Ellen Ozier / Reuters file

North Carolina's Tyler Hansbrough drives to the basket against Illinois' Shaun Pruitt. Hansbrough will be one of the few bright spots for the defending champs this season, writes NBCSports.com's Ray Glier.

Ray Glier

On to the questions:

Q: How long will it take Roy Williams to get Carolina back into the sweet 16?
Marty, Charlotte, N.C.

A: Considering what I saw Tuesday night against Illinois and Saturday against Kentucky, I would say the Sweet 16 will be in reach by March. After all, it’s North Carolina and it's Roy Williams. The program should always — always — be expected to make the Sweet 16.

There are some causes for concerns with this team, but some answers came Saturday.

After the Heels played No. 12 Illinois close at home, I wondered if they could get it done on the road. Well, a Heels squad that starts three freshmen looked mighty impressive with an 83-79 win over Kentucky.

Of course, these freshmen, Tyler Hansbrough, Bobby Frasor and Danny Green, have been playing basketball for years. They have been in some tiny gyms getting abused by opposing crowds. Freshmen nowadays are much more mature for road games than freshmen 20 years ago.

The lack of seniors means little. What good, Top 25 program, has an abundance of seniors anyway?

But back to issues with Carolina. Who is going to shoot the 3?

The Tar Heels will score inside with David Noel and Hansbrough, who already looks like the surprise player of the season. I didn’t know he was that good, did you?

But the defense is going to clamp down on Carolina's bigs and force the kick out. Someone needs to step into the 3s and stripped the net. Carolina made 2 of 13 vs. Illinois from the 3-point line. They improved upon that for 10-of-27 vs. Kentucky.

If that keeps up, Roy's boys will be fine in March.

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As the experienced scoring threat on the team, he's crucial.

Q: Do you think Bruce Weber will ever be able to recruit 5 star players to Illinois? If yes, when will it happen?
Phil Vogel, Washington, N.C.

A: It's happened already.

Eric Gordon, who is rated among the top players in the class of 2007, committed to Illinois this week. Not only did he pick Illinois, he picked Illinois over Duke.

I’d say that's a get.

Recruiting analyst Bob Gibbons said Gordon is the fourth best high school player in his class. He's a 6-foot-1 guard who can drive the ball or shoot it from outside. Gibbons said Gordon is a better player coming out of high school than former Illini guard Deron Williams, who was only the best player in the Big Ten last season.

Illinois is in fertile territory to get even more good players. Chicago is close, so is St. Louis. If Indiana doesn’t get itself together, Bruce Weber can dive into Indianapolis to get players like Gordon.

Gordon's commitment eases the pain of losing senior guard Sherron Williams, who was leaning to Illinois, but signed early with Kansas.

Illinois has also signed Brian Carlwell, a 6-11 post from Proviso East in Maywood, Ill. Gibbons has him listed as a top 60 senior. Illinois also has Richard Semrau, a 6-9 forward from Cleveland, who is rated in the Top 100.

"Anybody who tells you Bruce Weber can't recruit doesn't know what they are talking about," Gibbons said. "He’s straight forward, he’s honest, a no-nonsense guy. He’ll get his share of good players."

More news

Don Ryan / AP

VCU moving to A-10 in 2013

CBT: Days after intra-conference foe George Mason affirmed that it would remain in the CAA, Virginia Commonwealth is headed to the Atlantic 10.

Charles Rex Arbogast / AP

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