Elite Eight: UNC Basketball

At 5:05 PM ET, the UNC Tar Heels and Kansas Jayhawks will engage in a fierce battle for a Final Four bid, as No. 1 seed will face No. 2 seed. UNC coach Roy Williams has been the man with the most press leading up to the game, because he used to be the coach of the Jayhawks and has the second-most wins in school history. However, the players play the game, and the coaches coach. It’s time to look at the multitude of star talent on the Heels.

1. Tyler Zeller- He has been worth 8.8 wins and has a 30.3 PER; I could just leave it at that. Zeller is one of the more overlooked players in the country and was the ACC Player of the Year, in my eyes. If we’re talking about value, then nobody was more valuable in his conference than Zeller. This is a guy who nearly averages a double-double per game and generates 1.26 points per possession. He’s his team’s most efficient rebounder, and he’s their best offensive player and second best defensive player. Zeller has a 61.7 TS% and allows just .89 points per play against him, which means that the UNC star outscores his opponent 82-58 over every 65 possessions. He isn’t as talented as Harrison Barnes, but his higher value stems from ruthless efficiency.

2. John Henson- Although John Henson isn’t the most efficient offensive player around, he was the best defensive player on a team that had the three best defensive players in the conference. He allows just .86 points per possession and blocks about 10% of the shots against him for an average of three blocks per game. To put that into perspective, Zeller is eighth in the ACC in blocks and averages half that amount per game. Henson brings in ten boards per game and averages a double-double every game.

3. Harrison Barnes- The most talented player on the UNC Tar Heels, Harrison Barnes is only behind Zeller and Henson in terms of value because of efficiency. He is the better offensive creator and a great NBA prospect, but he isn’t as efficient as Zeller or Henson and can’t rebound or defend at their level. However, he finished the season with a 21.7 PER and had more defensive win shares than offensive win shares. In fact, every Tar Heel has more DWS than OWS.

4. Kendall Marshall- He was almost as valuable as Barnes this season, and the reason for this is because of his passing. It takes an especially skilled point guard and facilitator to keep all those superstars involved and playing terrific basketball. But that’s exactly what Marshall is capable of, and look no further than his 45 AST% to see his value and unselfishness. He’s also an efficient scorer as well with a 55.8 TS%, and he is the third most efficient offensive player on the team. Per play efficiency and overall offensive value are two different things, but Marshall is third on the team in both despite averaging an insane 9.8 assists per game. Wow. And who said they don’t really need him?

5. Reggie Bullock- He is second on the team in TS%, and Reggie Bullock is one of the more underrated players in college basketball. He averages 1.20 points per play, which is second on the team behind only Zeller. He is the unsung hero on UNC who has a 16.6 PER and allows just .96 points per possession against him. He doesn’t have a high number of steals or blocks, but he can stick do an offensive player and hold them to a low amount of points; that’s true defense. Bullock only turns the ball over once per game and is a key role player who cannot be overlooked.

So now that you have an idea of the best players on the UNC Tar Heels, you can gawk at their efficiency numbers. But also realize that UNC doesn’t match-up that well with Kansas, and their offense is a bit overrated, as well as their shooting numbers. Still, UNC was the third best team in the country this season and have more talent; it’s going to take a huge effort to beat them. Look for the UNC and Kansas preview later today. Go Jayhawks!

Follow Joe Soriano on Twitter @SorianoJoe.