Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports
Leslie McDonald finally played a game for the North Carolina Tar Heels this season. Unfortunately, that game resulted in a loss to the Texas Longhorns. Don’t ask me how North Carolina beats the top three ranked teams in the preseason polls and then loses to an unranked Texas team. Regardless, McDonald is back and he is one of the best players in the ACC.
The Tar Heels needed another scoring option at the guard position. McDonald showed in his first game back that he is the man for the job.
McDonald scored 15 points off of the bench in just 22 minutes of play. He was 4-9 from the three-point line as well. His three-point shooting is exactly what this team needed since no one else–other than Marcus Paige–knows how to shoot a three-pointer.
He only averaged 7.2 points per game last season, but that is because he did not receive that much playing time. McDonald still managed to shoot 35.9 percent from behind the arc.
I am not sure what the team will do once P.J. Hairston returns–assuming he does–but McDonald should still receive a lot of playing time regardless.
North Carolina has already beaten Louisville, Michigan State and Kentucky on the year. However, it has fallen to three unranked opponents–Texas being the latest one. The Longhorns are actually off to a really good start, though, and they could find themselves in the top 25 very soon.
Being upset on your home court is never a good feeling, but McDonald showed that he could be one of the best players in the ACC right off of the bat.
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