Eddy Landreth, columnist and UNC partisan, is fairly giddy about UNC's recruits, and there's no doubt that Ol' Roy Williams went on a substantial binge this fall. But a few points of dissent, if we might.
Only five can play at once. Assuming no one leaves, which of these frontcourt players do you think will be happy to take a number? Tyler Zeller, Ed Davis, David Wear, Travis Wear, or John Henson? And odds are Deon Thompson won't be leaving early and may not be pleased if his position is usurped.
It's a lot of talent, true, but he only has 120 minutes to give these guys, and that's assuming he doesn't go with a wing up front.
And in the backcourt, you have underacheiving speedster Ty Lawson, who is likely to be the least favorite point guard candidate, after Bobby Frasor and Larry Drew (both of whom will make Ol' Roy's heart go pitter patter with their command of fundamentals and their hard work on defense), yet will almost certainly start despite his flaws.
And next year, their NBA appetites whetted, Wayne Ellington and Danny Green are likely to have one eye on the next level, as everyone seems to call the NBA. Green in particular might see his minutes cut, which could partially explain his strong desire to make the leap this year.
Gathering up talent is one thing; keeping everyone happy is quite another. Perhaps the classic example of this was what happened at UNC in 1993, when they won the title with a reasonably talented team, but were knocked off early the next year despite the immense talent infusion of Rasheed Wallace, Jerry Stackhouse, and Jeff McInnis. We seem to remember Brian Reese, who lost minutes, grousing that "being a senior used to mean something" at UNC.
Lenox Rawlings more or less concurs, pointing out that even when there seems to be a sure thing, it's usually not.