After the departures of Kenny Meeks, Isaiah Hicks and Tony Bradley Jr. following the 2017 national championship run, Roy Williams added three bigs in his 2017 recruiting class. Garrison Brooks, Sterling Manley and Brandon Huffman were all apart of that recruiting class as the head coach hoped to reload in the paint.
While it was a struggle at times for the three big men in their freshman seasons, the hope is that they can develop into the bigs Williams likes using to run the floor.
In 2018-19, each of the three bigs in that class are expected to take a big leap in their game and be key contributors both offensively and defensively for the Tar Heels.