Sometimes one player catching fire is all it takes to help carry a team deep in the postseason.
One of the best examples of this is Kemba Walker’s brilliance during UConn’s 2011 postseason run. To be fair, Walker was already a household name and the best player on the roster for much of the Huskies regular season. He really elevated his game starting in the Big East Tournament, averaging 26 points per game as UConn ran through the bracket to win the Big East Championship. Walker would continue his dominance
in the NCAA Tournament, eventually leading his team to a national champioship.
Another example closer to home is Brady Manek’s explosion at the end of the 2022 season. Manek was on a team with RJ Davis, Caleb Love and Armando Bacot, yet his improvement was one of the biggest reasons UNC ended up making the championship game. Manek became practically impossible to guard from three-point distance, hitting 46% of his long-range shots in the NCAA Tournament. His emergence is a big reason why UNC went from a bubble team to being one fluky floorboard away from winning another national championship.
While this year’s Tar Heel squad should be safely in the dance when the brackets get revealed on Sunday, it feels like they need someone to rise to the occasion and become that supernova scorer that can take over a game. So that’s our question of the day: who do you think needs to step up this postseason to give the Heels a chance of a deep postseason run?
For me, it’s Luka Bogavac. This is by no means criticism of the Montenegrin guard’s play up until this point. Bogavac has been a valuable contributor to UNC’s success this year, averaging 10.2 points per game and shooting 33.3% from three. His game against Clemson is what we need more of; that version of Bogavac had the look of someone who could drill a shot from anywhere, over anyone. He hit 6-10 threes and looked like the kind of confident playmaker that could potentially carry the team. UNC’s guard play has been inconsistent most of the year, but Bogavac becoming the Clemson version of himself in the ACC/NCAA tournaments could be just what the Heels need.
But what do you think? Who do you think needs to step up in order for the Heels to make a deep run? Let us know in the comments below.
