Bubble Watch: 5 Reasons Why North Carolina Won’t Make the Big Dance
Bubble Watch: 5 Reasons Why North Carolina Won't Make the Big Dance
The North Carolina Tar Heels have fallen on tough times, and it is not possible to ignore it anymore. They got a silver lining in a dark cloud season recently when head coach Roy Williams recorded his 300th win as the maestro in Chapel Hill. His tenure has certainly been one of mostly winning, and so do not blame the coach for the team's performance in recent years.
The recruiting cupboards have been kind of bare lately, which is one of the main reasons for the Tar Heels regression and that has mainly been due to bad luck. Their recent miss on Andrew Wiggins stung far more than most simply because the forward was such a perfect fit for what he would have walked into. He seemed more interested in being closer to his brother Nick Wiggins though, and it is hard to blame the former Gatorade high school athlete of the year for that.
Slideshows will be coming more often in the next month from this scribe, so be sure to stop by again sometime if that is what you are into. Apologies to be the bearer of bad news, but in the following slides you will find five saddening reasons that the Tar Heels will miss the Big Dance this year.
Dave Daniels is a Senior Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on twitter: @AllDave_AllDay, like him on Facebook here or add him to your network on Google.5. Lack of Big Man Depth
Kennedy Meeks finally had a solid game recently, but they needed this type of production from the beginning of the year. They sorely needed his low post production after all of the early season drama, and Meeks appeared to be as meek as a lamb when he was needed the most.
4. Marcus Paige Is a Year Away
You can see that Marcus Paige has talent, and he has been one of the lone bright spots on the Heels this year; however, the point guard is still a year or two away from being able to lead a team on a tournament run. Paige makes me remember the way that Raymond Felton did not fully settle into his role with the Heels until the title run, and maybe we will see the same type of development down the line. This just does not feel like the year.
3. James Michael McAdoo Is Not Ready To Be a Primetime Player
Sometimes the evidence is just too glaring to ignore. Not sure when the forward will go in the draft, but he certainly would go a lot lower next summer than he would have gone two summers ago. It is funny because I love the argument for players staying in school, but also cannot ignore the fact that many players have cost themselves a hefty paycheck. Not sure what impact McAdoo will have at the next level, because it seems that Paige has taken the role of go-to scorer.
2. Truly Horrendous Field Goal Percentage
They are currently shooting .458 from the field, which is pretty horrible but they still seem to find a way to win more games than they lose. As of this writing, they have won seven in a row but look for them to lose Thursday's game after a stupendous effort from Jabari Parker.
1. An Early ACC Tournament Exit Will Doom Them
This honestly looks like a squad that will make an early exit in the ACC conference playoff format, and if they do then it will be tough for the selection committee to pick the Heels. It cannot be overstated how crucial every game is near the end of the season, and the biggest obstacle comes on Thursday night at the Smith Center.
Dave Daniels is a Senior Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on twitter: @AllDave_AllDay, like him on Facebook here or add him to your network on Google.
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