NC aims for big follow-up to NCAA title run

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — The motivation has changed for North Carolina, even if the goal hasn’t.

The Tar Heels enter the season as the reigning national champion after spending last year chasing another shot following a crushing loss in the 2016 final. It remains to be seen whether the goal of winning another one offers nearly as powerful of a driving force.

“I love winning, everybody on the team does,” senior swingman Theo Pinson said. “We’re competitors.

“I remember last year on the day of the national championship game, me and (senior Joel Berry II) woke up and said ... ‘Who would ever think we’d be here again?’ So why not have that same feeling again?”

Duke (1991-92) and Florida (2006-07) are the only teams to repeat as champions since UCLA’s run of seven straight ended in 1974.

“It’s really, really difficult,” said Hall of Fame coach Roy Williams, who has won three at UNC. “What you do is you try to set a standard, try to set a goal that you strive for, that you push for, and you think about every day — trying to be one of the best teams.”

Picked to finish second in the Atlantic Coast Conference, the Tar Heels have plenty of holes to fill, losing Associated Press first-team All-American Justin Jackson from the wing along with big men Kennedy Meeks, Isaiah Hicks and Tony Bradley Jr. Hall of Fame coach Roy Williams has plenty of perimeter options — starting with Berry’s return as the Final Four’s Most Outstanding Player — but uncertainty up front.

March hero Luke Maye, the 6-foot-8 junior who hit the lastsecond shot to beat Kentucky and send UNC to the Final Four, is back but is more of a stretch-4 with his ability to shoot from outside. The Tar Heels brought in freshman big men Garrison Brooks (6-9, 215), Sterling Manley (6-11, 240) and Brandon Huffman (6-10, 250) — and need them to grow up fast.

Williams has long preferred to have two reliable big men on the court, both for interior scoring and to handle his emphasis on rebounding.

Here are things to know about the 2017-18 season for the Tar Heels: when Williams said Berry punched a door after losing a video game against Pinson and a student manager.