Just how much has the North Carolina basketball team lost since losing to Penn State in the second round of the NCAA Tournament? Try these numbers on for size:
Three of five starters are gone, taking with them 61 percent of the Tar Heels' offense and 52 percent of their rebounds.
Joe Forte, who opted to enter the NBA draft as a sophomore, averaged 20.9 ppg to lead the ACC in scoring.
Graduated senior Brendan Haywood's 7.3 rebounds led the Tar Heels and he was second in scoring at 12.3 ppg.
Ronald Curry, who said Wednesday he'll likely concentrate on football only this season, stepped in as the Heels' starting point guard at the start of the ACC schedule and averaged 5.5 points, 4.2 assists and 1.2 steals a game.
Seniors-to-be forwards Jason Capel and Kris Lang, along with sophomore-to-be point guards Brian Morrison and Adam Boone, are the only players returning who averaged more than 10 minutes of playing time a game.
Of the returning players, Capel would appear to be the player head coach Matt Doherty can build around. The 6-foot-8 forward doesn't have the scorer's mentality of a Forte, but with more shots he should improve on his 11.4 ppg as a junior. Capel shot 42 percent from behind the 3-point arc, while also grabbing 7.3 rebounds a game to equal Haywood's output.
Lang played next to Haywood, but at 6-11 will now be the Heels' main post player. Lang's 11.3 ppg was a personal high at Carolina. Expect him to improve on that number and his rebounding (5.7 rpg) even more as a senior. The other two returning players – Morrison and Boone – were pushed to the bench by Curry, but now will battled for the starting point guard spot.
As usual, however, UNC's recruiting Class of 2001 is among the best in the country. Doherty has three players coming in that should find plenty of minutes.
The first player Doherty signed was Florida prep standout Jackie Manuel. If the 6-5 shooter performs like most predict, he could be the player who fills the two-guard spot vacated by Forte.
Joining Manuel is Jawad Williams, a a 6-8 McDonald's All-American who averaged 22.3 points and 11.2 rebounds at St. Edward in Lakewood, Ohio.
The third recruit is guard Melvin Scott, a 6-1 combo guard who could take minutes away from Morrison or Boone immediately and could find himself starting by season's end.
Ron Buck is the men's college basketball editor at ESPN.com.
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