It’s no secret that the 2022-23 UNC basketball season was a massive failure for the program, becoming the first preseason No. 1 team to miss the NCAA Tournament.
Things just never clicked for North Carolina as they struggled the entire year with consistency and couldn’t win the big games when they needed to the most. They sat and watched the NCAA Tournament at home and now changes are coming for the program.
The Tar Heels have seen six players enter the transfer portal including guard Caleb Love. Next year’s roster will be a different one but it will also be a very important year for Hubert Davis and the program. But just how far are the Tar Heels away from the Final Four?
247Sports broke down the Blue Blood programs and where they stand after this season, with all of them missing the Final Four. They ranked them from best chance to make the 2024 Final Four to worst. And for UNC, they were fourth on the list:
Will this be too low for the Tar Heels? Caleb Love’s transfer could wind up helping North Carolina in a statement that is less about Love being addition by subtraction and more about the Tar Heels making more out of Armando Bacot. A bit of a wild stat: Bacot took 125 more shots than reputed non-shooter Leaky Black; Love took 163 more shots than Bacot. Given how difficult Bacot is to stop, and how much more efficient he is than Love, that should have been reversed. Having one fewer cook in the kitchen could also help RJ Davis take a step forward. There are holes on this roster, but few teams on this list will have the kind of duo that North Carolina boasts with Davis and Bacot, and a couple more pieces could lead the Tar Heels to a better season in 2023-24 than they had this past year.
Through two seasons of Davis, we have seen UNC get to the title game and miss the tournament in general. But year three will be the biggest one yet and seeing how he fills the roster will be important.
If the Tar Heels fail to make the tournament again, the hot seat could heat up for Davis. If they do make the tournament and go on a run, things could set up nicely for the future, especially with a big 2024 class incoming.
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