| SENIORS |
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MARCUS GINYARD #1
Bio: 6-5, 210
2008-09 Stats: 1.3 pts, 2.7 reb (6.9 ppg, 4.5 rpg in 2007-08)
Roy Williams: “Marcus’s health is better than
it’s been in the last year and a
half. He’s got his
explosiveness back and he’s more
confident than he’s been in a long time. ... "He has enough savvy to handle
(playing multiple positions, including point guard). I think it’s a
great asset to have someone with
Marcus’s kind of versatility ... I do believe Marcus will be the main leader, but he has more help ... I
think we are going to ask Marcus
to be a great leader, but it is not
going to be all-consuming like it
was at times for David Noel.”
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DEON THOMPSON #21
Bio: 6-9, 245
2008-09 Stats: 10.6 pts, 5.7 reb
Roy Williams: “Deon is much more prepared
to handle a leadership role. It will be good for him.
Sometimes in the past he has gotten
too tough on himself. But now he
can’t allow himself just to focus
on what he’s doing. He can’t allow
the tough moments to dominate
him because he has to be more of
a leader. That will help
him a great deal.”
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| JUNIORS |
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WILL GRAVES #13
Bio: 6-6, 240
2008-09 Stats: 4.0 pts, 2.6 reb
Roy Williams: “Will is an extremely important
part of our team because he is
the best perimeter shooter. He is a tremendous
threat to shoot the ball from really
deep and that can open up the court
for the rest of his teammates. With
his size and strength and power, he
can also be a big-time offensive
rebounder. Over the years he has
learned to slide his feet and I think
he can be a really good defensive
player as well.”
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| SOPHOMORES |
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ED DAVIS #32
Bio: 6-10, 225
2008-09 Stats: 6.7 pts, 6.6 reb
Roy Williams: “Ed has tremendous ability to
rebound the ball in a crowd. The ball seems to find
his hands. He is an exceptional shot
blocker, which really helps erase some of his teammates’ defensive
mistakes ... Ed wants to be a complete
player. He
doesn’t want to be thought of
as just a banger and a bruiser, a
rebounder and a shot blocker. He
knows he has some offensive skills
he really wants to improve on and
that is what he focused on in the
offseason.”
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LARRY DREW #11
Bio: 6-2, 180
2008-09 Stats: 1.4 pts, 1.9 ast
Roy Williams: “Larry understands the focus on
him. He will enjoy that part of it,
of being extremely important to
our team. I think with all the work
he has done this summer he will
benefit from that challenge. ... Larry’s play in the ACC
Tournament and in particular
the first round of the NCAA
Tournament gave him
some confidence, and it should
have. Those
minutes were important and he
should use them as a springboard
to begin this season.”
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JUSTIN WATTS #24
Bio: 6-4, 210
2008-09 Stats: 0.7 pts, 0.7 reb
Roy Williams: “Justin really improved
defensively. His
biggest challenge is to take care
of the basketball. Athletically he
gives you a chance because his
explosiveness allows him to do
things defensively and allows him
to get the ball off the backboard. If
he gets more fundamentally sound
passing the ball and knocks in
some shots, he’s going to be able to
help us a lot.”
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TYLER ZELLER #44
Bio: 7-0, 240
2008-09 Stats: 3.1 pts, 2.0 reb
Roy Williams: “It’s mind-boggling the level of
comfort and amount of knowledge
Tyler gained by playing in those
last 13 games. He will be a completely different
player early in the season than we
would have seen had he not played.
He knows how physical the game
is, plus the speed, the power and
strength you need to be successful.
He learned you can’t lose your
concentration, you have to play
every possession - things he would
not have known if he hadn’t played
in those games.”
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| FRESHMEN |
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JOHN HENSON #31
Bio: 6-10, 195
Roy Williams: “John will begin the season on
the perimeter as a three and I think
he will stay there all season. He has tremendously
long arms and will probably block
more shots than any perimeter
player in college basketball. With
Ed (Davis) and Deon (Thompson),
we may block more shots than any
team I’ve ever coached. John has
the ability with his length
to hurt you inside and
also step out and put the
ball on the floor or shoot
it.”
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LESLIE MCDONALD #15
Bio: 6-4, 215
Roy Williams: “Leslie is sound
fundamentally and a
very good shooter. We
hope and think he can
develop into a great
shooter. He has a
wonderful mid-range
game where he can
drive into that 12 to
16 foot range and
score. He’s very good
defensively. We’ll
ask him to handle
the ball some at the point and I
think he will be able to handle that.
He’s just a really good all-around
basketball player.”
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DEXTER STRICKLAND #5
Bio: 6-3, 180
Roy Williams: “He’s a tremendous athlete
with speed and quickness. Dexter has played some
point guard and we are going to
ask him to play more point guard.
Defensively, it’s been a long time
since we’ve had a guy like him.
He’s such a threat with his speed
and quickness. He will be able to
push the ball and run with the guys
when they have the ball at a pace
that is hard for people to match.”
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DAVID & TRAVIS WEAR #34/43
Bio: 6-10, 225/235
Roy Williams: “David and Travis are
fundamentally sound basketball
players with size who both have
tremendous attitudes and work
ethics. They
handle the ball well and can score
inside and outside. I am impressed
that their school won two state
titles in what we know is a very
competitive high school system.
They will be able to do a lot of
things that will help our team win
games, too.”
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