We are still months away from the start of the 2022-23 college basketball season but already the UNC basketball program is receiving praise by national analysts. The latest is ESPN’s Dick Vitale who put out his top teams for his “Elite Eight” going into next season.
And right there at the top stand the North Carolina Tar Heels.
Vitale listed Hubert Davis’ team No. 1 in the rankings beating out No. 2 Houston, No. 3 Kentucky, No. 4 Arkansas and No. 5 Gonzaga. Here is what Vitale had to say about the Tar Heels’ squad for next season with some decisions from players still pending:
Hubert Davis was 20 minutes away from the national title as his Tar Heels had a 15-point halftime lead on Kansas. Carolina will learn from that. Davis was thrilled when [autotag]Armando Bacot[/autotag] and [autotag]Leaky Black[/autotag] announced their plans to return to Chapel Hill. The success of the upcoming season will depend on the status of [autotag]Caleb Love[/autotag] and [autotag]R.J. Davis[/autotag], who are determining their futures. The Tar Heels also welcome 6-9 recruit [autotag]Jalen Washington[/autotag] and point guard [autotag]Seth Trimble[/autotag].
As it stands right now, UNC is set to return starters Armando Bacot and Leaky Black while guard R.J. Davis is also likely coming back. The biggest decision left is Caleb Love who should announce his decision any day now.
The Tar Heels will have to replace Brady Manek but do return key players like Puff Johnson who got good minutes down the stretch last season. Plus, they welcome in a very talented recruiting class headlined by Seth Trimble.
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