North Carolina's Pete Nance looks to fill role in national championship defense

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Pete Nance doesn't have to wonder what a successful season could look like for him at North Carolina. He saw it illustrated perfectly in the spring.

The Northwestern transfer watched the Tar Heels blend an outside-shooting big man in transfer Brady Manek so well that the Tar Heels made an unexpected push to the NCAA championship game. That has the 6-foot-10 graduate — who led the Wildcats in scoring, rebounding and 3-point percentage last year — eager to slide right in alongside four returning starters for a team with national-title aspirations.

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Northwestern  forward Pete Nance (22) plays during NCAA game against the Georgia Bulldogs at the Roman Legend Classic tournament, Tuesday Nov. 23, 2021, in New York. Nance is joining a UNC team that returns four starters from last year's run to the NCAA title game. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II, File)

"A lot of the time, it's a mystery as to what you're stepping into," Nance said Monday. "But as far as seeing what Brady did and the hole he left, I think it's kind of an easy thing to see — that someone needs to step into that."

It certainly looks like the perfect fit in a final college season for Nance, the son of retired 13-year NBA veteran Larry Nance and younger brother to current New Orleans Pelicans forward Larry Nance Jr.

The Tar Heels have a double-double machine and relentless rebounder in Armando Bacot in the post. They have an NBA prospect in Caleb Love with game-changing explosiveness as a scorer. They have a veteran guard in R.J. Davis and a versatile defender in Leaky Black, who is returning for an extra year of eligibility granted all athletes due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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