Project Players

Dean Smith used to always have on his teams at least one "project player". These players were not that highly heralded coming out of high school but had some potential to turn into a valuable starter or a key reserve off the bench by the end of their four years. Warren Martin, Kevin Salvadori, and Hubert Davis come to mind. Warren Martin couldn't catch a pass without traveling when he was a Freshman but by the time he was a Senior, he was averaging about 10 points and a couple of blocked shots a game. This years team has several project players with tons of potential but probably shouldn't be starting and/or logging 20 to 30 minutes a game. J.P. Tokoto probably has the most upside of these projects. He is probably the most athletic player the Tarheels have had since Vince Carter. He glides up and down the court and he is definitely the highest flyer they have had since Vince Carter. He is working hard on expanding his basketball skill set and may already be the best passer on the team. Joel James is probably the biggest project. He is listed at 6'10" and 280 pounds but he only played 2 years of high school basketball before coming to UNC. He takes up a lot of space in the middle and also needs to work on his basketball skill set. The Point Guard position has always been the toughest to play at UNC and since Roy Williams started his tenure at UNC, the position has been amped up a little bit to run the Supersonic engine that is the Tarheel offense. Nate Britt was brought to UNC as an under study to Marcus Paige but got thrust into the starting role when Paige had to slide over and assume P.J. Hairston's position. Britt needs to develop an offensive game to go with running the show. All of these projects will probably all be good players by the time they finish their four years. The climate of college basketball has changed as the McDonald's All-Americans are only staying one year now. Teams need these project players to perform a lot sooner than usually expected and their learning curve gets very steep as a result.