He had eight games with five or more rebounds, including six against Georgetown and six more to go along with 10 points in the win at Arizona.

"Defense and rebounding are two areas where Alex is really doing a nice job," says Williams. "He's going to step in and play a lot of minutes this year."

Mike Copeland, a 6-7 junior from Winston-Salem, and Will Graves, a 6-6 Greensboro native who redshirted last year, round out the lineup.

"Mike is getting better offensively, but he knows he must concentrate better on defense and finish defensively by boxing out," says Williams. "As he improves as a defender, he will get an opportunity to help us this year."

Graves can play anywhere from shooting guard to either forward slot. He worked last year not only on his game, but also on his conditioning and physique. He won two high school state championships at the Smith Center while at Dudley High School.

"Most kids who redshirt take the year off, but Will didn't do that," says Williams, "particularly in the way he worked on his body. He's lost about 30 pounds since he came to college. At some point he will become an important player for us. When that will be remains to be seen, because he has to do it with people in the seats."

This is the first time in Williams' 20 years as a college head coach that he doesn't have a scholarship player who is new to the program on the first day of practice. That should allow the coaches to hit the ground running on October 13.

"Yes, we can go faster," says Williams. "We'll start at the same spot to give them the foundation, but we will go faster and expect more from the guys because of the experience level. We expect Ty, Wayne, Deon and Alex to take major steps forward because they've been through the philosophy, the style, practices, terminology, the whole offensive and defensive systems. I expect them to make major improvements because of the confidence and comfort level they've gained."

Williams says the biggest area of need for improved play centers on defense. Even though the Tar Heels held the opposition to 41.6 percent shooting from the floor for the season, that figure jumped to 51.2 percent in the seven defeats. Getting "must stops" at key moments was not to the level Williams demands from great teams.

"We must flat-out guard people better, play better defense from day one - it has to be our emphasis," says Williams. "They will be better at it because of another year's experience, but we will emphasize it in practice more than ever before."

Carolina's primary strength is the team's experience level and the fact that Hansbrough is one of the top players in the game.

"So many guys have been through it," says Williams. "I think we will be a well-rounded club that can score inside, can shoot from the three-point land, and with our rebounding and in particular with Lawson's speed we can really push the ball. But we have to defend."