During the offseason, the Tar Heels lost six of their top seven scorers. The final three members of the Tar Heels’ top-ranked 2013 recruiting class, — Allisha Gray, Stephanie Mavunga and Jessica Washington — transferred to South Carolina, Ohio State and Kansas respectively after losing star Diamond DeShields in 2014.
Add to that a host of questions that were raised when the University released the NCAA’s Notice of Allegations, and it’s easy to see why many have counted UNC out before the season has even begun.
But Coach Sylvia Hatchell isn’t worried. The Tar Heels are still setting their sights on championship wins — shooting for the moon, if you will.
“You remember the Apollo flight, 13, I guess, when people thought it was going to be a disaster?” Hatchell said. “And the astronauts, one of them said, ‘No, this will be our finest hour.’
“This will be our finest hour.”
While the losses are the easiest to see, the pieces that return from a North Carolina team that made it to the Sweet 16 a year ago cannot be overlooked.
After spending the majority of her first season with the Tar Heels as the backup point guard behind now-graduated Latifah Coleman, sophomore Jamie Cherry is ready to take on the role of the court general.
“I stepped up big time as far as like, getting in shape and just being serious about my diet and about what I do,” Cherry said. “Because I knew that I have to play a big role in the season and I had to play X amount of minutes”
