North Carolina and Boston College, the Tar Heels’ first ACC opponent this season, look like polar opposite squads coming into the 2011-12 season.
The Tar Heels are one of the early favorites to win the national championship and were predicted to win the ACC in the 2011 preseason media poll.
Boston College is picked to finish last.
UNC could have had three players picked in the 2011 NBA draft, but instead all three decided to stay in school.
Reggie Jackson, the Eagles’ best player a year ago, left Boston College and came out for the draft a year early.
North Carolina’s rotation is based around a stable core of returning talent. The Tar Heels also have five incoming recruits, but none are likely to be starters, at least not early on in the season.
The Eagles have nine freshmen on their roster, and they are all fighting for playing time.
“It makes things a lot more interesting,” freshman Dennis Clifford said. “In practice everything is a lot more competitive, everything is pretty much up for grabs. Guys are really competing more than a normal team would.”
Clifford, a 7-foot center, said the competition is healthy.