Roy Williams left the mainland early last week and traveled to Maui looking for answers. His North Carolina Tar Heels are in transition following the departures of four NBA first-round draft choices (Harrison Barnes, John Henson, Kendall Marshall and Tyler Zeller). That roster was able to attack you in transition at warp speed, knock down shots, pound you on the block and attack the offensive glass.
This season's edition of the Tar Heels? They are a work in progress.
Here are the three big questions facing UNC coming out of the Maui Invitational (and their loss to the Butler Bulldogs) and heading into Tuesday night's showdown with the Indiana Hoosiers in the ACC-Big Ten challenge, plus a look at what I think North Carolina's potential is this season.
1. Who is the Tar Heels' go-to player?
In the eight years I coached against the Heels, they always had a dynamic point guard, a dominating frontcourt player and a knock-down wing scorer. Whether it was Raymond Felton, Ty Lawson or Marshall at the point, Brandan Wright, Sean May, Tyler Hansbrough, Ed Davis or Zeller up front, or Rashad McCants, Danny Green or Wayne Ellington on the wing, the Heels always had a go-to player on the floor at all times that they could play through.