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Bullock ready to fill it up at UNC

NCAA Basketball Tournament - Ohio v North Carolina

ST. LOUIS, MO - MARCH 23: Reggie Bullock #35 of the North Carolina Tar Heels brings the ball up court in the first half against the Ohio Bobcats during the 2012 NCAA Men’s Basketball Midwest Regional Semifinal at Edward Jones Dome on March 23, 2012 in St. Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images)

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Sure, North Carolina lost last season’s big four of Kendall Marshall, Harrison Barnes, Ty Zeller and John Henson to the NBA. On the flipside, Roy Williams will have plenty of young, dynamic talent coming into the program as he always does. In the meantime, where’s the veteran leadership going to come in?

Much of that onus will fall upon Reggie Bullock, the junior shooting guard who didn’t find much room to, well, shoot as the fifth wheel on the Tar Heel spaceship last year. His sophomore season average of 8.8 points didn’t set the world on fire, but close observation shows the kernel possibility in Bullock that may be ready to explode. He shot 38 percent from downtown, and used his bullish 6'7", 205-lb. body to snag an impressive 5.1 rebounds per game in his second season in Chapel Hill.

But the question remains: can he score? I mean really, really score?

That question may have been answered last week, as the star-laden N.C. Pro-Am summer league wrapped up on Thursday. The championship game featured former UNC breakout star Jerry Stackhouse, as well as current Duke players Quinn Cook, Rasheed Sulaimon and Amile Jefferson. According to Andrew Carter of the Charlotte Observer, amongst all that talent, it was Bullock who stole the show.

Bullock led his Banks Law Firm team (Bullock and Stackhouse played together) to a 91-84 championship game victory against Dream Works (which had all the Duke guys). The official scorers credited Bullock with 28 points but I think they missed one of six 3-pointers. I had him finishing with 31 – 19 of which came in the first half.

And this comes after he scored 30 points during his team’s semifinal victory on Wednesday.

Yes, it’s only the summer league, where defense is at times optional and offensive is at times – most of the time, even – improvisational. But Bullock looked good, shooting with confidence and playing with more speed than he did last season with the Tar Heels.


If nothing else, UNC should prove to have a reliable and versatile backfield, which is crucial in high-level college hoops. Stillman White performed admirably in his Big Dance trial-by-fire filling in for the injured Marshall at the end of last season, Dexter Strickland should be back from injury, and Bullock will be able to use his size and shooting touch to great effect both inside and out.

Earning the Pro-Am MVP award while playing against many of the guys he’ll battle next season could be a strong sign that Bullock is ready for his close-up.

Eric Angevine is the editor of Storming the Floor. He tweets @stfhoops.