Too Soon to Tell - Today's Take

Inside Carolina’s senior reporter Greg Barnes on what the roster additions tell us about the potential identity of what a Michael Malone coached North Carolina team will be.

“Number one, I think the fact that North Carolina went so hard after Neo Avdalas speaks to what Malone has shown he likes to do. He really likes that idea of a versatile forward who can do a little bit of everything, and that’s Avdalas. He can cure a lot of ailments you may have in the lineup.  As Rob Harrington did a good job pointing out, when you talk about somebody like Terrence Brown, he’s not your traditional pass first point guard. Brown isn’t the biggest guy either but he’s a great athlete and can attack the rim. So Neo lessens the load on the need for a ‘true point guard.’ 

“So Brown fills a role and complements Avdalas, and Matt Able is a good shooter and can drive — while we didn’t see a ton of that last year, you feel good about his potential improvement.  Veesar, of course, if he returns could be that skilled big that can knock down outside shots. So you see the Malone NBA influence coming into play.

“Two, Malone is only going to have enough success based on how he builds the roster. Assistant coach Chuck Martin gets the recruiting side and worked with John Calipari at three stops. So you have someone that understands the college game and what it takes to succeed in this realm. Then you have Pat Sullivan and Sean May and Jim Tanner.

“So Malone’s in good shape there but I don’t think we get a sense of identity until we see the full team lineup and that may not be next year. It could be two, three years down the road before we get that true idea of what he’s wanting to do at this level.”