UNC’s Roy Williams says there’s a ‘great possibility’ this freshman will start the opener

North Carolina coach Roy Williams said he thinks there is a “great possibility” freshman point guard Coby White will start on Tuesday when the Tar Heels open their season against Wofford.

“He’s played well, and he’s had a better preseason,” Williams said Friday night.

White has been in a competition to start with junior point guard Seventh Woods, who averaged 1.1 points and one assist per game last season.

Williams has typically started veterans at the beginning of a season. If White does start, he will be the first freshman to start the season at point guard for Williams since Marcus Paige did in 2012.

White, a 6-5, 185-pound guard, was a McDonald’s All-American and five-star recruit coming out of high school at Greenfield in Wilson. He finished his high school career as the state’s all-time leader scorer with 3,573 points.

In Friday’s exhibition, he had 7 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists and four turnovers.

Woods had 8 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 4 turnovers.

“I think he’s going to be a heck of a player for us,” Williams said of White. “He and Seventh (Woods) both had four turnovers, Coby in 22 minutes and Seventh in 16, so I don’t like point guards that have those kind of turnover totals. But it was a high possession game, and our press offense, we haven’t had an opportunity to go against that very much.”

“Coby has really had a good preseason for us.”

White and UNC’s other freshmen won’t be made available to talk to the media until after they play their first regular season game.

As for Woods, he said he’s willing to do whatever it takes to win.

“You’ve got to compete for the spots you want,” Woods said. “He got his today. There’s still some room to improve for both of us. As far as feeling some type of way about starting, I’d just rather go out there and play basketball and contribute for the team.”

This story was originally published November 2, 2018 at 11:58 PM.