As always, many media members are starting their season previews, breaking down what to expect in the upcoming season.
Rob Dauster and Jeff Goodman of The Field of 68 had former North Carolina basketball star Jojn Henson on to discuss how the offseason went for the Tar Heels. While they had some positive things to say about the Tar Heels, they also raised a few concerns.
If you want to hear what they had to say, the full video is at this link.
Here’s how each person graded the Tar Heels’ offseason:
John Goodman: B
While Goodman did say a lot of positive things about UNC, he said North Carolina was a top 25 but nothing more than that.
“I'll give him a B. I don't think it's much better than a B. We're talking about them being a fringe top-25 team, and it's North Carolina. It can't be better than a B.”
Jon Henson: B-
The former Tar Heel
great was not high on UNC’s offseason and, to be fair to Henson, he played for Carolina when it was elite, so this offseason wasn’t up to Carolina standards for him. However, Henson said his grade would have been higher had Henri Veesaar come back to Carolina rather than go pro and acknowledged that Malone was behind everyone else because he was hired when the portal opened.
“I'm not impressed. If they had Veesaar back, it'd be a B-plus for me. I'll give him a B-minus. I'm going to let you talk me into bringing it down a little bit to a B-minus. I'm not sure we let Henson give grades here since he didn't go to class. I was going to say B-minus, just considering the circumstances. He got hired April 7th. By April 7th, rosters were set and handshake deals were done. He started behind the eight ball, so I'm going to give him a little grace. Regardless of what happens this year, next year's the year. He's going to have to make some noise. We'll see where we are in 24 months.”
Rob Dawster: C-
He didn’t explain his grade for UNC, but moments before the three analysts gave their grades, he said the Tar Heels would finish in the middle of the ACC.
“If the bare minimum for a good season is top four in the ACC and winning two NCAA tournament games, I just don't think this Carolina team has the horses for that. I'll be pleasantly surprised, but I have them comfortably fifth or sixth.”
What to take away from this
Whether you agree or disagree with their thoughts, remember it is only the preseason. North Carolina isn’t a bad team, but the program is not where it belongs, which is why UNC fired Hubert Davis and brought in Malone.
UNC, like Goodman said, is a fringe Top 25 team at the moment and has been for the last five seasons, aside from the 2023-24 season when the Tar Heels won the ACC regular-season title and went to the Sweet 16. However, all three of their opinions might be different had Veesaar stayed in college for one more year.
The bigger takeaway is that the grades point to a realistic first-year expectation for Malone: UNC should be competitive, but not yet viewed as a finished product or a clear ACC contender. If this roster lands in the upper half of the league and makes the NCAA Tournament, that would be a solid start — with the real push likely coming once Malone has had more time to build the roster in his image.
Also, UNC’s roster is still being built, and with the latest court injunction allowing players from the class of 2022 recruiting cycle to play one more season, there is a good chance Malone and his staff are going to go fishing for one more addition.
If they land a decent pickup of two, opinions about UNC may change.
Follow us @TarHeelsWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of North Carolina Tar Heels news, notes and opinions.
This article originally appeared on Tar Heels Wire: Experts share concerns about UNC basketball roster
