How North Carolina's offseason roster shakeup set the stage for serious NCAA Tournament contention

Year one was a high of a debut for Hubert Davis at North Carolina while year two was a disappointment. Now, in year three, the Tar Heels are back up near the top with roster decisions from this past offseason having an obvious impact on that improvement.

On3’s James Fletcher III took a look at UNC during ‘Andy Staples On3’ on Friday. He noted their clear vibe for one another and how that energy has had them playing this season.

“That North Carolina team? You’re right. They’ve really got the chemistry clicking,” said Fletcher.

Much of that connection comes from the adjustments from last year’s roster. There looked to be some discontent and frustration between and amongst several of the faces that helped them reach the title game just the year prior. That led to a record of 20-13 and no NCAA Tournament appearance after entering as the Preseason No. 1.

Now, after Caleb Love’s decision to enter the transfer portal, things in Chapel Hill are more straightforward in Fletcher’s eyes.

R.J. Davis can be the lead guard, Armando Bacot is who he is down low, and their other pieces can more easily revolve around that duo than attempting to do so around a trio. That shift currently has North Carolina at 26-6 and in the running for a No. 1 seed.

“It has been a different dynamic once you removed Caleb Love from that situation,” said Fletcher. “R.J. Davis and Armando Bacot? Sometimes, it has nothing to do with anyone having to leave. But, sometimes, having two star players is just easier to manage than having three.”

“That’s what it looks like for North Carolina. It looks like, when you have R.J. Davis on the ball, you don’t have to question which guard is bringing it up the floor, what are their tendencies. Armando Bacot is able to just – he knows exactly what R.J. Davis is going to do. He’s going to come up, he knows where he wants the screen set. He knows how to get to the block so that R.J. can hit him down there,” Fletcher explained. “They’ve got it all figured out and it’s just a lot easier when, from there, you’ve got Harrison Ingram in the corner, you’ve got Cormac Ryan in that other corner.”

It’s not all bad for Love either, though. After originally committing to Michigan out of the portal, he ended up out in Tucson for his senior season. That decision has led him and his new team to find as much success out in the Pac-12 as his old team has had back in the ACC.

“For Caleb Love, he goes to an Arizona team. How about RJ Davis winning ACC Player of the Year and Caleb Love winning Pac-12 Player of the Year? Now, both of them headed to the NCAA Tournament,” said Fletcher. “So I think that that move worked out pretty well for just about everyone involved.”

Management is so much more important than ever with the portal being what it is now. It may come down to difficult decisions and farewells but, in cases like North Carolina’s this year, it can also be for the better of your roster at the end of the day.

“It makes it just a better spread-out team which knows it’s roles a lot better than, I think, last year’s did,” said Fletcher.