There’s been plenty of speculation about players jumping ship after the tough year Carolina had, with most people thinking much-maligned point guard Larry Drew II would be the one to go. But in a move that just about no one saw coming, it turns out the California boys wanting to leave Chapel Hill are the Wear Twins, as their father told the Long Beach Press-Telegram they will be transferring:
Dave Wear said he discussed the decision with Tar Heels’ coach Roy Williams earlier in the evening by telephone and that he hoped that his sons would be released from their scholarship agreements with the school “as early as Thursday.”
Wear wouldn’t offer any details as to why the players (who took their last spring semester finals today) were making the move other than to say “they decided they didn’t want to return to North Carolina.
Simply unbelievable. This continues to make 2010 seem like a bizarro year for the Heels, as if you had said a year ago a Tobacco Road coach who has had his coaching abilities come into question would have another McDonald’s All-American or two transferring out of his program, I’m pretty sure most people from both fan bases would have put the odds on Coach K.
Two questions immediately come to mind: what does this do to Carolina’s frontcourt depth next year, and are there any remaining unsigned recruits out there that could take the Wears’ vacant scholarships? The answers for both don’t look great: UNC is now surprisingly thin in the post, with John Henson, Tyler Zeller and Will Graves the only frontcourt players with experience, and Harrison Barnes the only incoming recruit that can play at forward (although in a pinch Reggie Bullock could probably play SF - he’s 6’6”). There also don’t seem to be any uncommitted post players out there, at least in the ESPN100, although maybe someone who follows recruiting more closely than I do could fill me in on some possibilities. Regardless, whatever they get probably wouldn’t be able to replace second-year players with the kind of height, versatility and experience the Wears would have brought to the table.
I don’t really begrudge the Wears - seems logically like it wouldn’t be a decision made over lack of playing time but maybe missing family or something else. I’m certainly sad to see them go though, both because of how it hurts next year’s UNC squad and for what it might signal about the program. We’ll see…
